Painting the Yuendumu doors

Bringing Jukurrpa [Dreamings] to school

By the early 1980s, men and women in the Warlpiri communities of Yuendumu and Lajamanu were picturing their country and their Dreamings in the medium of acrylic paint.

At Yuendumu, in a gesture that symbolised a new era of 'two-way' education — and a practical way of dealing with a growing problem of graffiti — senior men were invited into the school to paint their Dreamings on the doors of the classrooms. Larry Jungarrayi Spencer was one of five men who together undertook this momentous work.

Pictured left is 'Karntakurlu (About Women)', 1984, by Larry Jungarrayi Spencer. The Dreaming painted on this door is described by fellow artist Paddy Japaljarri Stewart in his 1987 book Kuruwarri — Yuendumu Doors:

The Women were painting for ceremonies. They were sitting in a line. These women are Dreamtime Women. One of the Women who danced got up from Kanakurlangu and came from the west. She went ahead while the other women stayed behind. She stopped at Munyuparntiparnti. She kept going from the west to the east. These Women had digging sticks, which are here.

Language at school

Since the early 1970s Warlpiri language has been taught in Warlpiri schools. The Bilingual Resources Development Unit at Yuendumu has produced hundreds of Warlpiri readers, a selection of which are on display in the Warlpiri Drawings exhibition.

Teacher–linguist Wendy Baarda recalls that, from the beginning, Warlpiri people expressed great interest in making books, and suggested plenty of ideas about the format and style in which stories should be told. Drawing has always been a crucial part of Warlpiri language education.