Peggy White Nakamarra

Rainbow Snake (2002)

Synthetic polymer paint on Belgian linen

Image size: 123 cm x 80 cm

Framed size: 162 cm x 120 cm

Peggy Nakamarra White biography

Born circa 1949, Peggy Nakamarra White has been painting since the 80's, working for Warumpi Community Arts Centre.

Peggy Nakamarra White comes from a long line of artists, an ancient culture that gave the World its most exciting Contemporary Art. Peggy depicts the Aboriginal ancestral Dreaming of The Rainbow Serpent with attention to details she creates modern inspiring paintings.

Peggy Nakamarra depicts the Ancestral Rainbow Snake travel from Winbarrku to Lilliba. According to ancient Aboriginal believes Ancestral Snake stopped during his journey at six sites performing ceremonies. The sacred sites are symbolized as the concentric circles, they are Winbarrku, Yuendemu, Mission Creak West of Yuendemu, North of Mission Creak - Place of the Water Hole, Lama Valley and Lilliba.

The dashes in between the curvy lines symbolize the Ancestral Snake spears and the two small black circles are his homes.

The “U” shapes depict women digging for water. Women dig for water in the damp areas creating soakage.

The central design of Peggy White paintings represent the Sacred Site of North Mission Creek. The three central circles depict the water holes and the adjoining lines represent the river.

The Rainbow Serpent or Rainbow Snake is a common deity, often a God creator in the mythology and a common motif in the art of Aboriginal Australia. It is named for the obvious identification between the shape of a rainbow and the shape of a snake.

Some scholars have suggested that the link between snake and rainbow suggests the cycle of the seasons and the importance of water in human life. When the rainbow is seen in the sky, it is said to be the Rainbow Serpent moving from one waterhole to another, and the divine concept explained why some waterholes never dried up when drought struck.

There are innumerable names and stories associated with the serpent, all of which communicate the significance and power of this being within Aboriginal traditions. It is viewed as a giver of life, through its association with water, but can be a destructive force if angry.

The Rainbow Serpent is one of the oldest continuing religious beliefs in the world and continues to be a cultural influence today. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).

Rainbow Serpent Dreamtime Story

The Rainbow Serpent (Serpant) dreaming in Aboriginal society represents one of the great and powerful forces of nature and spirit. Connected to water, the Rainbow Serpent is the great life giver, and protector of water, which is his spiritual home.

Rainbow Serpent - Spirit of the Waterholes

For Aboriginal people of the desert, the Rainbow Serpent lives in the waterholes of their country, and travels between them, either under the ground or in the storm clouds when a rain storm is moving. His presence brings on the rains and if he is offended he can prevent the rains and cause drought or inundations that cause people to perish.

Rainbow Serpent Rituals

People pay great respect to the Rainbow Serpent, especially as they approach a waterhole. They will sing out the Spirit from distance away, telling that they are coming to the waterhole, telling what their intentions are. They want to re-assure the Rainbow Serpent that their purpose is a good one, that they recognize his power, and that they intend to bring no harm or ill doing. By singing out to him, the Rainbow Serpent can hear that they have knowledge of the place and the language of that place, so that the people are recognized as being from that place.

While talking to the Rainbow Serpent, the people will take a handful of earth and rub it onto their bodies, so that the he can smell them. Finally when they followed all the necessary rituals, they can approach the waterhole to drink.

Rainbow Serpent Powers

People believe that the power of the Rainbow Serpent is so great that he can instantly whip up a storm, high winds and driving rain, and that he quickly drown anyone who does not know how to approach him properly. As a protector of water, the Rainbow Serpent also controls water, so he has the power over life and death in the desert.

In Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory the Rainbow Serpent is associated with rituals of abundance and propagation in the natural world, and of fertility and well-being in human society. It has the power over life and death, bringing conception spirits to the water holes, but also punishing those who break traditional laws.

Water and Renewal

Known as Ngalyod in the Kuninjku language of Arnhem Land, the Rainbow Serpent is linked to water sources around creeks and rivers, and is responsible for the production of water plants - waterlilies, vines and palms, that grow near water. The Rainbow Snake is held in respect because of the ability to renew life by shedding the skin and emerging anew. Aboriginal myths about the rainbow serpent often describe a fearful creature that swallows humans only to regurgitate them, transformed by her blood.

White Ochre

White ochre is often used by artists to create the brilliant white paint for bark paintings, body decoration and rock art, that show the image of the Rainbow Serpent.

Rainbow Serpent Names and Totems

The Rainbow Serpent has many different names and totemic appearances across the many Aboriginal languages of Australia. In all those groups, the Rainbow Serpent is part of the Dreaming and Creation story, continuing to carry its power over people today. Aboriginal people today respect and take custodial care of sacred sites where the Rainbow Serpent is said to reside.

Often certain activities are forbidden at these places for fear that the wrath of the great snake will cause sickness, accidents and even tempests. This is not always the case however and there are many Rainbow Serpent sites today where people may enter to hunt, fish or swim.

Rainbow Serpent Traditions

By painting Rainbow Serpent figure today, Aboriginal people are carrying on the longest uninterrupted mythological tradition in the world, which has been the subject of art and ceremony for possibly thousands of years. It remains as one of the oldest and continuous religious beliefs for human kind, and its images continue to be painted by Aboriginal artists today.

Warumpi Arts

Early in 1994 the Papunya Community Council established its own art centre to give the Aboriginal people of Papunya an increased involvement in the commercial aspects of Aboriginal art. This centre, called Warumpi Arts, maintained a gallery in Alice Springs until September 2004 and was the main centre for paintings by Papunya artists.

The Papunya Community Council then decided to close the gallery with the aim of later opening an art centre in Papunya.

The Warumpi gallery operated in a way determined by the Community elders, who ensured that profits from the sale of paintings and crafts go to all the Aboriginal people of the community.

The artists who painted for Warumpi Arts took considerable pride in their paintings as a reflection of their culture and beliefs.