Artist statement

All the women are going around collecting food, grinding kampurarpa (bush tomato), mingulpa (desert tobacco), wanganu (woolley-butt grass seed) for damper and collecting kaliny kalinypa (honey grevillea) to mix with water and give to the tjitji (children). When they collect mingulpa, they take it and it gives them energy when walking a long way. My painting also has the Mala People story. I was learning this from the old people before. All around Uluru, those really green trees – those are the Mala people ones. Near the Women’s place is one tree, kaliny kalinypa (honey grevillea) with really orange flowers. That’s the Kurpanya, Devil dog one. He was watching the Mala People who were sleeping after doing ceremony and dancing. That Lunpa Woman (Kingfisher Woman) was calling out, “Pakala, pakala! Mamu coming.” They all woke up and ran away across the South Australian border. Kurpanya, he was chasing them all over. He’d been sent by the Mulga Seed Wati (men) in Kaltukatjara (Docker River). The Kulaya People (Emu People) told the Mala to hide away. That made Kurpanya angry and he came and speared the Kulaya People. But that’s a different story. That’s a South Australia one.