Title

Yapurnu.

Author

Kentish, Duncan and Downs, Jarinyanu David.

Source

[Not applicable]

Publication date

1988

Type

About the work

Language

English

Country of context

Australia

Full text

Yapurnu.
by Duncan Kentish and Jarinyanu David Downs

Yapurnu is a man from Ngarrangkarni — the Walmajarri word for the Dreaming. He lived underground on the eastern side of the Great Sandy Desert in Western Australia, south from Lake Gregory. One day he discovered that a group of women were travelling east some distance away. Strongly roused, he erupted from his cavern and journeyed over to where the women were camped at Yapurnu. When he arrived they greeted him and asked him which skin group he belonged to. “I’m Jakarra" he said. “Well, you’ve got to marry those two Nyapajarri women over there; they are ‘wife’ skin-group for you and they want to marry you”. But Jakarra instead looked intently at two Nangala women who were his ‘mali’ or ‘mother-in-law’ - to be totally avoided. His obvious rejection of proper marriage rules disgusted the group of women, as did his covert actions later that evening which inadvertently resulted in the deaths of his two ‘mali’.

The next day all was discovered, and the Nyapurru and Nyapajarri women (Jakarra’s ‘daughters’ and ‘wives’) cut Kantuwanggu poles for Jakarra. The Nyapajarri tied clumps of Jalyirr branches at intervals along the poles to construct ‘Witi’, and these were smoked a little to make them rattle when shaken. All the ‘Jawa Jawa’ women (women of Yapurnu country) then painted body designs on Jakarra. Finally the base ends of the Witi poles were tied to Jakarra’s feet, and he held each Witi by its mid-section and danced. Tiny trickster spirits called ‘Kukurr’ were perched on the top of each Witi and also in Jakarra’s head-dress. Jakarra sang and transformed part of the Witi into a cloud, and in his dance he pivoted on one foot and shuffled the other foot around in a circle, inscribing the shore-line of a vast clay-pan lake.

The women then called out “Hey pulku! (old man). Which way should we sing this corroboree?” Yapurnu scolded them, “Don't call me pulku! You should have called me kulamatu (young man not fully initiated) and we wouldn't have to die. Well too late now. You old women will have to sing ‘Yapurnu pintirral’ and we'll all have ti die”. The women sang slowly at first: “Yapurnu pintirral / Kijinu kijainu / Ngari ngarilu”. The pace was then ‘jumped’ to an increased speed. “Yapurnu ngala ngala / Yapurnu pintirralpa” (repeated). Yapurnu was now dancing in a frenzy. He shook the Witi violently until one disintegrated and the Kukurr were scattered to the south. He continued dancing with the remaining Witi for a time until he left it where it still remains as a hill of stones. Yapurnu then transformed into a snake and went into a sandhill singing “Wah! wah! wah!” herding the women in front of him. There he lay down and transformed into a rock, and the women similarly transformed into stones.

Yapurnu remains in this form as a potent force who is seen as responsible for the continued generation of plenty of fat snakes for people to hunt and eat. The clay-pan lake at Yapurnu is salty, as it was formed from the urine of Jakarra and the women. A nearby creek provides fresh water. The Yapurnu Story-cycle is celebrated in song and dance, forming the ritual context for certain stages of male initiation among the Wangkajunga and neighbouring groups.

This etching of Yapurnu shows Jakarra performing his final dance preceding his transformation into a snake. He is holding the two long Witi poles constructed by the women, and in this case the attached branches are depicted bunched at intervals. This design motif is echoed in Jakarra’s head-dress and body painting. He is also wearing a Jakalyi or pearl shell pubic covering hanging from a hair-string belt around his waist. The scene is bordered by a sandhill design.

© Duncan Kentish and Jarinyanu David Downs, 1988.