Napaljarri or Napaltjarri is one of sixteen skin names used amongst Indigenous Australian people of Australia's Western Desert, including the Pintupi and Warlpiri. It is one of the eight female skin names. Skin names are often treated by Western cultures as equivalent to a surname; as a result the name is familiar to many as that of prominent Indigenous figures, such as artists Tjunkiya Napaltjarri, her sister Wintjiya Napaltjarri, and Linda Syddick Napaltjarri.

Skin name

Skin names denote the subsections or subgroups in the kinship system of central Australian Indigenous people. These names define kinship relationships that influence preferred marriage partners and may be associated with particular totems. Although they may be used as terms of address, they are not surnames in the sense used by Europeans.[1][2]

Individuals of the Napaljarri skin group (together with its male equivalent, Tjapaljarri) will be either owners (kurdu) or managers (kurdungurlu) of particular 'dreaming' sites. If they are the owners, then the managers will be from the Napurrurla / Tjupurrula skin name group, and vice versa.[3]

Dreamings are associated with particular skin names and individuals. Jimmy Jungurrayi relates the story Patilirrikirli, a budgerigar dreaming associated with a location called Patilirri. This dreaming is specific to the Napaljarri / Tjapaljarri and Nungarrayi / Jungarrayi pairings of skin names.[4] Dreamings associated with the Napaljarri women at Yuendumu include budgerigar, bush onion, witchetty grub and honey ant. These have been portrayed in paintings by artists such as Lucy Napaljarri Kennedy and Helen Nelson Napaljarri.[3]

Prominent members of the skin name group

There are numerous artists from the Napaljarri skin group. They include several who have been finalists in the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards: Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri, Wintjiya Napaltjarri, Linda Syddick Napaltjarri and Ngoia Pollard Napaltjarri. One of these, Linda Syddick, has also been a finalist in the Blake Prize.[5] Several Napaljarri women have works in the collection of Australia's national gallery, including Daisy Jugadai, Tjunkiya Napaltjarri,[6] and Eileen Napaltjarri.[7] Others have works in collections of the state galleries: Kitty Pultara Napaljarri's work is in the Art Gallery of South Australia;[8] the Art Gallery of New South Wales holds work by Sheila Brown Napaljarri[9] and Susie Bootja Bootja Napaltjarri.[10]

Other artists of the skin group include Ada Andy Napaltjarri and her sister Nora Andy Napaltjarri.[11]

Lucy Napaljarri Kennedy has been made a Member of the Order of Australia for her work in the Yuendumu community.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Kinship and skin names". People and culture. Central Land Council. Archived from the original on 10 November 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
  2. ↑ De Brabander, Dallas (1994). "Sections". In David Horton (ed.). Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia. Vol. 2. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press for the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. p. 977. ISBN 978-0-85575-234-7.
  3. 1 2 Johnson, Vivien (1994). "Appendix B: Artist's Dreamings – Yuendumu". Aboriginal Artists of the Western Desert: A Biographical Dictionary. Roseville East, NSW: Craftsman House. pp. 220–224.
  4. ↑ Jungurrayi, Jimmy (2003). "Patilirrikirli: About Patilirri". In Peggy Rockman Napaljarri, Lee Cataldi (ed.). Warlpiri dreamings and histories. Rowman Altamira. pp. 93–104. ISBN 0-7619-8992-7.
  5. ↑ Johnson, Vivien (1994). Aboriginal Artists of the Western Desert: A Biographical Dictionary. Roseville East, NSW: Craftsman House. p. 188.
  6. ↑ Johnson, Vivien (2008). Lives of the Papunya Tula Artists. Alice Springs, NT: IAD Press. p. 305.
  7. ↑ Johnson, Vivien (2008). Lives of the Papunya Tula Artists. Alice Springs, NT: IAD Press. p. 297.
  8. ↑ Johnson, Vivien (1996). Dreamings of the Desert: Aboriginal paintings of the Western Desert. Adelaide: Art Gallery of South Australia. ISBN 0-7308-3065-9.
  9. ↑ "Karntakurlangu Jukurrpa (Women's Dreaming)". Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art > Paintings. Art Gallery of New South Wales. 1995. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
  10. ↑ "Susie Bootja Bootja Napaltjarri – Kaningarra". Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art > Paintings. Art Gallery of New South Wales. 2003. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  11. ↑ Birnberg, Margo; Janusz Kreczmanski (2004). Aboriginal Artist Dictionary of Biographies: Australian Western, Central Desert and Kimberley Region. Marleston, South Australia: J.B. Publishing. p. 219. ISBN 1-876622-47-4.
  12. ↑ "Search Australian Honours: Kennedy, Lucy Napaljarri". It's an honour. Australian Government. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
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