Aboriginal Painting Title: Minyma Malilu Tjukurrpa Aboriginal Artist: Clarise Tunkin Size: 210 x 120 cm Unframed Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Authenticity: COA and pictures of the artist holding her work will be provided.
Story:
The story of Minma Malilu, a spiritual ancestor, Marlilu was travelling across country in pursuit of one of her daughters who was with the wrong man, a man of the wrong skin group. She stopped near what is now the small Aboriginal community of Kanpi Marlilu dug herself a wiltja (shelter) in the form of a cave with her piti (coolamon) going straight down into the land and with numerous tunnels branching out, where she spent a considerable amount of time and eventually passed away not too far from it, locals brought her food. She lived in the cave for years after failing to retrieve her daughter from the wrong man.
The cave that Marlilu lived in is a special place for the Anangu women and they still visit it today. They say you can feel Marlilu’s spirit is happy when the cool winds blow within the cave. Inside the cave, the rock slab where Marlilu slept is still visible and at times, waterways run through parts of the cave. Song and ceremony are still performed where Malilu’s cave is situated, women sing love songs to their husbands and seek out the healing powers of Malilu’s spirit that reverberates through the sprawling tunnels of the cave system.
