The Kulpi Mutitjulu Cave was filled with cave paintings.

Posted on by Thor

Terry and I hiked around the base of Uluru quite a bit. The Kulpi Mutitjulu Cave was filled with faint cave paintings. Young aboriginal boys would be brought to this cave where they watched their fathers hunt. When they were old enough to become men, they would come here alone and live off the land. A short hike up the trail is the only natural water hole for miles. I don’t understand where the water comes from since it never seems to rain. A large snake flashed across the trail startling both Terry and myself. Life seems surprising in the outback and yet the area is filled with hints of its dream time creation.

The physical features of Uluru are of great cultural significance to the Anangu traditional owners. The caves and rock formations on the trail relate to the activities of Minyma Kuniya (Woma Python Woman) and Wati Liru (Poisonous Snake Man) during the creation time….

“Minyma Kuniya the woma python woman
came from the east near Erldunda. A bad feeling grew in her
stomach–something was wrong. She had to go to Uluru. Kuniya created inma (ceremony) to
connect her eggs together. She carried them to Uluru in a ring around
her neck and placed them at Kuniya Piti. Meanwhile, Kuniya’s nephew arrived on
the other side of Uluru. He was being chased by a war party of Liru
(poisonous snake) men from out near Kata Tjuta. He had broken the law in their land and they were sent to punish him. The Liru men threw spears at Kuniya’s nephew. One pierced his thigh and many others hit the side of Uluru. One Liru warrior, Wati Liru, was left
to care for the injured python man. But he did not do his duty and left
the injured man on his own. Minyma Kuniya realised that her nephew had been injured and was not being cared for properly. She raced to Mutitjulu Waterhole and
saw Wati Liru high up on the cliff. She called out to him about her
nephew, but he only laughed. Minyma Kuniya placed her wana (digging
stick) upright in the ground in front of her. Kneeling down, she picked
up handfuls of sand and threw it over her body, singing and making
herself stronger. She was creating inma (ceremony) to help her confront Wati Liru. Kuniya moved towards Liru singing and dancing akuta–a dance step used by women ready to fight. Kuniya hit him once over the head with her wana. He fell down but got back up. She hit him a second time and killed him. Kuniya then went and found her injured nephew. She picked him up, dusted him off and carried him to Mutitjulu Waterhole. She created inma and combined their
two spirits into one. They became Wanampi, the rainbow serpent, who
lives in and protects the waterhole today.”

This story teaches a traditional form of payback punishment–a spear to the thigh. the punisher must then look after the injured person until they are well enough to care for themselves. It also teaches about women’s intuition and that a woman may use force to protect her children. This is a powerful story, Kuniya is a powerful woman.” Physical signs remain evident in the rock of this ancient confrontation. Slowing down to sketch helped me stop and reflect by 0bserving the serpentine flow of the hills only interrupted by the burnt black trunks of trees and flowing sage.

Manta means landscape in Pitjantjatjara.

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A dirt road circles all around Ayers Rock, or Uluru as the Aborigines refer to it. Angangu are the traditional caretakers of Uluru and Kata Tjuta and the surrounding landscape. In this sketch Kata Tjuta can be seen in the distance shrowded in blue mist. Like Uluru it juts up from the otherwise flat landscape. It is far more eroded than Uluru having multiple spires. These two monoliths has always been a special place for the Angangu. It isn’t only a rock, but it is a living place that creation beings have left their marks upon.

30 years ago Uluru was officially returned to aboriginal ownership. The ceremony, performed in the shadow of the immense rock, remains one
of the most significant moments in the Aboriginal land-rights movement. Under the terms of the handover agreement, the Anangu people leased
Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park to the Australian Parks and Wildlife
Service for 99 years, ensuring the public’s ongoing access, as well as
continued funds to the local community. In 2003 the Mititjulu Foundation was formed which raises funds for local Aboriginal communities. Guests at the Ayers Rock Resort can donate to this foundation and the resort matches contributions dollar for dollar. The projects funded include, renovations to a youth center, materials for local schools, a mountain bike program, sports and musical instruments and assistance for women’s health screenings.

At this roadside overlook, an elevated trail brings tourists out to several viewing platforms.  As I did this watercolor, flies gathered on the pages to suck up the moisture. I worked quickly to keep from going insane from all the buzzing. A local joked with me saying that the Australian salute was the act of whisking away flies from your face. I had on a mesh over my head, and flies walked on it inches from my face. Had I sketched one it would have looked like a monstrous giant. I liked the reddish tint that dusted my hiking boots as we walked the trails around Uluru.

Ayers Rock shares its magic.

Posted on by Thor

The rusty red road cut through the sage brush and an orange cloud rose up behind our rental as we drove to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park to Ayers Rock. The plan was to wait for sunset when the golden hour would light up the rock a deep crimson. It was a cloudy day however and that crimson flash never appeared. Next to the road side parking lot people lined up along the barbed wire fence with their cameras poised in anticipation. Children played in the red dust. I noticed that tiny red stones would stick to the magnetic clasp on my art bag. I’m not sure if the photographer with the tripod ever got his picture.

Flies came out in swarms. Tourists flicked them away  from their ears and face, but the flies would simply circle around and dive bomb into peoples ear canals. I wore a fine green mesh over my hat. The flies would crawl in front of my face, but they couldn’t get to me. I also put two erasers in my ears which kept the high pitched drone from pinching my nerves. Terry hiked down the line of tourists hoping to get a better view. Colors slowly faded to grey as night set in.

When my sketch was done I waited at the car for Terry to return from her hike. It began to rain very lightly. I stashed my art bag under the rental to keep it dry.  Next to me several tourists were cooking their dinner over a camping stove. Their VW Bus was converted into a makeshift camper. They were roughing it through the outback. I started to get concerned that Terry might have gotten lost. She eventually did show up in the darkness. We were one of the last cars to leave the lot.

When Terry and I got back to Sails in the Desert Resort, we relaxed over a fine meal at Ilkari Restaurant. We were told that the desert bar was complimentary, but we sampled the ice creams so often that a charge was added to our bill. All the food has to be driven hundreds of miles across the desert to this isolated resort so ice cream is a real luxury. Just having air conditioning is a luxury.