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Dreaming stories · Bush Damper Seed
Many Warlpiri artists paint the Bush Damper Seed Dreaming. This is an important seed for the women who harvest it and grind it to create flour and make damper, a bread-like tucker.
The story
The seed grows around the edges of waterholes. The women watch the budgerigars to see when it flocks to the waterholes, and then they know the seed is ready to collect.
WarlpiriMany Warlpiri artists paint this Dreaming.WaterholesThe seed grows around the edges of waterholes.BudgerigarsWhen the flock arrives at the waterholes, the women know the seed is ready to collect.Reading the painting
The fine white dots in the paintings represent the highly sought-after seed, and the concentric circles are the waterholes around which it grows.
Fine white dots
The seed
The highly sought-after bush damper seed, harvested and ground into flour.
Concentric circles
The waterholes
The waterholes around which the seed grows.
For more on desert iconography and the traditions this painting belongs to, see Central Desert Art or our full guide, What to Know About Aboriginal Art. For another Dreaming told through the same desert visual language, see the Tingari Dreaming Cycle.
Paintings of this Dreaming
Browse the Warlpiri works currently available in our Alice Springs gallery, each with documented provenance and a certificate of authenticity.
