Looking After Country

Ginger is conveying his close connection to the Anangu Pitjantjatnara/Yankunyjatjara (APY) Lands, especially as he worked for a long-time with the APY Lands land management council.

The purple areas and the green circles with red centres represent rock hole/s, water holes and creeks. Rock holes are important sources of water during the hot periods when the water holes across the land dry up. At left, the two larger ‘u’ shapes at the top and bottom of the purple rectangle are men. The smaller ‘u’shape is a woman. They are cleaning a rock hole in a cave (the large black ‘c’ shape). The two black boomerang shapes are wiltja or bush hut/shelters where the men and women sleep. Ginger said, “summertime, sleep outside, no waru (fire), minyma munu wati (woman and man)”.

At the top, in pink patch, are three minyma cleaning and drinking from a rock hole. In the green patch on the right are a minyma and wati (black ‘u’ shapes) cleaning a rock hole. The woman has her wana or digging stick at her side. The other implement is a wira or wooden bowl for scooping. Below this pair are another minyma and wati doing the same (small purple rock hole). The arrow tracks in the bottom left corner are mala that have been drinking at a rock hole.

Ginger said the areas with brown stripes and white dots represent the punu (wood the man and woman are carving). Finally, we have another couple at a rock hole (orange centre with black outline).