67 AM 9425/13
Lorraine Nungarrayi Granites Ngatijirri Jukurrpa (Budgerigar Dreaming) 2012
Acrylic on linen 1070 x 460mm $990
The Jukurrpa site shown in this painting for Ngatijirri (budgerigar [Melopsittacus undulates]) is at Yangarnmpi, south of Yuendumu.
‘Ngatijirri’ are small, bright green birds native to central Australia which are common around the Yuendumu area, especially after the
summer rains. Men would hunt for ‘ngatijirri’ nests, robbing them of eggs and juvenile birds, which are both considered delicacies. The
men would also go out hunting for adult, flying ‘ngatijirri’, which they would kill by swinging branches, killing sticks or ‘karli’ (boomerangs)
to hit the birds in flight. The ‘ngatijirri’ travelled to Yangarnmpi from Patirlirri, near Willowra to the east of Yuendumu and travelled further
on to Marngangi, north/west of Mount Dennison and west of Yuendumu.

Each time the flock of ancestral ‘ngatijirri’ lands, they perform ceremonies, singing and dancing as they fly and roost in the trees. The sites
of these ceremonies are depicted in this painting as concentric circles, while cross-like shapes depict the footprints of the birds on the
ground and give an indication of the large flocks of ‘ngatijirri’ that can be found near Yangarnmpi and other sites close to Yuendumu. After
good rains ‘ngatijirri’ can successfully breed several times, resulting in an explosion of the population in a short time. Custodians for the
Ngatijirri Jukurrpa are Napaljarri/Nungarrayi women and Japaljarri/Jungarrayi men.