Yankirri Jukurrpa (Emu Dreaming) - Ngarlikirlangu - Michael Jangala Gallagher

This painting depicts the Yankirri Jukurrpa (Emu Dreaming) from Ngarlikirlangu, a site approximately 50 kilometres north of Yuendumu. The custodians (kirda) of this Dreaming are Nangala and Nampijinpa women, together with Jangala and Jampijinpa men. The narrative centres on the ancestral emu (yankirri) and bush turkey (wardilyka), who lived at neighbouring soakages and travelled through Country collecting yakajirri (bush raisins), which they processed into kapurdu (fruit balls) for storage.

Jealousy arose when the emu believed the bush turkey was taking the best fruit. While the bush turkey was away, the emu destroyed the kapurdu stored in his nest. Upon discovering this, the bush turkey travelled west to confront the emu, resulting in a violent conflict after which the bush turkey fled north, leaving behind the smashed fruit balls. These actions explain the round red stones still visible at Ngarlikirlangu today, understood as the remnants of the broken kapurdu.

The making of kapurdu reflects a traditional Warlpiri method of food preservation, involving drying, grinding, mixing with water, and sealing with red ochre. Ngarlikirlangu remains a culturally significant place, associated with multiple Jukurrpa and ceremonial practices, including an Emu Dreaming dance performed during men’s initiation ceremonies. In contemporary Warlpiri painting, this Dreaming is commonly represented through arrow-like motifs depicting the emu’s wirliya (footprints) as it moves across Country.