Seed Dreamingby Tanya Nungarrayi Collins

This painting tells the story of a Jangala Watiya-Warnu (Seed) ancestor who travelled south from a small hill called Ngurlupurranyanu to Mount Leibig. As he travelled he collected seeds and placed them in food carriers, one of which he carried on his head. Watiya-Warnu is a seed bearing tree that grows in open spinifex or Mulga country. When people return from collecting seeds they would make large windbreaks for shelter and winnow the seed in the late afternoon. Immature seeds are ground down into a paste adding water that can be used to treat stomach aches. The ceremony associated with Watiya-Warnu involves the preparation of a large ground painting. The owners of this Dreaming are the Nampijinpa and Nangala women and the Jampijinpa and Jangala men.

Artist:Tanya Nungarrayi Collins
Title:Seed Dreaming
ID:3852-16
Medium:Acrylic on Canvas
Size:46 x 46 cm
Region:Yuendumu, Central Australia

Artist

Tanya Nungarrayi Collins was born on 11 November 1975 and comes from Yuendumu Community approximately 300km from Alice Springs in Central Australia. Tanya attended Yirara College in Alice Springs, NT. She enjoyed doing reading and maths in college. After school, she worked for a number of different organizations in Yuendumu. These included the child care centre, the Yuendumu school kitchen, and as a School Attendance Officer. When she is not painting, Tanya likes to hunt for kangaroo, perentie, witchetty grubs, and honey ants.

Tanya started painting a long time ago with her mother, who has since passed away. She painted ‘Ngurlu Jukurrpa’ (seed Dreaming) with her mother. Today Tanya paints ‘watiyawarnu Jukurrpa’ (seed Dreaming). Her other Dreamings include ‘Marlu Jukurrpa’ (kangaroo Dreaming) and ‘Witi Jukurrpa’ (ceremonial pole Dreaming). Both of these Dreamings are located at Jila (Chilla Well), a claypan to the west of Yuendumu. These Dreamings were passed on to Tanya from her father.

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