Angelina Nampijinpa Tasman / Birds that live around Yuendumu

Artwork is accompanied by Warlukurlangu Artists (Yuendumu) Art Centre Certificate of Authenticity/Provenance

Angeline Nampijinpa Tasman was born in 1951 at Mount Doreen Station, an extensive breeding cattle station located 55km north-west of Yuendumu. When Angeline was a little girl she moved to Yuendumu with her parents and her four sisters and two brothers. She attended the local school in Yuendumu. When she left school she worked at the store for a few years and then at the school as an assistant teacher teaching the little kids. She married Alec Japangardi Tasman and they have four girls and one boy. One daughter lives in Katherine and their son lives in Darwin. They have a total of nine grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

Angeline began painting in 2004 after ’looking at the elder ladies painting’. She did not paint a great deal at the beginning but since 2007, after the children had grown up, she has been painting consistently with Warlukurlangu Artists. She paints mainly her father’s and her grandfather’s Jukurrpa stories, particularly Ngapa Jukurrpa (Water Dreaming), Dreamings relating directly to her country, its features and the animals and plants that live on the land. When Angeline is not painting, she enjoys sitting around with her grandchildren, telling them stories.

This painting depicts one of many ‘jurlpu’ (bird) species that live around Yuendumu. The bush around Yuendumu provides many different habitats for birds to live in. Many bird species live around waterholes and rivers, like the ‘pirniny-pirninypa’ (black fronted dotterel). Others live in the spinifex country, like the ‘nuwiyingki’ or ‘panngarra’ (cockatiel). Still others make nests in trees, like the ‘juwayikirdi’ (grey crowned babbler).

People hunt some of these species for meat. The most popular species to hunt today are the ‘yankirri’ (emu) and ‘wardilyka’ (bush turkey). People also used to hunt ‘yupurru’ (spinifex pigeon) and ‘ngapilkiri’ (crested pigeon), among others.

A number of bird species tell people messages. Several species tell people when rain is coming, including the ‘jintirr-jintirrpa’ (willy wagtail) and ‘kalwa’ (crane). The cries of other birds, like the ‘kirrkalanji’ (brown falcon) and ‘ngamirliri’ (bush stone curlew), can make children sick. The ‘paku-paku’ (crested bellbird) and ‘kurlukuku’ (diamond dove) are messengers of love songs.

People also use messages from birds to help them hunt. The ‘juwayikirdi’ (grey crowned babbler) and ‘piirn-piirnpa’ (yellow throated miner) cry when goannas are nearby. People know to run quickly when these birds cry, so that they can catch the goannas.

In Warlpiri culture, ‘jurlpu’ (birds) are associated with a number of different ‘Jukurrpa’ (Dreaming) stories. Some are even associated with major ceremonies, including the Jardiwarnpa fire ceremony.