#386 Women's Body Design (Blue) - ROSEMARY NAMPITJINPA JAMES: 60x72cm
ARTIST: Rosemary Nampitjinpa James
REGION: Jay Creek - W. Alice Springs
TITLE: Women's Dreaming - Body Design
MEDIUM: Painting - Acrylic on canvas
*All paintings come with a Certificate of Authenticity and are signed by the artist*
Women Dreaming:- Awelye – Women’s Body Design: -
Awelye (Awely or Alywarr) is the Anmatyerre word for women's ceremonies.
Awelye also refers specifically to the designs applied to a women's body as part of a ceremony. The women come together for ceremony, they paint each other up and sing and dance as they prepare for ceremony
The Awelye ceremony begins with the women painting each other’s bodies in designs relating to a particular women's Dreaming and in accordance with their skin name and tribal hierarchy. The designs are painted on the chest and shoulders using powders ground from ochre, charcoal and ash. It is applied with a flat stick with padding or with fingers in raw linear and curved lines. The act of decorating the body transforms the individual and changes their identity. During the painting which can take up to three hours, the women chant their Dreaming. The final part of the ceremony is when the women dance and chant.
It is women's business and is never done in the presence of men.
Biography:-
Rosemary Nampitjinpa James is from Jay Creek West of Alice Springs but she has settled in Darwin. Rosemany is related to Sonda Turner Nampitjinpa, whom she refers to as 'sister'.
