#121 Women's Ceremony BARBARA PANANKA : Aboriginal Art: 95x144cm
ARTIST: Barbara Pananka Mabitjana - Price
LANGUAGE: Amnatajerre / Kaytetye
REGION - Ti-Tree Central Desert
TITLE: Women's Ceremony
MEDIUM - Painting - acrylic on canvas
*All paintings come with a Certificate of Authenticity and are signed by the artist*
Awelye - Woman’s Ceremony: -
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 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. This is women's business and is never done in the presence of men.
Barbara is an Anmatyerre artist and is mother to the Numina sisters – six daughters and two sons who all live in Darwin. She grew up in Stirling Station, a cattle station near Tennant Creek where she was schooled by her parents and started painting at a young age, learning from her mum Topsy Thomson Napangardi (deceased).
Barbara worked at the station collecting firewood, ironing clothes and general housekeeping duties for the owners of the station for which she was paid money. Barbara was married to Douglas (deceased) who was the older brother to renowned artists Ada Bird, Gloria, Kathleen and Violet Petyarre.
Barbara moved to Darwin in 2008 to be with her daughters whom are well-known artists in their own right the 'Numina Sisters'. Barbara still lives here today, occasionally going back to Stirling for ceremonies and other family matters.
See Barbara Pananka Mabitjana-Price Profile page for further information on Barbara Pananka Mabitjana-Price and her other works for sale.
