Budgerigar Dreamingby Kaylisha Napaljarri

The Dreaming site shown in this painting for Ngatjirri (Budgerigar) is at Yangarnmpi, south of Yuendumu in Central Australia. Budgerigars are small, bright green birds native to central Australia which are common around the Yuendumu area, especially after summer rains. Men would hunt for nests, robbing them of eggs and juvenile birds, which are both considered delicacies. The men would also go out for adults which they would kill by swinging branches, killing sticks or 'Karli to hit the bird in flight.   The Budgerigar travelled to Yangarnmpi from Patirlirri, near Willowra to the east of Yuendumu and travelled  further onto Marngangi, north/west of Mount Dennison and west of Yuendumu. Each time the flock of ancestral Budgerigar lands, they perform ceremonies, singing and dancing as they fly and roost in the trees. The cross-like shapes in this artwork depict the footprints of the bird on the ground and give an indication of the large flocks of that can be found near Yangarnmpi and other sites close to Yuendumu.