Tangki Tjuta Donkeys by Tjanpi Desert Weavers

Listen to the story in Pitjantjatjara. Voice artistry by Tjulyata Tjilya, edited by Dan Bleby. An English version will be available soon.

The story of donkeys and their role in the lives of the Anangu people of the northern parts of South Australia, is spectacularly told in this brightly funny and wonderfully illustrated book. Brought in by Europeans, donkeys were quickly picked up by the locals, using them as transport between their communities, becoming friends and helpers.

The donkeys helped the Anangu make the journey, which once they walked, between Areyonga and Ernabella, the donkeys always making sure they arrived home safely. We are shown wonderful images of the woven donkeys set against the desert landscape, the birds, small animals and sparse vegetation also woven from local desert grass or tjanpi. All readers will develop a sound idea of the environment in which these people live, and watch out for the known objects showing the encroachment of European society.

The donkeys, malpa wiru, are recreated here in the woven form made famous by the Tjanpi Desert Weavers, and readers will laugh out loud at the antics of the animals. No more so than when a donkey crashes into a tree, spilling blind Older Brother from his back. The looks on the donkey’s face is telling of his embarrassment as he waits for Older Brother to be helped up onto his back once more. Or of the baby donkeys first learning to use their legs, or the donkey peering into a shopping trolley. Each individual sculpture had me looking closely at the way it was made, what it showed me about the lives of these people in the remote areas of this site.

An introduction tells readers about the artists, their faces shown on the end papers, while at the end of the book is a page of information about the Tjanpi Desert Weavers and their growth out of the women’s movement which promotes  life, creativity and country. More information can be found here.

Told in Pitjantjatjara and English and illustrated with the funny and very original woven sculptures of the donkeys seen in outback Australia, the weavings made by the Tjanpi Desert Weavers are an absolute joy, full of life and humour, reflecting the background of this cultural group.

Themes: Aboriginal themes, Donkeys, Humour, Western Desert, Anagu people.

Fran Knight