Ngapa Jukurrpa – Water Dreaming Stories

Ngapa Jukurrpa: An Ancient Water Dreaming Brought to Life as Wearable Art

In the heart of Australia’s red desert country, where ancient sandhills and rocky outcrops meet endless blue skies, lives a sacred story as old as time, Ngapa Jukurrpa, the Water Dreaming. 

For the Warlpiri people of Central Australia, this Dreaming story is a spiritual legacy that speaks to the creation of life-giving water across their ancestral homelands. 

Water Bird Dreaming Silk Top - Original Artwork by Long Maggie Nakamarra WhiteAt Mainie, we are honoured to collaborate with Warlpiri women artists who bring this enduring cultural knowledge to life through exquisite wearable artworks.

Each piece in our Ngapa Jukurrpa collection is a living story, painted by an artist who holds custodial rights to their ancestral Dreaming and reproduced with full cultural permissions and integrity and respect.

Water Bird Dreaming Silk Top - Original Artwork by Long Maggie Nakamarra White

Tall and elegant like her namesake, Long Maggie Nakamarra White was a highly esteemed elder of the Warlpiri community in Yuendumu. 

Born around 1930 in the remote heart of the Tanami Desert in the Northern Territory, she began painting in 1987 with the Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation. 

Maggie’s unique interpretation of Ngapa Jukurrpa tells of two ancestral rainmakers who sang a great storm into being. The storm was carried by a falcon across the desert, where it fell as rain and created a vast lake, becoming a home for many species of nesting water birds.

In Maggie’s depiction, radiant sun-washed hues reflect the sacred energy of this creation event. Her use of traditional Warlpiri iconography honours the ancient methods of storytelling that have been preserved through the generations. 

A lifelong custodian of traditional Warlpiri culture and language, Maggie exhibited her work widely until her passing and is remembered as one of Warlukurlangu’s most distinguished artists.

Desert Country Dreaming Silk Scarf - Original Artwork by Rosina Napurrurla White

Rosina Napurrurla White brings to life the Ngapa Jukurrpa from Mikanji, a sacred site marked by a dry creek bed where permanent underground wells are formed after rain. These wells are vital sources of fresh water during the long dry season.

Rosina is a Warlpiri woman from Yuendumu who paints with Warlukurlangu Artists, one of Australia’s longest-established Aboriginal art centres. Her painting reflects not only her strong connection to her cultural heritage but also her love for her Country. In Rosina’s work, flowing lines, symbolic forms and earthy tones speak to the rhythms of desert life and the importance of water in the arid Central Australian landscape.

Storm Cloud Dreaming Silk Scarf - Original Artwork by Christine Nakamarra Curtis

Storm Bird Dreaming Modal Scarf - Original Artwork by Christine Nakamarra Curtis

Christine Nakamarra Curtis is a proud Warlpiri artist from Nyirripi, a remote community southwest of Yuendumu. She was born into a family of artists and carries the Dreaming stories passed down to her through her parents and grandparents.

Her Ngapa Jukurrpa retells the creation of rain through the smoke of a fire, which formed giant ‘milpirri’ (storm clouds). A great bird carried the storm on its wings until it became too heavy and dropped it, where it fell to the dry earth below as life-giving rain. 

In Central Australia, rare but intense downpours of rain can transform the arid landscape into vast inland lakes and waterways, creating temporary wetlands where migratory water birds come to nest. It is not uncommon after heavy rainfalls to see coastal species like ducks, geese and even pelicans in the skies above the desert.

In her artwork, Christine uses short dashes to symbolise rolling storm clouds, flowing lines to represent floodwaters and concentric circles to depict sacred waterholes. Her distinctive designs are recognised for their evocative palette of stormy blues and powerful use of traditional iconography, capturing the drama of gathering rains and the vital presence of water across desert landscapes.

Christine’s works are poetic interpretations of how the desert landscape was formed by the forces of nature, embodying the drama, movement and reverence of Warlpiri Dreaming stories.

Desert Rain Dreaming Silk Scarf - Original Artwork by Bessie Nakamarra Sims

Bessie Nakamarra Sims was born in the bush in the 1930s and lived off the land before coming into contact with white people. An esteemed Warlpiri woman, Bessie became one of the most respected and beloved artists at Warlukurlangu Artists. Her works are direct links to her land and ancestors, painted with the authority of someone who carried deep cultural knowledge.

Bessie’s Ngapa Jukurrpa from Wapurtali tells the story of a kangaroo cooked in a fire, its smoke rising into the sky to form storm clouds. A falcon carried the clouds westward, and when they grew heavy, they fell to the earth as rain, bringing renewed life to the desert. Bessie’s artworks are rich in symbolism, using traditional Warlpiri iconography and vibrant desert colours.

