Sam Juparulla Wickman

This is a creation story where Wati Nyuru was chasing two sisters across the sky in the creation times. The sisters came down onto the land and danced to try to attract the old Wati Nyuru.

When they danced they formed the mountain ranges in the Western MacDonnell Ranges. This track is reflected in this painting. After these mountains had been created, the snake ancestor, Warna, moved in and out of these mountains pushing them around, creating the gaps, valleys and other geographical features. You can see his tail at one end of the painting and his head at the other end. Breast milk from these sisters went up into the heavens forming the Milky Way.

The 5 roundels you can see with the large dots in each centre represent the 5 language groups that the artist is associated with:
Arrernte – Sam’s father’s country near Alice Springs
Luritja – Sam’s mother’s country further west
Warlpiri – Sam’s country of initiation where he went through ceremony at age 51
Pitjatjantjarra – Sam’s grandfather’s country
Yankunyjatjarra – Sam’s grandmother’s country

Women are important in the male initiation process. If the women don’t dance, then the start of the ceremony won’t begin. They are the ones who dance for the beginning of the young men for initiation and they also decide when the young men have completed their initiation. They let them into ceremony and they let them out. They dance continually for days and nights across the country and this painting depicts just one element of that ceremony.