Honey Ant Dreaming – Yurrampi Jukurrpa

This dreaming tells about the honey ants that are found may be 2 metres underground. We look for small honey ants that come out of holes in the ground. The honey ant country is around Yuendumu. This is still our country and we have always collected them. Women go looking for honey ants. They travel from east to west, south to north. The women as they dig follow the small black ants and as they get closer to the main nest the ants are larger & larger as they contain more and more honey. Just after rain is the best time t look for them, or when you see the ants beginning to fly.  This art work is the painting that is painted on to a ladys chest and arms during this ceremony.

$566.00

1 in stock

Medium: Painting
850 x 500mm Acrylic on Canvas
Year: 2017
SKU: 51-17

Description

This dreaming tells about the honey ants that are found may be 2 metres underground. We look for small honey ants that come out of holes in the ground. The honey ant country is around Yuendumu. This is still our country and we have always collected them. Women go looking for honey ants. They travel from east to west, south to north. The women as they dig follow the small black ants and as they get closer to the main nest the ants are larger & larger as they contain more and more honey. Just after rain is the best time t look for them, or when you see the ants beginning to fly.  This art work is the painting that is painted on to a ladys chest and arms during this ceremony.

Additional information

Weight 0.8 kg

About Elizabeth Nungarrayi Ross

Nungarrayi worked at the school for many years in the bilingual education program, developing resources for teaching Warlpiri. She loved to learn and took higher education studies at Batchelor College over the years. Her culture was important to her and Nungarrayi really understood so much about it. She painted when she had spare time, then later after retirement spent a lot more time at the art centre painting.  Nungarrayi did ceremony and song all her life as well as teaching children.  She was a committed member of her church and Kurdiji Law Group. Her art was bold in dots depicting Jukurrpa or in lines again of Jukurrpa .  Another favourite subject of her art was birds including the spinifex pigeon. Her favourite past time in retirement was painting and updating an anthropology database Warlpiri can access.  All the staff at the art centre miss her after she passed away in 2020.

See other works from Elizabeth Nungarrayi Ross