Bessie was not only an artist but a community leader and cultural teacher. She remained active in her artistic and cultural preservation endeavours until her passing in 2012. Her legacy continues through her many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Fire & Rain Dreaming Modal Scarf - Original Artwork by Phyllis Naparrurla Williams

Phyllis Naparrurla Williams was born on the Warlpiri homelands in the vast Tanami Desert and spent her early life learning bush knowledge on her traditional Country. She began painting with Warlukurlangu Artists in 1988 and has become a sought-after artist whose works are celebrated for their cultural depth and clarity.

Phyllis’ depiction of the Ngapa Jukurrpa echoes similar themes of fire transforming into clouds and rain, but with her own distinctive artistic style. Through her art, she brings ancestral voices to life, sharing the movements of storms across Warlpiri Country and the creation of sacred water sites.

Phyllis lives in Nyirripi, a remote outstation on the Warlpiri homelands and continues to pass down traditional knowledge through her painting and storytelling.

Rain Bird Dreaming Modal Scarf - Original Artwork by Vivienne Nakamarra Kelly

Vivienne Nakamarra Kelly is Warlpiri artist from Yuendumu whose Ngapa Jukurrpa artwork tells of smoke from a fire rising to form clouds, where they were picked up and carried by a bird across the desert. When the storm grew too heavy for the bird to hold, it fell as rain bringing new life to the desert below. 

Vivienne paints with Warlukurlangu Artists, preserving the Dreamtime stories handed down through generations of her Warlpiri ancestors. Her bold use of colour and traditional iconography brings fresh vibrancy to ancient stories. Vivienne’s works have been exhibited in major galleries both in Australia and overseas.

Water Springs Dreaming Silk Tie & Pocket Square - Original Artwork by Lara Nakamarra Dixon

Lara Nakamarra Dixon is a Warlpiri artist from Yuendumu and paints with Warlukurlangu Artists. Lara’s interpretation of the Ngapa Jukurrpa depicts the sacred site of Pikilyi, a waterhole and natural spring where two rainbow serpent ancestors lived as man and wife, despite the union being forbidden under Warlpiri Law.

Lara’s original painting reflects the spiritual power of this site, as well as the ongoing presence of the ancestral serpents who still reside there. The story carries deep meaning around taboo, spiritual guardianship and the sharing of sacred water.

Red Bark Trees Dreaming Wool Scarf - Original Artwork by Nicole Napaljarri Stevens

This Ngapa Jukurrpa (Water Dreaming) originates from Mikanji, an important watercourse on the Warlpiri homelands in the remote Tanami Desert. Its underground soakages are vital sources of freshwater during the long dry season in the desert. 

The Ngapa Jukurrpa – Mikanji tells of two old blind women whose tears became rain and created a great storm. The women’s spirits are said to remain at Mikanji, embodied in the form of two majestic ngapiri (river red gums) still growing near the watercourse. 

The artist, Nicole Napaljarri Stevens, paints with the renowned Warlukurlangu Artists. Deeply connected to her ancestral lands and stories, Nicole continues the unbroken tradition of her Warlpiri ancestors, expressing sacred Dreaming knowledge through vibrant, symbolic designs. Her artwork captures the eternal power of the Ngapa Jukurrpa, where nature and spirit are one, and brings to life the enduring presence of ancestral beings within the living landscape.

A Fashion Brand with Purpose

At Mainie Australia, our mission is rooted in respect, empowerment and sustainability. We are a proud First Nations business dedicated to working in genuine partnership with Aboriginal women artists, ensuring their cultural heritage is preserved and respected and celebrated.

• We are a signatory to the Indigenous Art Code
• We pay royalties to artists for every product we make
• We support Aboriginal-owned art centres like Warlukurlangu
• We use ethically sourced natural fibres
• We are a Supply Nation certified Indigenous owned business

Mainie’s garments have featured on the world stage, from the Australian Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai to Expo 2025 Osaka, as a shining example of ethical fashion and cultural storytelling.

Wear the Story. Carry the Dreaming.

Mainie’s Ngapa Jukurrpa collection is not just fashion. It’s culture, spirit and timeless tradition, woven into luxurious silk, fine wool and vegan-friendly modal fabrics for the modern world. 

Each design celebrates the strength of Warlpiri women artists who carry forward the stories of their ancestors and keep alive ancient traditions for future generations.

Discover the full collection now at mainie.com.au