Jukurrpa

The sacred sites of Aboriginal art.

Wantapiri by Malcolm Maloney Jagamarra, 1994.
Wantapiri by Malcolm Maloney Jagamarra, 1994 © Malcolm Maloney Jagamarra. Photo: Heini Schneebeli/ Bridgeman Images.

For Aboriginal Australians, Jukurrpa is fundamental to how the world came into being. The word has its origins in the Warlpiri language, spoken in the vast desert landscapes of the Northern Territory, but is now commonly used in several Aboriginal languages. The Northern Territory has been inhabited by Aboriginal peoples for up to 50,000 years and analyses of rock engravings show that motifs still used in Aboriginal art are at least 12,000 years old.

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