Northern Territory - Uluru & Kata Tjuta

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Alex and I are now at Uluru or Ayres Rock where its a very pleasant 40 degrees!...You have to drink at least 1 litre of water every hour to stop yourself from dehydrating.

The soil here is so bright its almost orange and the light reflects off Uluru to give it a different colour and atmosphere throughout the day. I know that Uluru is a spiritual place for the locals but it really does have a very calming and laid back atmosphere. If it wasn't for the wildlife it would be perfect!...There were red backs in the toilet block and grass hopper type things the size of my hand!!!??

It is disrespectful to climb Uluru as it is of such significant importance to the localpeople. Instead we did a base walk of the Uluru with a local guide and discovered more about its history and the beginnings of time. I have put some info below to tell you more about it.


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We, the traditional land owners of Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park, are direct descendants of the beings who created our lands during the Tjukurpa (Creation Time). We have always been here. It is our duty to look after the land, which includes passing on its history to our children and grandchildren. We call ourselves Anangu, and would like you to use that term for us.

Some of us speak Yankunytjatjara and others speak Pitjantjatjara as first languages. We teach our language to our children.

"This is Aboriginal land and you are welcome. Look around and learn, in order to understand Aboriginal people and also understand that Aboriginal culture is strong and alive."

Nellie Patterson, traditional owner

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Tjukurpa
Tjukurpa is the foundation of Anangu life.

(There is not a single word in English that conveys the complex meaning of Tjukurpa. This is why at Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park we use the Pitjantjatjara word. The Traditional Owners who speak Yankunytjatjara use the word Wapar to mean the same complex body of Law and beliefs).

What is Tjukurpa/Wapar?
The term, Tjukurpa/Wapar, includes many complex but complementary concepts.

Tjukurpa/Wapar encompasses:

Anangu religion, law and moral systems;
the past, the present and the future.
the creation period when ancestral beings, Tjukaritja/Waparitja, created the world as it is now;
the relationship between people, plants, animals and the physical features of the land; and
the knowledge of how these relationships came to be, what they mean and how they must be maintained in daily life and in ceremony.
Tjukurpa/Wapar Versus Dreamtime/Dreaming
'Dreamtime' or 'Dreaming' is often used to describe the way Anangu see their origins. This translation, originally made by non-Aboriginal people, suggests the beliefs are unreal and changeable. Tjukurpa/Wapar is no dream, and there is no such word as 'Dreamtime' in Anangu language.

Anangu are pleased that this interaction between themselves and the land has now been recognized as being of World Heritage value.

The Creation Period
The world was once a featureless place. None of the places we know existed until creator beings, in the forms of people, plants and animals, traveled widely across the land. Then, in a process of creation and destruction, they formed the landscape as we know it today. Anangu land is still inhabited by the spirits of dozens of these ancestral creator beings which are referred to as Tjukuritja or Waparitja.


Mala, or rufous hare-wallaby
The journeys and activities of the creator beings are recorded in the landscape. Sites where significant events in their story took place are linked by what we call, iwara (paths or tracks). Some of the sites are so very significant that they are known as 'sacred sites'. Today our people still know where these sites and these iwara are and where they go although there is no physical road. Our grandmothers and grandfathers teach us this.

The iwara (tracks) link places that are sometimes hundreds of kilometres outside the Park and beyond Yankunytjatjara/ Pitjantjatjara country. So they are significant to other groups of indigenous people too.

For example, the Mala Tjukurpa involves three groups of Mala (rufous hare-wallaby) people who travel from the north to reach Uluru. Two groups then flee south and south-east to sites in South Australia. Kuniya Tjukurpa tells of the travels of the Kuniya (Woma Python) from hundreds of kilometres east of Uluru.

Many other Tjukurpa such as Kalaya (Emu), Liru (poisonous snake), Lungkata (blue tongue lizard), Luunpa (kingfisher) and Tjintir-tjintirpa (willie wagtail) travel through the Park. Other Tjukurpa affect only one specific area. Many exploits of Tjukurpa involve ancestral beings going underground.


