Stinky – Warlukurlangu Jukurrpa (Fire country Dreaming)
Vanetta Nampijinpa Hudson
Nyirripi, NT,2025
78 x 117 x 15 cm
acrylic on metal
$2,500.00
Stinky LOVES cuddles. His name is Stinky because he likes to roll in anything smelly and then demands affection. He has a very happy family in Yuendumu. Dogs in Warlpiri are called ‘Jarntu’ or ‘maliki’ . Families in Yuendumu tend to own many dogs. They are good ‘marlpa’ (company). Many people think of their dogs as ‘warlalja’ (family). Dogs in Yuendumu like to follow their owners around whenever they can. Some people use their dogs to help them hunt ‘marlu’ (kangaroo) and ‘wardapi’ (goanna), among other animals. People also have dogs to protect themselves from intruders, monsters, and other things that might try to hurt them and their family. Many monsters are invisible to ‘yapa’ (Aboriginal people). However, dogs are able to see and smell them. Dogs will warn ‘yapa’ about them or steer them away from the monsters, and thereby keep them safe. ‘Jarntu’ or ‘maliki’ also feature in a number of ‘Jukurrpa’ (Dreaming) stories. One ‘maliki Jukurrpa’ (dog Dreaming) comes from a site called Pindara, southwest of Yuendumu. Another dog Dreaming story, ‘malikijarra Jukurrpa’ (two dogs Dreaming), comes from country adjacent to Warlarla (Rabbit Flat). This site is part of a long Dreaming track that stretches from Yarrajalpa in the extreme west of Warlpiri country to Warlaku (Ali Curung) in the east. This Dreaming story describes proper conduct in families and marriages.
Vanetta Nampijinpa Hudson was born on 7 April 2000 in Alice Springs Hospital, the closest hospital to Nyirripi, a remote aboriginal community located approximately 430 km north-west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia. She is the daughter of Daphne Napururrla White and Peter Hudson and has two sisters. She is the granddaughter of Ursula Napangardi Hudson and Freda Napaljarri Jurrah. Vanetta went to the local school in Nyirripi before attending Worawa Aboriginal College in Melbourne, Victoria. A private boarding school catering for girls in the middle years of schooling. When she finished schooling she returned to Nyirripi.
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