Sam Juparulla Wickman

This is a creation story where Wati Nyuru was chasing two sisters across the sky in the creation times. The women 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.

You will find clusters of black dots painted into the intricate white dots which form the sky. The black central dot represents the Wati Nyuru and the two black dots either side are his two wives.

The cluster of black dots on the left hand side is Sam’s father Jagamarra and his mothers the Napaljarri sisters. A cluster of stars known as the seven sisters (the Pleiades) and the evening star (Venus).

The cluster of black dots on the right hand side is what is commonly known as the Southern Cross, however, in Sam’s ceremony he calls it ‘Tju Tju’. This is the ceremony he completed in the Tanami Desert with the Walpiri people.

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.