Australian
Screen

Teacher’s notes

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This clip explores the origin of the Jardiwarnpa, the Warlpiri fire ceremony, and the role it plays for the Warlpiri people. The Winparrku Mountain in central Australia is shown from above, the footage shot from a light aeroplane that has Warlpiri Elder Darby Jampijinpa Ross on board. This is followed by a scene showing Ross on country, explaining the Dreaming. The clip includes singing in Warlpiri language, some with subtitles, and the sounds of clapsticks. The final scene shows Warlpiri Elders and other Yuendumu community members at a meeting.

Educational value points

• The clip highlights the Jardiwarnpa, the Warlpiri fire ceremony, as part of a living Indigenous culture. It stresses that the ceremony – performed since the Dreaming by the descendants of spiritual beings who were both animal and human – is part of a continuing present. It does this by telling the audience that the people ‘are putting yellow ochre on their bodies’ and the Winparrku Mountain is standing up and feeling sad. The Winparrku Mountain is described as a person with feelings.

• The clip highlights the central role of Warlpiri Elder and law man Darby Jampijinpa Ross (1905–2005) in interpreting the beliefs and rituals of his people in Blood Brothers – Jardiwarnpa. Ross grew up in the Winparrku area and had seen the fire ceremony performed since early childhood. At the time of the filming Ross was about 86 years old. Jampijinpa was his skin name, and signified that he was a descendant of the Emu Being.

• Singing, clapstick music and voice-over commentary are combined with aerial shots of the land to tell the story of the Winparrku Mountain, where the great journey of the Snake began and the Jardiwarnpa ceremony originated. In the first part of the clip the audience sees the sweeping views of the land as if they too are able to make this journey and participate in the rituals. Shots of the mountain emphasise its individuality.

• The clip shows some of the Warlpiri country and people, whose land is situated north and west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. It includes aerial footage of the land forms but also of houses in Yuendumu, a large Warlpiri community in the central desert. These images combine to illustrate the ongoing connection to land and the importance of ceremony today.

• The idea of the Warlpiri Elders to make this film sprang from their desire to strengthen their children’s knowledge of Warlpiri cultural practices and to consolidate the community’s sense of an Aboriginal identity and voice. The microphone held among the group of Elders sitting together clearly suggests that the film is giving them an enduring voice. This community pioneered the use of media and video production as a means of documenting their ceremonial life.