Napaljarri or Napaltjarri is one of sixteen skin names used amongst

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

people of

Australia's Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by a ...

Western Desert, including the

Pintupi The Pintupi are an Australian Aboriginal group who are part of the Western Desert cultural group and whose traditional land is in the area west of Lake Macdonald and Lake Mackay in Western Australia. These people moved (or were moved) into the ...

and Warlpiri. It is one of the eight female skin names. Skin names are often treated by Western cultures as equivalent to a

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

; as a result the name is familiar to many as that of prominent Indigenous figures, such as artists

Tjunkiya Napaltjarri Tjunkiya Napaltjarri (also known as Tjunkiya Kamayi, Tjungkiya, Tunkaii Napaltari, Kowai or Kamayi) (c. 1927–2009) was a Pintupi-speaking Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert region. She is the sister of artist Wintjiya Napaltja ...

, her sister

Wintjiya Napaltjarri Wintjiya Napaltjarri (born between ca. 1923 to 1934) (also spelt Wentjiya, Wintjia or Wentja), and also known as Wintjia Napaltjarri No. 1, is a Pintupi-speaking Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert region. She is the sister of ar ...

, and Linda Syddick Napaltjarri.

Skin name

Skin names denote the subsections or subgroups in the kinship system of central Australian Indigenous people. These names define kinship relationships that influence preferred marriage partners and may be associated with particular totems. Although they may be used as terms of address, they are not surnames in the sense used by Europeans. Individuals of the Napaljarri skin group (together with its male equivalent, Tjapaljarri) will be either owners (kurdu) or managers (kurdungurlu) of particular ' dreaming' sites. If they are the owners, then the managers will be from the Napurrurla / Tjupurrula skin name group, and ''vice versa''. Dreamings are associated with particular skin names and individuals. Jimmy Jungurrayi relates the story ''Patilirrikirli'', a budgerigar dreaming associated with a location called Patilirri. This dreaming is specific to the Napaljarri / Tjapaljarri and Nungarrayi / Jungarrayi pairings of skin names. Dreamings associated with the Napaljarri women at Yuendumu include budgerigar, bush onion,

witchetty grub The witchetty grub (also spelled witchety grub or witjuti grub) is a term used in Australia for the large, white, wood-eating larvae of several moths. In particular, it applies to the larvae of the cossid moth ''Endoxyla leucomochla'', which fee ...

and

honey ant Honeypot ants, also called honey ants, are ants which have specialised workers (repletes, plerergates, or rotunds) that are gorged with food to the point that their abdomens swell enormously. Other ants then extract nourishment from them, through ...

. These have been portrayed in paintings by artists such as

Lucy Napaljarri Kennedy Lucy Napaljarri Kennedy (born c. 1926) is a Walpiri language, Walpiri and Anmatyerre-speaking Indigenous Australian, Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert cultural bloc, Western Desert region. One of the first Indigenous women artis ...

and

Helen Nelson Napaljarri Helen Nelson Napaljarri (born c. 1949), also known as Helen White Napajarri or Helen Spencer Napaljarri, is a Walpiri-speaking Aboriginal artist from Australia's Western Desert region. A literacy worker in Yuendumu, Northern Territory, Napalja ...

Prominent members of the skin name group

There are numerous artists from the Napaljarri skin group. They include several who have been finalists in the

National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award The National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award (NATSIAA) is Australia's longest running Indigenous art award. Established in 1984 as the National Aboriginal Art Award by the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in Darw ...

Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri (c. 1955–2008) was a Pintupi language, Pintupi-Luritja-speaking Indigenous Australian, Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert cultural bloc, Western Desert region, and sister of artist Molly Jugadai Napalt ...

, Linda Syddick Napaltjarri and

Ngoia Pollard Napaltjarri Ngoia Pollard Napaltjarri (born c. 1948; also known as Ngnoia) is a Walpiri-speaking Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert region. Ngoia Pollard married Jack Tjampitjinpa, who became an artist working with the Papunya Tula compan ...

. One of these, Linda Syddick, has also been a finalist in the

Blake Prize The Blake Prize, formerly the Blake Prize for Religious Art, is an Australian art prize awarded for art that explores spirituality. Since the inaugural prize in 1951, the prize was awarded annually from 1951 to 2015, and since 2016 has been a ...

. Several Napaljarri women have works in the collection of Australia's national gallery, including Daisy Jugadai,

, and

Eileen Napaltjarri Eileen Napaltjarri (born 1956) is a Pintupi-speaking Aboriginal Australian artist from Australia's Western Desert region. Eileen Napaltjarri, also known as Anyima Napaltjarri, began painting for Papunya Tula artists' cooperative in 1996. She was ...

. Others have works in collections of the state galleries:

Kitty Pultara Napaljarri Kitty Pultara Napaljarri (born c. 1930) is an Anmatyerre-speaking Indigenous Australian, Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert cultural bloc, Western Desert region. Born at Napperby Station east of Yuendumu, Northern Territory, she wor ...

's work is in the

Art Gallery of South Australia The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...

; the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...

holds work by

Sheila Brown Napaljarri Sheila Brown Napaljarri (–2003) was a Warlpiri-speaking Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert region. A contributor to major collaborative paintings by Indigenous communities, her works are also held by the Art Gallery of New South ...

and

Susie Bootja Bootja Napaltjarri Susie Bootja Bootja Napaltjarri (also referred to as Susie Bootja Bootja Napangardi, Napangarti, or Napangati) (c. 1935 – 16 January 2003) was an Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert region. Born south-west of Balgo, Western Au ...

. Other artists of the skin group include

Ada Andy Napaltjarri Ada Andy Napaltjarri (born c. 1954) is a Warlpiri– and Luritja–speaking Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert region. Ada was born near Haasts Bluff, Northern Territory, and has lived in several Northern Territory communities. ...

and her sister

Nora Andy Napaltjarri Nora Andy Napaltjarri (born c. 1957) is a Warlpiri- and Luritja-speaking Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert region. like her mother Entalura Nangala, Nora has painted for Indigenous artists' cooperative Papunya Tula. Her work has ...

has been made a Member of the Order of Australia for her work in the Yuendumu community.

References

{{reflist Skin names