Jintiparnta Jukurrpa (Desert Truffle Dreaming) – Mina Mina 3770/22 (A)

This ‘jintiparnta Jukurrpa’ (desert truffle [Elderia arenivaga] Dreaming) comes from Mina Mina. Mina Mina is an extremely important ceremonial site for Napangardi and Napanangka women that is located approximately 600kms west of Yuendumu, just east of Lake Mackay and the WA border. The area has a ‘marluri’ (salt lake or claypan) that is usually dry, without water. There are also a number of ‘mulju’ (soakages), sandhills, and a large stand of ‘kurrkara’ (desert oaks [Allocasuarina decaisneana]). The Mina Mina Jukurrpa is an important source of Warlpiri ritual knowledge and social organization, particularly relating to the different roles performed by men and women.

The ‘kirda’ (owners) of this Jukurrpa are Napangardi/Napanangka women and Japangardi/Japanangka men. There are a number of different Jukurrpa associated with Mina Mina; artists usually choose to depict one particular Jukurrpa in their paintings. In addition to ‘jintiparnta’ (desert truffle), these can include ‘karnta’ (women), ‘karlangu’ (digging sticks), ‘majardi’ (hairstring skirts/tassels), ‘ngalyipi’ (snakevine [Tinospora smilacina]), and ‘kurrkara’ (desert oak [Allocasuarina decaisneana]).

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Tina Napangardi Martin Robertson was born in 1960 in Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal community 290 km north-west of Alice Springs in the NT of Australia. Her parents and grandparents are deceased and she has only one sister who lives in Laramba community, near Napperby Station. Tina went to the local school in Yuendumu. She lived there for most of her life but now lives in Nyirripi after she married her second husband, Douglas Wilson. They have one son born in 1997. She also has five grown-up children from her first marriage. Tina has been painting with Warlukurlangu Artisits Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned and governed art centre located in Yuendumu, since 1996. When Warlukurlangu Artists began exploring print making in 1997, Tina began screen printing and batik. However it wasn’t until 2007, when the children were grownup, that Tina found the time to paint on a regular basis. She paints her father’s Jukurrpa stories which include Yurrampi Jukurrpa (Honey Ant Dreaming) and Janyinki Jukurrpa (Yanyinki Dreaming). She also paints Ngalyipi Jukurrpa (Snake Vine Dreaming) and recently Pulundari Jukurrpa (Mushroom Dreaming). Tina enjoys painting, especially when her children and grandchildren are watching. She loves to explain to them the meaning of the different designs and patterns. She also enjoys going hunting on weekends for bush tomato and bush sultanas and when she can she visits her father’s country and her country.