258-24UA, Umoona Arts, Acrylic on linen, 90 x 66cm
Pollyanne paints the story of a place that holds minyma tjukurrpa – Women’s Dreaming. Near Watarru in the APY Lands is her mother’s birthplace, Untju-ku ngura, a large hill with a rockhole in the center. A mamu spirit lives here. Pollyanne is a Ngangkari, a traditional healer, and says that one can tell there is a mamu there as the trees in the surrounding area are dead.
Mamu spirits are spoken of across many language groups, sometimes as simply mischievous or troublemaking, but often dangerous or harmful, "monsters," or even believed to take the form of an illness.
Untju-ku ngura is a special place, where women perform large ceremonies. They paint their faces white with ochre pigments, sing the songs, and dance the dances of the mamu.
