Summer Storms
MICHAEL NELSON JAGAMARA: STORIES
MNJ
is the custodian of numerous traditional stories which have
been passed down to him mainly from his father’s side.
Such stories are epic narratives and hold knowledge of laws
and customs. Association comes through kinship and ceremonial
involvement. MNJ’s new expressionist designs are ‘coded’
versions of these narratives. Sprinkles of paint over his ‘logos’
often represent the scattered feathers in ground painting designs.
RAIN
/ LIGHTNING The wavy line represents a rain path accompanied
by lightning, being single or multiple strikes.
SITE / MEETING PLACE Concentric circles usually represent a
specific site such as waterholes and campsites—locations
of physical and/or spiritual significance. The ‘site’
is the starting point for many stories. Ground paintings for
ceremonial ‘sites’ are created in the sand, linking
people and places with stories and songs.
YAM
/ YALA Lines radiating from the centre depict the yam with its
web-like vine system. The central section is a design painted
on the body of participants during Yala (Yam or Bush Potato)
ceremonies. The Yala ancestors travelled underground through
huge areas of the Central Desert, which is why Yam stories are
found all over Australia.
POSSUM
The ‘E’ shape represents the possum paw print travelling
over country. The Possum is often portrayed as a promiscuous
person, who roamed far and wide from the site of Mawarriji,
taking wives from every camp. Eventually, he was chased away
by angry people—the sinuous line shows the mark made in
the sand by the dragging tail of the Possum. The Possum love
story ceremony is about a Possum Man and Woman who fell in love.
Strict laws prevent certain skin groups from intermarriage,
so they ran off together to the west. They were chased and punished
as a lesson to others.
OLD
MAN Old Man Dreaming is from the site of Kunajarrayi, and is
sacred men’s business. The U shape is man sitting on the
ground during ceremony with his Nulla Nulla (horizontal line)
placed in front of him.
KANGAROO
The central line represents the distinctive track made in the
sand by the tail, with the hind legs either side. Traditionally,
Kangaroo ancestors angered Warnayarra (The Rainbow Snake) at
Mawarriji, a sacred site near Mt Singleton. They tried to punish
the Kangaroo Men with a ferocious storm of wind, rain, and lightning.
The kangaroo men hid in a cave for several days and waited for
the storm to pass.
BUSH
TURKEY MNJ is a custodian of the creation story of the bush
turkey, an animal which is celebrated in ceremony as well as
being an important traditional food source. His designs allude
to footprints in the sand.
STONE
KNIFE ARRANGEMENTS These distinctive designs depict the stone
knife that Aboriginal people make from flint and sharp stones
found in their locality. These images can also be related to
male-initiation ceremonies.
LOLLY
TREE a favorite bush food, this derives from a real fruit tree,
the Conkerberry, which MNJ remembers near Mt Singleton where
he used to climb as a child. The design has been reinterpreted
as a linear sand-painting pattern. Occasionally MNJ layers this
pattern over existing designs.
PURPULA
This design represents a small goanna living in the spinifex
at the sites of Wapurtali and Waite Creek. MNJ interprets this
story with bold, repetitive stripes relating directly to body-painting
designs.