Leavannia Nampijinpa Watson
Ngatjirri Jukurrpa ( Budgerigar Dreaming), 2023
acrylic on pre-stretched canvas
30 x 30 cm
6068/23
The jukurrpa site shown in this painting for Natijirri ( budgerigar, Melopsittacus undulates) is at Yangarnmpi, south of Yuendumu. 'Ngatijirri' are small, bright green birds native to central Australia which...
The jukurrpa site shown in this painting for Natijirri ( budgerigar, Melopsittacus undulates) is at Yangarnmpi, south of Yuendumu. "Ngatijirri" are small, bright green birds native to central Australia which are common around the Yuendumu area, especially after the summer rains. Men would hunt for "ngatjirri" nests, robbing them of eggs and juvenile birds, which are both considered delicacies.The men would also go out hunting for the adult, flying "ngatijirri", which they would kill by swinging branches, killing sticks or karli, (boomerangs) to hit the birds in flight. The "ngatijirri" travelled to Yangarnmpi from Patirlirri, near Willowra to the east of Yuendumu and travelled further on to Marngangi, north/west of Mount Dennison and west ofYuendumu. Each time the flock of ancestral "ngatijirri" lands, they perform ceremonies, singing and dancing as they fly and roost in the trees. The sites of these ceremonies are depicted in this painting as concentric circles, while cross-like shapes depict the footprints of the birds on the ground, and give an indication of the large flocks of "ngatijirri" that can be found near Yangarnmpi and other sites close to Yuendumu. After good rains "ngatijirri" can successfully breed several times resulting in an explosion of the population in a short time. Custodians of the Ngatijirri Jukurrpa are Napaljarri/Nungarrayi women and Japaljarri/Jungarrayi men.