Kanakurlangu (Women Belonging - Digging Sticks) - Kitty Simon Napanangka

Belonging to women is the literal translation of the title Karntakurlangu (Karnta – means “women”, kurlangu – means “belonging”).

During the Jukurrpa (Dreaming) ancestral women of the Napangardi and Napanangka sub-section groups (aunt / niece relationship, in which knowledge is passed from one to the other) gathered to collect ceremonial digging sticks that had emerged from the ground from the desert oak trees (Allocasuarina decaisneana) which continue to grow today. They then proceeded east, performing rituals of song and dance, to the place known as Jankinyi.

In this artwork the artist has created a portion of the Jukurrpa (Dreaming) that depicts the ancestral women dancing across the country terrain of Mina Mina.