Tjunkaya Tapaya Pitjantjatjara, b. 1947
48 1/8 x 59 7/8 in
Tjunkaya Tapaya OAM is a leading, senior artist from Ernabella Arts. In this painting she records the sort of Kungkarangkalpa - the Seven Sisters - as it relates to her country of Atilla (Mount Conner), near Uluru. This is an extensive creation story relating to the Pleiades constellation. The story traverses Australia taking different forms, but local women are privy to the part of the story which takes place in the country near Ernabella. In this part, the sisters are being chased by the man Nyiru who wants to sleep with the oldest sister, but whom all the younger sisters are deeply afraid of. As Nyiru is chasing the sisters he tries to catch them by using magic to turn into the most tempting bush tomatoes for the sisters eat and the most beautiful ili (fig) tree for them to camp under. However, the sisters are knowledgeable of his magic and go hungry and run through the night rather than be caught by Nyiru. Eventually the sisters fly into the sky to escape Nyiru where they turn into stars and form a constellation. In this important and unusual work, Mrs Tapaya, who is a great educator and worked consistently to pass on stories to younger generation over many decades, has recorded the story in Pitjantjatjara so it is recorded for posterity for younger generations to access.
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