Pikilyi Jukurrpa (Vaughan Springs Dreaming) by Theo (Faye) Nangala Hudson
Pikilyi Jukurrpa (Vaughan Springs Dreaming) by Theo (Faye) Nangala Hudson
Theo (Faye) Nangala Hudson
91 x 61cm
Acrylic on canvas
Image ©Theo (Faye) Nangala Hudson
Copyright of the artwork and text remains with the artist and Aboriginal traditional owners, is administered on their behalf and reproduced here with permission from Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation.
Pikilyi (Vaughan Springs) is a large and important waterhole and natural spring near Mount Doreen station, about 142 kilometres north East of Papunya and approximately 319 kilometres north west of Alice Springs just off the Tanami Track in the central region of the Northern Territory.
Pikilyi Jukurrpa (Vaughan Springs Dreaming) tells of the home of two rainbow serpents, ancestral heroes, who lived together as man and wife. The woman 'rainbow serpent' was one of the Napanangka skin group, the man was Japangardi. This was a taboo relationship, contrary to Warlpiri People's religious law. Women of the Napanangka and Napangrdi subsection sat by the two serpents, picking lice off them. For this service, the two serpents allowed the women to take water from the springs at Pikilyi. This was because the serpents were the 'kirda', or ceremonial owners for that country. The spirits of these two rainbow serpents are still at Pikilyi today.
This Dreaming belongs to the women and men of the Japanangka/Nanpanangka and Japangardi/Napanangka skin groups.