Ritasha Nampijinpa Martin / Western Quoll and Possum Dreaming (4615-23)

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

Ritasha Nampijinpa Martin is the daughter of Andrea Nungarrayi Martin, distinguished artist and long time art coordinator at Warlukurlangu Artists. Although still young, she has been painting and exhibiting for a long time alongside her mother. She is married to Michael Japaljarri Wayne and they have one son, Johnny.

Ritasha was born in Alice Springs and has spent her whole life in Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal community 290 km north-west of Alice Springs. She attended the local school and when she finished her schooling she worked with the local Youth Program ‘Jaru Pijirdi’ helping to prevent petrol sniffing in the community. At the moment Ritasha is taking time off to look after her young son and to paint full time at the art centre.

Ritasha first started painting on little boards through the art centre’s school cultural maintenance program held during school holidays. She has been painting with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned and governed art centre located in Yuendumu, since 2001 and has been exhibiting in Group Exhibitions in Australia, England and USA, since 2005.
Ritasha paints her Ngapa Jukurrpa (Water Dreaming) stories, Dreamings which relate to Pirlinyarnu country. These stories were passed down to her by her mother and her mother’s mother and their parents before them for millennia.

When Ritasha is not painting she likes to sit with her friends and their children telling stories about their country.

This Jajirrdi and Janganpa Jukurrpa – western quoll and common brush-tail possum Dreaming is based at Yakurdiyi, a cave and rock hole south-east of Yuendumu. There, ‘janganpa’ ancestors performed a secret/sacred ceremony to do with ‘kurdiji’ (initiation ceremonies for young men) that is based upon a ‘witi’ pole (a ceremonial spear) with ‘jinjirla’ (a white tassel) fixed to the top. This pole is a centerpiece for the ceremony and at the completion of the ceremony it is set alight. The ‘jajirrdi’ spied upon the ‘janganpa’ ceremony and when the ‘janganpa’ discovered the ‘jajirrdi’ hiding and watching them a huge fight took place between them. Neither side won the battle, and there were many casualties. The men fought but the women were not close by as it was mens business. The Janganpa forced the Jajirdi to be part of the initiation ceremony after they had finished fighting. They had a big corroboree for young men. Also the women were dancing all the night until the day break. Eventually, the ‘jajirrdi’ went back to their homeland and the possums travelled on through their country. The custodians of this Jukurrpa are Japaljarri/Jungarrayi men and Napaljarri/Nungarrayi women.