Ritchie Jampijinpa Robertson, Ngapa Jukurrpa (Water Dreaming) - Puyurru, 30x30cm

• Artist - Ritchie Jampijinpa Robertson
• Community - Yuendumu  
• Art Centre/Community organisation - Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation  
• Catalogue number - 97/18
• Materials - Acrylic on pre-stretched canvas  
• Size(cm) - H30 W30 D3.5  
• Postage variants - Artwork posted pre-stretched and ready to hang
• Orientation - Painted from all sides and OK to hang as wished

The site depicted in this painting is Puyurru, west of Yuendumu. In the usually dry creek beds are ‘mulju’ (soakages), or naturally occurring wells. The 'kirda' (owners) for this site are Nangala/Nampijinpa women and Jangala/Jampijinpa men. Two Jangala men, rainmakers, sang the rain, unleashing a giant storm. The storm travelled across the country from the east to the west, initially travelling with a ‘pamapardu Jukurrpa’ (termite Dreaming) from Warntungurru to Warlura, a waterhole 8 miles east of Yuendumu. At Warlura, a gecko called Yumariyumari blew the storm on to Lapurrukurra and Wilpiri. Bolts of lightning shot out at Wirnpa (also called Mardinymardinypa) and at Kanaralji. At this point the Dreaming track also includes the ‘kurdukurdu mangkurdu Jukurrpa’ (children of the clouds Dreaming). The water Dreaming built hills at Ngamangama using baby clouds and also stuck long pointy clouds into the ground at Jukajuka, where they can still be seen today as rock formations.

The termite Dreaming eventually continued west to Nyirripi, a community approximately 160 km west of Yuendumu. The water Dreaming then travelled from the south over Mikanji, a watercourse with soakages northwest of Yuendumu. At Mikanji, the storm was picked up by a ‘kirrkarlanji’ (brown falcon [Falco berigora]) and taken farther north. At Puyurru, the falcon dug up a giant ‘warnayarra’ (rainbow serpent). The serpent carried water with it to create another large lake, Jillyiumpa, close to an outstation in this country. The ‘kirda’ (owners) of this story are Jangala men and Nangala women. After stopping at Puyurru, the water Dreaming travelled on through other locations including Yalyarilalku, Mikilyparnta, Katalpi, Lungkardajarra, Jirawarnpa, Kamira, Yurrunjuku, and Jikaya before moving on into Gurindji country to the north.

In contemporary Warlpiri paintings, traditional iconography is used to represent the ‘Jukurrpa’ (Dreaming). Short dashes are often used to represent ‘mangkurdu’ (cumulus & stratocumulus clouds), and longer, flowing lines represent ‘ngawarra’ (flood waters). Small circles are used to depict ‘mulju’ (soakages) and river bed.

Ritchie Jampijinpa Robertson was born in 1950, on Mount Doreen Station, an extensive cattle breeding station established in 1932, about 55 km west of Yuendumu in the Northern Territory of Australia. His parents were living a traditional lifestyle in that area, and when he was young his parents would take him out bush, showing him sites and teaching him the traditional ways of his country. Rtichie later moved to Yuendumu with his family. Yuendumu is a remote Aboriginal community located 290 km north-west of Alice Springs, and was established in 1947. By 1955 many of the Warlpiri people had settled in the community. Ritchie attended the local school for a short time. When Ritchie left school he worked in Yuendumu doing various jobs around the settlement such as putting a fence around the football oval. He was married to Connie Nakamarra White and had two children, Marlene and Sam. He is now married to Tess Napaljarri Ross, a Warlukurlangu Artists, but they have no children together. In 2006 Ritchie started painting with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned and governed art centre in Yuendumu. He paints his stepfather’s Jukurrpa stories, Dreamings which relate directly to his land, its features and the plants and animals that inhabit it. These stories were passed down to him by his stepfather and his stepfather’s father for millennia. His stepfather is Shorty Jangala Robertson, a successful artist with Warlukurlangu Artists and his Jukurrpa is Ngapa Jukurrpa (Water Dreaming). He spends a lot of time hunting with other men for kangaroo and other bush food.