Jorna Napurrurla Nelson, Janganpa Jukurrpa (Brush-tailed Possum Dreaming), 107x61cm

• Artist - Jorna Napurrurla Nelson
• Community - Nyirripi  
• Art Centre/Community organisation - Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation  
• Catalogue number - 489/08ny 
• Materials - Acrylic on linen  
• Size(cm) - H61 W107 D2  
• Postage variants - Artwork posted un-stretched and rolled for safe shipping
• Orientation - Painted from all sides and OK to hang as wished

The ‘kirda’ or custodians of the Janganpa Jukurrpa (common brush-tail possum Dreaming [Trichosurus vulpecula]) are Japaljarri/Jungarrayi men and Napaljarri/Nungarrayi women. Jupurrurla/Jakamarra men and Nupurrurla/Nakamarra women are the ‘kurdungurlu’ (ceremonial police) of this knowledge. ‘Janganpa’ are nocturnal animals that often nest in the hollows of white gum trees (‘wapunungka’). A common ‘janganpa’ story is about a ‘janganpa’ ancestor who travelled all over the Warlpiri lands visiting various sites during the time of the Jukurrpa (Dreamtime), including one site called Jangankurlangu, meaning literally ‘belonging to possum’. The ‘janganpa’ men carry their hunting weapons as they move around the country, wearing ‘majardi’ (hair string skirts). There is an important initiation ceremony for young men, which involves the Janganpa Jukurrpa ‘Janganpa’ were once frequently found across much of Warlpiri and neighboring country but have become extinct in recent years. It is speculated that this extinction may be due to feral cat predation and the changes to their habitat caused by the introduction of cattle and other feral animals. The ‘janganpa’ is considered good meat for ‘yapa’ (Warlpiri people).

Jorna Napurrurla Nelson was born 1928/1932 near Mt Doreen, west of Yuendumu and died in Nyirripi in 2011. A Warlpiri speaker, Jorna lived in both Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal community 290 km north-west of Alice Springs in the NT of Australia and sometimes in Nyirripi, an Aboriginal community 160 kms further north-west of Yuendumu. Mt Doreen is located between Nyirripi and Yuendumu. As a young girl Jorna would have lived a nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle with her parents, travelling across desert country and learning all about the country in the traditional way. In 1946 Yuendumu was established , in 1947 a Baptist mission was established there and by 1955, like many of the Warlpiri people, Jorna and her family would have settled in the town. Jorna began painting with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation in 1987. She painted her mother and father’s Jukurrpa stories, Dreamings which relate directly to her land, its features and the plants and animals that inhabit it. These stories were passed down to her by her parents and their parents before them for millennia. Jorna generally painted stories about sacred sites or about animals and plants which are commonly found in the country surrounding this community. Food and bush tucker are still regularly hunted and collected today and Jorna loved to go out hunting with her family and friends. They would go hunting for goanna, kangarro, snakes, and witchetty grubs as well as bush tucker, such as native currants, bush potato and bush banana.