Kaapa Mbitjana Tjampitjinpa

Water snake at Mount Allen at Palkuta. This dance wand was carved and painted by the artist at Papunya in 1975/75. Kaapa gave this dance wand to Gwen Daniels who would use it for dancing with the old women of that community during women’s ceremony. Gwen referred to it as a tjuringa (sometimes spelled churinga) but the gallery believes that its real description is a dance wand. The imagery painted shows the snake that created the landscape around Mount Allan. The wavy line shows a water soakage area that is quite extensive.