Thomas Jangala Rice, Jarlji Jukurrpa (Frog Dreaming), 61x46cm

• Aboriginal Artist - Thomas Jangala Rice
• Community - Yuendumu
• Aboriginal Art Centre- Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation
• Catalogue number - 5656/19
• Materials - Acrylic on canvas
• Size(cm) - H61 W46 D2
• Postage variants - Posted un-stretched and rolled for safe shipping
• Orientation - Painted from all sides and OK to hang as wished

This painting tells the story of the Jarlji Jukurrpa (frog Dreaming) from Jarljikirlangu, a place to the west of Mt. Denison. Jarljikirlangu means ‘belonging to frog’. This place belongs to Japaljarri/Jungarrayi men and Napaljarri/Nungarrayi women. Jarljikurlangu is a large creek that is dry for most of the year. When it rains it becomes like a swamp, a big water course. The ‘jarlji’ (frog) burrow underground and hibernate during the dry season until the rainy season comes, so the ‘jarlji’ come out of the ground and sit down there. After the rain the ‘jarlji’ frogs croak at night. Women dig for them to cook and then eat them. Frogs can be a very important food source in dry years as they can be found lying together in the soft, moist soil found along many dry watercourses in central Australia.

Thomas Jangala Rice was born in the bush, in 1938 and grew up very traditionally living with his family group near Mt Doreen Station, an extensive cattle breeding station, situated 345 km from Alice Springs and established long before Yuendumu was created. He learned to hunt from his father and still goes out regularly hunting for bush tucker in the country surrounding Yuendumu. He moved to Yuendumu with his two promised wives when he was a young man and has always played an important role in this community. He later married Jeannie Nungarrayi Egan. He first worked as an Indigenous Police Aid and tracker. He also worked for many years with Men's Night Patrol and at the school teaching children traditional culture and as Janitor. For many years he was on a number of committees including the Yuendumu Council, the local store, Central Land Council (CLC) and also a long serving committee member of the art centre, Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned and governed art centre located in Yuendumu and for whom he has been steadily painting with since 1987. Thomas paints his traditional Jukurrpa stories which are related to his traditional country. These stories were passed down to him by his father and his father’s fathers before him for millennia. Although he has painted many stories, for the past few years he has been painting his Ngapa Jukurrpa (Water Dreaming) which relates directly to Puryurru, an area west of Yuendumu.