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Biography:
Jeannie Brown Nakamarra
was born in Haasts Bluff. Please view
Jeannie Brown
Curriculum Vitae
page 155
Australian
Encyclopedia Aboriginal Artists dictionary of biographies. She commenced painting in 1980's for the Papunya Tula Artists Community.
Jeannie Brown
depicts in her art stories associated with Haasts Bluff area. Her
work is represented in the Holmes a Court Collection.
Collections:
The Holmes a Court
Collection, Perth; and
private and corporate collections in Australia, America, Denmark and
Poland.
Dreamtime
People of Aboriginal culture believe that the
Universe was created by spirits (mystical beings) setting the blueprint
for all time the way human may govern their conduct. The spirits
gathered their food, dug for water, performing ceremonies as the
Aboriginal do it today but the landscape stay unchanged. During the
Creation Time spirits shaped all the landscape; hills and water holes
and given humans all the sacred laws. That time was known as “Dreamtime”
and it came to the end and their ancestor changed into landscape, they
turn into a rock or mountain range, an isolated hill, river or even
trees arose to mark the place. They look upon these spirits creators as
ancestors. Aboriginal believe in an existing connection to their
ancestor spirit and to the land. They are spiritual biological beings
appreciative of the fragility of the nature and making an effort to live
in harmony with the environment. Since every Aboriginal descent of the
mythical beings of the “Dreamtime” each person is linked by myth and
tribal relationship with the landscape, the rocks and watercourses, and
everything else in his tribal country.
Aboriginal Philosophy of life
The philosophy of life, known as Dreamtime (Tjurrkurpa) is based on
tradition conceived by totemic ancestors. Men and women believe to be
direct descendants in spirit of “mythical architects” who created the
land and different totems; kangaroo, Emu, turkey, lizards and the land
in which they live. They feel special affinity with their related totem
animal species.
It is
believed that sacred ceremonies have to be re-enacted on a regular basis
to maintain the animal species and ensure survival of the humans.
Each family owns a special area of land and must protect
sacred sites representing their personal totems Dreamtime spirits.
People travel long distances from all directions to participate in the
initiation ceremonies and to educate the young. The journey could last
days or several months and women hunt and collect food during the
voyage.
Aboriginal Ceremonies
The Dreamtime people marked the resting places and at the
waterholes, they camped to perform ceremonies to express their respect
for the land. To this day people travel the desert and visit the sacred
sites to perform ceremonies. The well being of the community depends on
women and men demonstrating their respect for the land through the
ceremonies. Initiates being taught their roles as nurturers of the land
and keepers of the law by which life’s rules and regulations are set.
Women ceremonies are conducted often to heal the sick, ensure fertility
of the land, and to secure social harmony as well as to ensure success
in love, when men ceremonies educate of their sacred laws and behavioral
codes to live in harmony with the land. Ceremonies involve songs, dances
and body adornment. They perform the ceremonies at different times of
the year. Each ceremony has to be organized, supervised and managed and
the performance of each ceremony dependents the person ownership, their
knowledge as well as their status. While many ceremonies are public,
various are secret and strangers, young women, non initiated boys and
girls would be limited in attending the sacred ceremonies. They main
categories of ceremonies are; education of their sacred laws and
behavioral codes and to ensure continuation of totemic species to live
in harmony with the land. |
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