Karnta Jukurrpa

This Karnta Jukurrpa or Women's Dreaming comes from the Nakamarra and Napurrurla women in Warlpiri culture. The paintings will often depict Nakamarra and Napurrurla women hunting for bush foods. The Dreaming is owned by the Nakamarra and Napurrurla women and the Jakamarra and Japurrurla men. Two important sites which feature in this Dreaming are Yumurrpa and Wapurtali, this sites are also associated with bush food Dreamings. Yumurrpa is a major waterhole to the north west of Yuendumu in Central Australia and a Yarla Dreaming site. The area to the north of Wapurtali is a Wanakiji Dreaming site. 

Warlpiri women hunt for a number of different bush foods at different times of the year. These include Witchetty Grubs, Honey Ants, Desert Truffle, Bush Bananas, Bush Onions, Acacia Seeds, Bush Carrots, and Bush Raisins. Women traditionally dug for these foods using wooden digging sticks. The end of the digging stick referred to as Karlangu were charred and ground on a stone surface to create a bevelled edge. Today many Warlpiri women use crowbars to dig for bush foods. Collected bush foods are traditionally carried in Coolamons which can be carried with a strap made from Snake Vine. 

In Warlpiri paintings of this Dreaming traditional iconography is used to represent the Dreaming sites and other elements. Concentric circles are often used to represent the bush foods that the women have collected while straight lines can be used to depict the digging sticks. Sinuous lines are often used to represent the Snake Vine.