Timmy Jugadai Tjungurrayi, 1976
On its travels in the Dreaming, the Mala passed through a wide area of Central Australia, including the Indajirri swamp, 400 kilometres west of Alice Springs, and Uluru in the Pitjantjatjarra lands to the south.
The painting shows the tracks of this fast-moving wallaby, indicating where it browsed (represented by a dragging tail mark) or made speedy progress. The circles are the tjanpingka (spinifex tussocks) under which it lives, and the arc-shaped protrusions are the Mala’s whiskers.
Discussion questions
This painting is about a wallaby from the Dreaming. Sometimes the wallaby moved quickly and sometimes it moved slowly.
Look at the tracks made by its feet and tail. Where do you think the wallaby was moving quickly?
Where was it moving slowly and dragging its tail?