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| I loved the grasses surrounding the area.. |
My love of this place is ongoing. It grows still day by day and the lessons I learned there will stay with me for an eternity. I finally journeyed there in 2012 with my friend Suzy and her Uncle who was the Gumbayngirri elder, Uncle Tom. Uncle Thomas Kelly was 88 when we went and he has now passed.
The exact time to go here was set down at the creation and we just answered the call. I recall sitting with Aunty Alison Hunt and listening to her explain Tjukurpa to me for the first time and how Tjukurpa was everything, in everything and it was everything. I remember the instant correlations to Ancient Hermetic / Natural Law. It is immutable and governs all and is not man made etc and I understood totally what she meant.
Not a day goes past that I don't allow my mind to wander back along those red paths we walked on ancient ground where we heard the voices of the old people welcoming us and letting us know they knew we were there and why.
The following article is informative from a base knowledge on what Tjukurpa is and if you are intending to go to Uluru you should on all accounts familiarize yourself with this out of due respect for the Anangu people and what they have known intimately for thousands and thousands of years.
Tjukurpa is the foundation of Anangu life.
(There is not a single word in English that conveys the complex meaning of
Tjukurpa. This is why at Ulu
ru - Kata Tju
ta National Park we use the Pitjantjatjara word. The Traditional Owners who speak Yankunytjatjara use the word
Wapar to mean the same complex body of Law and beliefs).
What is Tjukurpa/Wapar?
The term,
Tjukurpa/Wapar, includes many complex but complementary concepts.
Tjukurpa/Wapar encompasses:
- Anangu religion, law and moral systems;
- the past, the present and the future.
- the creation period when ancestral beings, Tjukaritja/Waparitja, created the world as it is now;
- the relationship between people, plants, animals and the physical features of the land; and
- the knowledge of how these relationships came to be, what they mean
and how they must be maintained in daily life and in ceremony.
Tjukurpa/Wapar Versus Dreamtime/Dreaming
'Dreamtime' or 'Dreaming' is often used to describe the way A
nangu
see their origins. This translation, originally made by non-Aboriginal
people, suggests the beliefs are unreal and changeable.
Tjukurpa/Wapar is no dream, and there is no such word as 'Dreamtime' in A
nangu language.
A
nangu are pleased that this interaction between themselves and the land has now been recognized as being of World Heritage value.
The Creation Period
The world was once a featureless place. None of the places we know
existed until creator beings, in the forms of people, plants and
animals, traveled widely across the land. Then, in a process of creation
and destruction, they formed the landscape as we know it today. A
nangu land is still inhabited by the spirits of dozens of these ancestral creator beings which are referred to as
Tjukuritja or Waparitja.
Mala, or rufous hare-wallaby
The journeys and activities of the creator beings are recorded in the
landscape. Sites where significant events in their story took place are
linked by what we call,
iwara (paths or tracks). Some of the
sites are so very significant that they are known as 'sacred sites'.
Today our people still know where these sites and these
iwara are and where they go although there is no physical road. Our grandmothers and grandfathers teach us this.
The
iwara (tracks) link places that are sometimes hundreds of
kilometres outside the Park and beyond Yankunytjatjara/ Pitjantjatjara
country. So they are significant to other groups of indigenous people
too.
For example, the
Mala Tjukurpa involves three groups of
Mala (rufous hare-wallaby) people who travel from the north to reach Ulu
ru. Two groups then flee south and south-east to sites in South Australia.
Kuniya Tjukurpa tells of the travels of the
Kuniya (Woma Python) from hundreds of kilometres east of Ulu
ru.
Many other Tjukurpa such as
Kalaya (Emu),
Liru (poisonous snake),
Lungkata (blue tongue lizard),
Luunpa (kingfisher) and
Tjintir-tjintirpa (willie wagtail) travel through the Park. Other
Tjukurpa affect only one specific area. Many exploits of
Tjukurpa involve ancestral beings going underground.
Kuniya, the woma python, lived in the rocks at Uluru where she fought the Liru, the poisonous snake
Kuniya, the woma python, lived in the rocks at Ulu
ru where she fought the Liru, the poisonous snake.
A
nangu landscapes are therefore full of meaning. They
represent creation stories and associated knowledge of Law,
relationships, plants, and animals represented in the shapes and
features of the land. This knowledge has been passed down between the
generations from grandparents to grandchildren. With the knowledge comes
responsibilities and obligations to care for the land and each other in
the proper way.
When A
nangu travel across the land they do so with the
knowledge of the exploits of the ancestral beings. Their knowledge of
the land, and the behaviour and distribution of plants and animals is
based on their knowledge of
Tjukurpa. The elder people recount,
maintain and pass on this knowledge through stories, behaviour, rituals,
ceremonies, songs, dances and art.
Tjukurpa is the basis of all A
nangu knowledge. The deeper meanings of
Tjukurpa, known to the old and most senior people, are the keys that underpin everything in A
nangu life - knowledge, attitudes, relationships, economics, spirituality, physical and emotional wellbeing.
Tjukurpa
connects everything in life. Therefore changes to any part of the land
or the relationships have ramifications for other things.
 |
Anangu Moral Belief System
Tjukurpa provides Anangu with a whole way of life. It includes rules, obligations, responsibilities and guidelines for relationships. Tjukurpa is the key that underpins Anangu
attitudes and guides people's spiritual, physical, mental, emotional,
moral and economic behaviour. It guides daily life through a series of
symbolic stories and metaphors. The stories are not simple stories, but
represent technically complex explanations of the origins and structure
of the universe, and the place and behaviour of all elements within it.
Ancestors provide the example of how to behave.
