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.

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.

RAIN / LIGHTNING The wavy line represents a rain path accompanied by lightning, being single or multiple strikes.

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.

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