Puturlu Jukurrpa (Mt Theo Dreaming)

Ryan Japangardi Woods

The Purlapurla Jukurrpa (black kite [Milvus migrans] Dreaming) is centred on the Kakurtu (Mount Dennison) area. This painting concerns a ‘purlapurla’ ancestral hero who lived there. ‘Purlapurla’ flies high in the sky like the ‘warlawurru’ (wedge-tailed eagle) and perches in the top of trees. The story relates an incident where he had injured his legs and was flying up and down. In paintings of this Jukurrpa often the hero is indicated by a vertical line or lines in the painting. The Purlapurla Jukurrpa belongs to the Nungarrayi/Napaljarri women and to the Jungarrayi/Japaljarri men.