Design and Art Australia Online

Kuntjil Cooper, a senior Pitjantjatjara artist, was born at Irrunytju rockhole around 1920. For many years she lived a semi-nomadic life in the desert around Irrunytju with her extended family. Kuntjil met 'whitefellas’ for the first time as a teenager. They gave her food, but she was wary and while pretending to eat, buried it in the sand.
'We stopped at Irrunytju rockhole for a really long time, because of that big waterhole the whitefellas dug. We’d all learnt about the whitefellas, we’d seen lot of whitefellas coming and going, so we left Irrunytju. We went to the mission down in Ernabella. While we were travelling there we heard a big noise. Maybe thunder, we thought. We didn’t know about those bombs. So we turned away and travelled north. But we did get to Ernabella. And we smelt the smoke, funny smell it made us sick. It was smoke from the bomb – that big noise. Some were dying. Diarrhoea and everything came from that smell. So we didn’t want to stop there…’
Kuntjil is a very highly regarded minyma pampa (senior woman) and respected for her extensive knowledge of the women’s tjukurpa, especially Minyma Kutjara (Two Sisters) and Minyma Tjuta (Seven Sister Dreaming) which is associated with her mother’s country.
The Minyma Kutjara Tjukurpa is an epic song and dance cycle that narrates the journey of two sisters who walked north through the desert to Docker River. The route the sisters travelled can be traced through the desert, their actions often created landmarks. Nuanced, multi-layered, and especially important for the women, some aspects of the story are only told in whispers. Women’s business associated with menstruation, courtship, pregnancy, childbirth, as well as inma and rites associated with them are interwoven into the narrative. Near Irrunytju the sisters sit on two hills and made hair belts in preparation for women’s business. They threw their wanas (digging sticks) creating the rockhole called Wana Wani where Kuntjil was born.
A long time ago the little sister was separated from her family by a big wind. She had been raised by other anangu and did not want to leave them. The big sister found her younger sister and was taking her home to reunite her with her family. They walked and walked, hunting ninu (bilby), tinka (lizard) and perentie (goanna) and gathering mai (food from plants). The little sister was frightened and crying and the big sister told her stories to try and placate her. As they travelled across the desert the big sister taught the little sister the tjukurpa, the ancestral tracks and where the rockholes were. The sisters stopped at many places. At a big rockhole called Kuliwaratjara they cut punu to make a wana (digging stick). It was very straight and they put it upright in the ground and danced and sang inma wearing hair twine belts that they had made. They went to Ultju Kulpi where they camped, hunted for meat and gathered mai. They travelled to Ulkutjuru and Mitutu where they sat at the claypan and told stories. At Irrana, a rockhole just north of Irrunytju, while they were dancing and singing inma they noticed some men from Docker River watching them. They got up in a hurry and walked to Pundi rockhole. There the women were dancing inma when a willy-willy came and chased them. They got frightened and quickly went to Tjanpitjara where there is a very big rockhole. Near the end of their journey the little sister was tired that the big sister gave her a piggy-back. The mountain on the Irrunytju side of Docker River is the big sister giving the little sister a piggy-back.
Kuntjil’s paintings are schematic depictions of the country, rockholes and sacred sites visited by the sisters. The tracks that they walked are represented winding across the canvas. Using punu Kuntjil builds up heavily textured blocks of vivid colour. She sometimes sings inma as she methodically works on the canvas over many days. 'I want to paint the tjukurpa for my country. It is important for Irrunytju. Irrunytju is my country. When I am gone my grandchildren will be able to understand their culture when they see my paintings. I want whitefellas to respect anangu culture. When they see these important paintings they will know that tjukurpa is strong, that anangu are strong…’

Writers:

Knights, Mary

Date written:

2006

Last updated:

2011