Cherylyn Napangardi Granites / Dogs that Live in Yuendumu (4B)

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

Cherylyn Napangardi Granites was born in 1983 in Alice Springs Hospital, the closest hospital to Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal community located 290 km from Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia. She has grown up most of her life in Yuendumu, first attending the local school in Yuendumu, and then Kormilda College, an Aboriginal boarding college in Darwin and finally attending the local Yuendumu High School to finish her schooling. Since leaving school she worked for several years, on and off, as a video and radio broadcaster for PAW Media and Communication, a remote Aboriginal media organisation situated at Yuendumu. Chantelle has one daughter, Naomi, born in 2000.

Cherylyn has been painting with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation since 2005. She paints the Yunkaranyi Jukurrpa (Honey Ant Dreaming), Mina Mina Jukurrpa (Country Dreaming) and Janynki Jukurrpa, stories about country close to Yuendumu. These stories have been passed down from her father’s side and his father’s side for millennia and relate directly to her land, its features and the plants and animals that inhabit it. “I like painting. I like to keep my culture strong. I watched my grandmother, my father’s mother, paint and now when I’m painting it makes me happy, it reminds me of her.”’

When Cherylyn is not painting she keeps herself busy by spending time with her family and helping to look after the older members, “We all live close together”.

This painting depicts some of the ‘jarntu’ or ‘maliki’ (dogs) that live in Yuendumu. Families in Yuendumu tend to own many dogs. They are good ‘marlpa’ (company). Many people think of their dogs as ‘warlalja’ (family). Dogs in Yuendumu like to follow their owners around whenever they can.

Some people use their dogs to help them hunt ‘marlu’ (kangaroo) and ‘wardapi’ (goanna), amongst other animals. People also have dogs to protect themselves from intruders, monsters, and other things that might try to hurt them and their family. Many monsters are invisible to ‘yapa’ (Aboriginal people). However, dogs are able to see and smell them. Dogs will warn ‘yapa’ about them or steer them away from the monsters, and thereby keep them safe.

‘Jarntu’ or ‘maliki’ also feature in a number of ‘Jukurrpa’ (Dreaming) stories. One ‘maliki Jukurrpa’ (Dog Dreaming) comes from a site called Pindara, southwest of Yuendumu. Another dog Dreaming story, ‘malikijarra Jukurrpa’ (two dogs Dreaming), comes from country adjacent to Warlarla (Rabbit Flat). This site is part of a long Dreaming track that stretches from Yarrajalpa in the extreme west of Warlpiri country to Warlaku (Ali Curung) in the east. This Dreaming story describes proper conduct in families and marriages.