Mick Quilliam

The artist’s inspiration for this painting comes from the story of Tuli-Ana on pages 53 & 54 in Land of the Sleeping Gods – The Cotton Papers. The Tuli-Ana Of the fascinating creatures who peopled the Aboriginal dream stories, some of the most unusual were the Tuli-Ana (Plant Spirits). The word Tuli-Ana covered the whole range of the plant spirit world, from Poine, the tiny native grasses, to Tara, the mighty gum tree. Three type of Tuli-Ana existed: Parelli-Ana (Flower Spirits), whose homes ranged from the smallest plants up to the middle-sized shrubs; spirits also named Tuli-Ana, who lived in the larger shrubs and the smaller trees; and Peti-Ana (Old Spirits), whose homes ranged from the small trees to the largest. Parelli-Ana invaded the dying bodies of babies, youths and maidens. Their name referred to the fact that the invaded body immediately became pink, rosy and beautiful – probably from fever. The small invaded ones were sometimes called Lori Lori-Loo (Finger Children), because their fingers constantly wove, locking and unlocking continuously. Tuli-Ana invaded the dying bodies of the larger youths and maidens ranging up to adulthood. Peti-Ana carried on to old age.