Barbara Weir

The site of this creation story is Anthep on Atwengerrp country. It is the most significant site for Barbara’s ancestral history. In the Dreamtime it was the first place where the dance for their stories began.

The women dance for all aspects of life, for health, sickness, food climate conditions and cultural beliefs. As they dance in the soft dirt, they make the dancing tracks of their stories. Each time they danced the women had to return to their own story tracks.

The underlying markings in this painting show some of these ancestral dancing tracks, as they can still be seen today, etched in the rocks at Anthep. Anthep is the Al\yawarrre word for dance. This ancestral place remains the most significant site on Atwengerrp country for Barbara’s people today. Ceremony and dance are still performed there, it is a place where everyone, men, women and children can meet and camp. It is also a place where permanent water can be found.