Ceremony

Colleen paints Ceremony for the ancestral dreamtime stories which belong to her country, Ampilatwatja.

A man can be seen 'painted up' for ceremony. Linear designs are painted onto the chest, breasts, arms and thighs. Powders ground from red and yellow ochre (clays), charcoal and ash are used as body paint and applied with a flat stick with soft padding. He is wearing a traditional headdress made from human hair that has been cut, woven into a belt-like piece and worn on the head. He has with him a number of traditional tools, including a club, a couple of boomerangs and spears, a water carry bag traditionally made from kangaroo skin, a shield and a coolamon filled with bush tucker.

Ceremonies are performed to demonstrate respect for country and the total well-being and health of their community.