In this abstract work Susan Pitjara Hunter depicts Awely (Body Paint) women's ceremonial body adornments. The women’s bodies are decorated in semi-circular stripes of natural ochres. The senior women sit and chant the song lines to the young initiates. The songs of their Ancestors and their law have been passed down to them from their forebears.

The delicate and highly detailed background to the painting shows markings and paintings on the ground beside and around the groups of women.

Ceremonies:

‘At dusk each day, women begin the verses of the song cycle that tell of the Ancestor coming to that place. The song ‘brings’ the power closer, with each verse naming the country or plants and telling of incidents on the way. Women paint their upper bodies with ocher during this phase and sing and ‘dance’ the Ancestor along. These Ancestors may appear as super-powerful humans or in the form of animals such as honey ants or snakes.’

An extract from Spirit Country by Jennifer Isaacs.