Theo Nangala Hudson - Fire country dreaming 46x30cm

Artwork Name: Fire country dreaming

Artist: Theo (Faye) Nangala Hudson

Size: 46cm x 30cm pre-stretched canvas

Item Code: 10324

Art Story

This dreaming belongs to Warlukurlangu country to the south-west of Yuendumu, for which Jampijinpa/Jangala men and Nampijinpa/Nangala women have custodial responsibility. An old man ‘lungkarda’ (central blue- tounged lizard(Tiliqua multifasciata)), of the Jampijinpa skin group, lived on a hill with his two Jangala sons. The old man would feign blindness and send the two boys hunting in search of meat. While they were gone he would hint and eat anything that he caught before they returned. One day the sons returned with a kangaroo that they had caught after much tracking, Unfortunately the kangaroo was sacred to the ‘lungkarda’, unbeknown to the boys. In his anger the old man decided to punish his sons and the next time they went out, he put his fire stick to the ground and sent a huge bush fire after them which chased them for many miles, at times propelling them though the air. Although the boys beat out the flames, ‘lungkarda’s’ special magic kept the fire alive and it re-appeared out of this blue-tonged lizard hole. Exhausted the boys were finally overcome by flames.

In contemporary Walpiri paintings traditional iconography is used to represent the Jukurrpa, particular sites and other elements. Usually sites that are depicted in paintings of this Jukurrpa include Warlukuralngu (a mens cave) Kirrkirrmanu (where the sacred kangaroo was killed) Wayililinypa (where the fire killed the two Jangala sons) and Marnimarnu (a water soakage) where the two Jangalas camped.