Napaljarri-warnu Jukurrpa (Seven Sisters Dreaming)

Athena Nangala Granites

The Napaljarri-warnu Jukurrpa (seven sisters Dreaming) depicts the story of the seven ancestral Napaljarri sisters who are found in the night sky today in the cluster of seven stars in the constellation Taurus, more commonly known as the Pleiades. The Pleiades are seven women of the Napaljarri skin group and are often depicted in paintings of this Jukurrpa carrying the Jampijinpa man ‘wardilyka’ (the bush turkey [Ardeotis australias]) who is in love with the Napaljarri-warnu and who represents the Orion’s Belt cluster of stars. Jukurra-jukurra, the morning star, is a Jakamarra man who is also in love with the seven Napaljarri sisters and is often shown chasing them across the night sky. In a final attempt to escape from the Jakamarra the Napaljarri-warnu turned themselves into fire and ascended to the heavens to become stars. The custodians of the Napaljarri-warnu Jukurrpa are Japaljarri/Jungarrayi men and Napaljarri/Nungarrayi women. Some parts of the Napaljarri-warnu Jukurrpa are closely associated with men’s sacred ceremonies of a very secretive nature. In contemporary Warlpiri paintings traditional iconography is used to represent the Jukurrpa, associated sites and other elements. Often depicted in paintings for this Jukurrpa is the female star Yantarlarangi (Venus – the Evening Star) who chases the seven Napaljarri sisters for having stolen the night from her.

Athena Nangala Granites is a successful younger generation artist from Yuendumu in Central Australia. She inherits a strong line of artistic talent including from her grandmother Alma Nungarrayi Granites and from her great grandparents Bessie Nakamarra Sims and Paddy Japaljarri Sims.

Athena was born in 1994 and lives at Yuendumu community 290 km north-west from Alice Springs. She began painting at the local art centre Warlukurlangu in 2010 and has absorbed the skills and techniques used by elder artists. Athena says “I learnt to paint by watching my mother, my sisters and my grandmother paint.”