JNN643 Oblong Cushion Cover Wool

This Jukurrpa (Dreaming) is connected to Mina Mina — a sacred site far west of Yuendumu — deeply significant to Napangardi/Napanangka women and Japangardi/Japanangka men, who are the traditional custodians of this story.

The Dreaming tells of a group of ancestral women of all ages who began their journey at Mina Mina, where karlangu (digging sticks) rose from the ground. Equipped with these tools, the women traveled east, performing ceremonies and collecting ngalyipi (snake vine — Tinospora smilacina) as they moved through the landscape, creating places such as Janyinki and many others, continuing well beyond Warlpiri country.

Ngalyipi is a sacred vine for Napangardi and Napanangka women. It grows along the trunks and branches of kurrkara (desert oak — Allocasuarina decaisneana) and is used in ceremonial practices. The vine also serves practical purposes — as a ceremonial wrap and as a strap for carrying parraja (wooden bowls) filled with bush foods.