Desert Heat
Hot paintings from the Western Desert

46 AM 835/03
Alison Nampitjinpa Anderson Hair Belt 2003
Acrylic on linen 406 x 1219mm $1600
Alison has painted her Uncle's dreaming of the Hair Belt. This painting depicts ceremonial body decorations of
Aboriginal men of the Tjungarrayi and Tjapaltjari skingroups. The men wear belts made from human hair as well
as adorning themselves with a material called Wamulu. The Wamulu is a pulp created from a small herbacious plant
that is mixed with various ochres and other substances to get the desired colours. The ceremony performed is
called a 'Muliera' corroboree, in which young men are taught the 'dreaming'. The 'dreaming' is the desert
Aboriginals belief of world creation, and this corroboree is a part of their initiation. The central line depicts the
hair belt along with the semi circles depicting the men of the different skingroups.