Understanding of such stories increases throughout their lives. For a
child, a story may be a moral tale about greed, while for an adult it
may provide complex explanations of ethical behaviour. |
Law
Tjukurpa establishes the rules A
nangu use to govern
society and manage their land. It dictates correct procedures for
dealing with problems, and penalties for breaking the Law. The proper
way of doing things is the way things are done in
Tjukurpa.
Since the coming of non-Aboriginal people A
nangu have had to modify some of the penalties under traditional Law. A
nangu have also adapted non-Aboriginal law to help enforce
Tjukurpa.
Sacred sites are protected under Commonwealth and Northern Territory
legislation and hunting and foraging rights are protected under the
legislation and lease agreement with the Director of National Parks.
The
Ulu
ru-Kata Tju
ta National Park
Plan of Management protects
Tjukurpa by using it as a guide for making management and policy decisions.
Children preparing to learn the Kuniya inma
Passing on Tjukurpa
Tjukurpa is not written down, but is an oral culture. It is a
cultural obligation to pass on this knowledge to the right people.
Ceremonies play an important role in the passing on of knowledge.
Specific people or groups in a kinship system have responsibility to
maintain different sections of
Tjukurpa. This knowledge is
carefully passed on to people who have inherited the right to that
knowledge through, for example, their birthplace, or earned the right,
for example, by progressive attendance at ceremonies.
There are many interrelated devices for remembering
Tjukurpa, such as specific verses of
inma (songs), site-related stories, ritual dances or art. The
iwara
(ancestral paths) are recalled in long sequential lists of sites,
sometimes including sites beyond country which has been visited, and
including sites belonging to other people.
Tjukurpa is also recorded in various designs and paintings,
such as the 'dot' paintings of the Western Desert. These designs are
often sacred, and use and creation is restricted to specific groups or
individuals.
Some sounds are associated with particular
Tjukurpa. The sound of the bullroarer, for example, is associated with secret men's ceremonies. It is for this reason that A
nangu don't want bull roarer-like objects sold to tourists in the local area.
Tjukurpa is extremely important to A
nangu. They can
share some information with non-Aboriginal people, but the secret,
sacred information must be protected and remain only with senior A
nangu.
Tjukurpa in Park Management
Tjukurpa is the foundation of the
Joint Management arrangement at Ulu
ru - Kata Tju
ta National Park
Tjukurpa and Park Visitors
While A
nangu welcome visitors to the Park, they ask that you respect the importance of the place. For A
nangu
an essential part of 'keeping the Law straight' involves ensuring that
knowledge is not imparted to the wrong people and that access to
significant or sacred sites is not gained by the wrong people, whether
wrong means men or women,
Piranpa (non-Aboriginal) visitors or certain other A
nangu. It is as appropriate for A
nangu
to care for these places as it is for non-Aboriginal religions to care
for their churches, sacred precincts and relics. Even inadvertent access
to some sites may be sacrilegious.
| At Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park some areas are
fenced off and sometimes photography is restricted to ensure visitors do
not inadvertently contravene Tjukurpa restrictions. |
 |
|
Within the bounds of appropriate access, A
nangu want visitors to understand how they interpret this landscape through
Tjukurpa/Wapar, and believe it will enhance their experience.
A
nangu explanations of the Park's landscape form the core of
interpretive materials prepared for visitors. These include brochures
and signs and the interpretive display at the
Cultural Centre.
Reproduced by permission of
© Commonwealth of Australia
Anangu Languages
A
nangu is the term that Yankunytjatjara and Pitjantjatjara
Aboriginal people from the Western Desert region of Australia use to
refer to themselves.
In the past the word A
nangu had a more specific usage, being
used to refer to a person or people as opposed to other non-human forms
of life. Over the years, since contact with Europeans, it has come into
common use in the region as a term referring to Aboriginal people, as
opposed to non-Aboriginal people, as well as Aboriginal people who come
from other parts of Australia.
Many Mu
titjulu A
nangu speak Yankunytjatjara and
Pitjantjatjara. Ngaanyatjarra and Luritja are also spoken in this
region. These are all dialects of what linguists term the Western Desert
Language, Aboriginal Australia's largest language group. Western Desert
dialects are sometimes grouped together and conveniently, though
inaccurately, labelled Pitjantjatjara. A
nangu who speak Western
Desert dialects can be found from Halls Creek and Balgo in the north of
Western Australia through to Oodnadatta and Yalata in South Australia.
Approximate Distribution of Languages and Dialects Associated with Uluru
The many different Aboriginal languages and dialects throughout
Australia are evidence of the cultural diversity of Aboriginal peoples.
Around 250 languages have been recorded and these languages are spoken
by more than 500 named language groups.
Pitjantjatjara word definitions
Generally Pitjantjatjara words are used throughout the Park, however significant numbers of people in the Mu
titjulu community speak Yankunytjatjara. Here are some words you might encounter:
| Yankunytjatjara |
Pitjantjatjara |
English |
| tjakipiri |
kalaya |
emu |
| kuniya |
kuniya |
woma python |
| kurkapi |
kurkara |
desert oak |
| wami |
liru |
poisonous snake |
| kalamita, langka |
lungkata |
blue tongue lizard |
| ruulpa |
luunpa |
kingfisher |
| mala |
mala |
rufous hare wallaby |
| malu |
malu |
red kangaroo |
| ngura |
ngura |
home |
| piyanpa |
piranpa |
white person, non-Aboriginal |
| waparitja |
tjukuritja |
ancestral beings of the creation period |
| wapar |
tjukurpa |
Law, referring to the creation period |
| kanku |
wiltja |
house, shelter |
| kurku |
wanari |
mulga tree |
| mungawayuru |
wayuta |
brush tail possum |
Reproduced by permission of
© Commonwealth of Australia
Images @ Eminpee Fotography
