The Rope Story

The rope story has many strands contributing to its beginning. There are traditional Pitjantjatjara cultural aspects to the use of spun human hair as a rope.

There was a rope sculpture carved out of wet earth made at Umuwa, in the NW of SA by Dora Dallwitz with the help of local Pitjantjatjara children in 1994. This followed Dora's work with sand sculptures at various locations in coastal SA.

A large piece of towrope was used as a visible tactile metaphor for culture maintenance by Peter Nyaningu and Bernard Tjalkurin during a series of community well being meetings called Uwankara Palya Kanyintjaku [UPK] across the Pitjantjatjara Lands in 1996. During the following years Peter and Bernard talked about spreading the word about the rope for all the people on Anangu Pitjantjatjara land.

Nganampa Health used the rope story at young men's meetings and at the Port Augusta jail as an idea for the prisoner's rehabilitation. At a Nganampa health meeting in May 2002, a group of young Pitjantjatjara males, with Peter Nyaningu, Bernard Tjalkurin and others built a thirty-metre earth rope on the banks of the Umuwa Creek. The effect was very powerful. Peter and Bernard were inspired to export this idea to the world.

Colin Koch was moved to seek financial support to bring the concept to the outside world after a later visit to this site. So the first Pitjantjatjara rope story construction and performance outside the Lands will be held at Womadelaide in March 2003.

The rope is a template for how to navigate our life. In the microcosm the rope represents the double helix cells, the umbilical cord and the internal fibres of the body.

On a personal level the rope represents the life an individual. From birth to death the way one leads their life.

In the macrocosm the rope can represent the communities inside a suburb, communities that make up Adelaide, South Australia, Australia and the World.

The Rope is made up of three strands, twisted together, each strand made up of countless individual strands. The Pitjantjatjara rope workers, led by Peter Nyaningu and Bernard Tjalkurin have named the three strands of the rope: -

ANANGU: The first strand represents the people, the tribe, and the community, which is made up of families, which in turn are made up of individuals.

MANTA: The second strand represents the land. From the sea to the family farm. The suburban block to the ancient tribal land. The cubby house to the Murray River.

KURUNPA: The third strand represents the spirit, the inner being, the personal view of God.

All three strands twisted together form the Tjukurpa, the Dreaming, the fabric of culture that holds our lives together.

The rope represents the past generations, the present generation, and the future generations. By looking back at how life was lived traditionally in harmony, with all three strands tightly woven together, we have a model to attempt to fix the impact of 'civilisation' on the rope today - on us all.

The past is seen to be unchanging, small impacts on the fabric of life. The rope is strong and binding and moves with predictable changes.

As life moved into the twentieth century the impact on the three strands, Manta, Anangu. and Kurunpa increased dramatically.

The rope is a tangible, touchable metaphor for our personal and community life. A lifeline from the past to the future. A model for everybody, now and forever.

Ushma Scales