Rosemary Petyarre

Bush Yam Leaves & Seeds

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Rosemary Petyarre

Bush Yam Leaves & Seeds

Central Art Aboriginal Art Store
Code: 10042106
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Size: 160x119
Year: 2010
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This artwork depicts leaves of the Pencil yam plant and its seeds, which were once an important food source for the Anmatyerre people of Utopia in central Australia. There are many Dreaming rituals attached to this plant and homage is paid by the women in their awelye ceremonies.

The Aboriginal women would gather the seeds, then crush and grind them into a thick paste to make bread. In years past, grass seeds were collected in a most unusual way. Because seeds ripened at different stages, many would fall to the ground and be covered by sand, lost from view. Ingeniously the Aboriginal women would look for the nesting site of a particular ant species that they knew collected the seeds, eating a certain portion before discarding the rest in a pile outside the nest. Once the nest was found the women were able to collect the cast off seeds more easily.

If you would like to know more about Bush Yam Leaves & Seed and the relationship with Aboriginal Art and culture, please read the following articles:

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