Kuniya, the woma python, lived in the rocks at Uluru where she fought the Liru, the poisonous snake
Kuniya, the woma python, lived in the rocks at Uluru where she fought the Liru, the poisonous snake.

Anangu landscapes are therefore full of meaning. They represent creation stories and associated knowledge of Law, relationships, plants, and animals represented in the shapes and features of the land. This knowledge has been passed down between the generations from grandparents to grandchildren. With the knowledge comes responsibilities and obligations to care for the land and each other in the proper way.

When Anangu travel across the land they do so with the knowledge of the exploits of the ancestral beings. Their knowledge of the land, and the behaviour and distribution of plants and animals is based on their knowledge of Tjukurpa. The elder people recount, maintain and pass on this knowledge through stories, behaviour, rituals, ceremonies, songs, dances and art.

Tjukurpa is the basis of all Anangu knowledge. The deeper meanings of Tjukurpa, known to the old and most senior people, are the keys that underpin everything in Anangu life - knowledge, attitudes, relationships, economics, spirituality, physical and emotional wellbeing. Tjukurpa connects everything in life. Therefore changes to any part of the land or the relationships have ramifications for other things.

Anangu Moral Belief System
Tjukurpa provides Anangu with a whole way of life. It includes rules, obligations, responsibilities and guidelines for relationships. Tjukurpa is the key that underpins Anangu attitudes and guides people's spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, moral and economic behaviour. It guides daily life through a series of symbolic stories and metaphors. The stories are not simple stories, but represent technically complex explanations of the origins and structure of the universe, and the place and behaviour of all elements within it. Ancestors provide the example of how to behave.

Understanding of such stories increases throughout their lives. For a child, a story may be a moral tale about greed, while for an adult it may provide complex explanations of ethical behaviour.


Law
Tjukurpa establishes the rules Anangu use to govern society and manage their land. It dictates correct procedures for dealing with problems, and penalties for breaking the Law. The proper way of doing things is the way things are done in Tjukurpa.

Since the coming of non-Aboriginal people Anangu have had to modify some of the penalties under traditional Law. Anangu have also adapted non-Aboriginal law to help enforce Tjukurpa. Sacred sites are protected under Commonwealth and Northern Territory legislation and hunting and foraging rights are protected under the legislation and lease agreement with the Director of National Parks. The Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Plan of Management protects Tjukurpa by using it as a guide for making management and policy decisions.


Children preparing to learn the Kuniya inma
Passing on Tjukurpa
Tjukurpa is not written down, but is an oral culture. It is a cultural obligation to pass on this knowledge to the right people. Ceremonies play an important role in the passing on of knowledge. Specific people or groups in a kinship system have responsibility to maintain different sections of Tjukurpa. This knowledge is carefully passed on to people who have inherited the right to that knowledge through, for example, their birthplace, or earned the right, for example, by progressive attendance at ceremonies.

There are many interrelated devices for remembering Tjukurpa, such as specific verses of inma (songs), site-related stories, ritual dances or art. The iwara (ancestral paths) are recalled in long sequential lists of sites, sometimes including sites beyond country which has been visited, and including sites belonging to other people.

Tjukurpa is also recorded in various designs and paintings, such as the 'dot' paintings of the Western Desert. These designs are often sacred, and use and creation is restricted to specific groups or individuals.

Some sounds are associated with particular Tjukurpa. The sound of the bullroarer, for example, is associated with secret men's ceremonies. It is for this reason that Anangu don't want bull roarer-like objects sold to tourists in the local area.

Tjukurpa is extremely important to Anangu. They can share some information with non-Aboriginal people, but the secret, sacred information must be protected and remain only with senior Anangu.


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The name has been aptly given to the Olgas as Kata Tjuta actually means 'many heads' in traditional Aboriginal language.


The Olgas are about 30km from Uluru and is made up of 36 rounded domes with the tallest (Mt. Olga) being 200m higher than Uluru (that's 546m).

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