Arlatyeye

Eileen Bird

The designs in Eileen’s painting are influenced by the Arlatyeye (Pencil Yam) Story belonging to her country, Denipa Station.

In the Dreamtime there are two parts to this story where two different seeds were born that created two different species of Pencil Yam, one called Atnwelarr and the other called Arlatyeye. Arlatyeye produces smaller yams and they are an important food source which can be eaten raw or cooked in hot sand and ashes. The Arlatyeye story is a major Dreamtime story for Eileen’s country and ceremonies by her people are performed to ensure its productivity as a food source and life form of the ancestors.