Details of Wirrulnga

Catalog Number : 26728
Size : 122cm x 122cm
Medium : acrylic on linen
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This painting depicts designs associated with the rockhole sites of Wirrilnga, just to the east of the Kiwirrkura Community in Western Australia. The lines in the painting represent the tali (sandhills) in the area around Wirrulnga.

A group of ancestral women, known as the Kanaputa, once gathered at the site to perform dances and sing the songs associated with the area. Wirrulnga is a site which is associated with birth, and this is a major source of its relevance for the women of this area. While at Wirrulnga the women also gathered edible berries known as kampurarrpa, or desert raisins, from the small shrub Solanum Centrale. These berries can be eaten straight from the bush, but are sometimes ground into paste and cooked in the coals to form a type of damper. Upon completion of the ceremonies at Wirrulnga, the women continued their travels north east to Wilkinkarra (Lake Mackay).