Spirits from the past

Wow, just saw an article about the return of some archival photos of The Spinifex People. ... since I stayed with Nelly Patterson at their home (in Adelaide at the time), I've become involved with the finding and recording of old archival photos, with possible members of her family.

After I saw one small photo of Nelly as a young woman leaning on display in the room I was staying in,

her great grand daughter Wanatjura went and found the 5 other photos they had..... which I believe were the only photos they had of their family.

The 5 pics, were actually sent by my friend Shahnaz, taken when she met Nelly and family, many years before. Shahnaz felt that she needed to send copies of her photos to Nelly, as so many people were taking photos, and wondered how many ever made their way back, to those being photographed.

Since then, thru my connections with Nelly, I have been finding old archival photos in books and videos, and re-recording, screenshot-ing, them for Nelly and her family. Seeing the photos, is great for 'sparking' Nelly's memory, and I love listening to her, stories of how she grew up, 'nakedy' walking from place to place, waterhole to waterhole, learning all about everything from her uncles and aunts.

This began after we discovered, on one visit here, when my mum Liffy, showed Nelly a couple of her favourite books. The first one was a wedding present, a book of Namatjira paintings. On the cover is a watercolour of half a dozen men. Nelly points to each of them, naming them, or saying which area they came from, He's from Arreyonga He's from ...... etc. Then they looked at a small book with about 6 photos, 'The Red Centre', by H.H. Finlayson, and I look over their shoulders and see a face I recognize, as I'd drawn it, as a practice one night when trying to draw the face of a man who 'visited me in a dream'. I raced over to my place, and grabbed my sketch book. Inside were three sketches, of similar looking men. Side by side with one of them, and the cover of the book, Nelly points to both saying "That my Uncle"

".... And that my true brother" pointing to my first practice drawing, which had first caught my attention when watching the video. (below)

Why did he come to me in a 'dream' ? Why did I try and draw his face? (below)

Well....

When Nelly and I first met properly, down at The Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra, I was looking for a Nangkari, a spirit healer, to assist me in the final parts of a healing that I just couldn't work out how to do. Early one morning, I sat with Nelly while everyone else was still asleep, I told her my long convoluted story, from childhood experiences to present day, in regards to strange visions, body pains and my understanding of it all so far. Throughout my talking, Nelly would exclaim, "me too!, Me too". She understood me totally, despite the language difficulties of English.

When I finished, thinking that she herself is a Nangkari, she pondered for awhile, and began to say "I'll send my father to you, no I'll send my uncle ....... "..... I then witnessed what I can only describe as a three-way conversation between Nelly, her father and her uncle. They batted back & forth like a tennis match, "my father, no my uncle, my father, my uncle....etc" a few of times, with me trying to butt in with, "please no, don't bother anyone, I'll find someone when I next go to Alice for the Beaniefest. I'll try and line it up before I go, this time." I didn't really realise then, that she wasn't talking about, and with, two currently living relatives, but her deceased father and uncle.

It was only later, once I was back home, that I began to get the full picture. Her special Uncle had won the toss.

On returning home, my sleep was disturbed one night at 2 am, two nights in a row. The first night, when I woke, I had the strong feeling to draw the face of an old woman who had been talking to me. I got up, found a small sketch book and pencil. I drew a passable likeness of her face, but maybe, one of a much earlier age.

The same thing happened the next night, but with a man's face. This time there was quite a challenge thrown out.

A memory challenge. Like : OK .... here I am! ... memorise my face!, ..... now draw me!

With that he turned away, and I was left with the just the image of the back of his head, trying to keep his face in mind.

I grabbed my sketch book & pencil, and began trying to capture what I could. But with a linear drawing, I only managed to draw what I now call, an Afghan Trader, about middle aged. Not the older, strong, intense man of my memory. With a second attempt, I drew someone like him, but aged about 19 or 20. But I could still see his face in my memory, I just couldn't translate that onto paper with a pencil, and especially not with just lines. I felt I needed for him to sit still, in front of me, so I could do justice, like a portrait sitting.

A few days later, while watching Bob Randall's film 'Kanyini', I only got 10 minutes in, when I had to pause it, grab my sketchbook, and draw the young man I saw on the film. He looked very similar to my memory, so I used it to practice, shading the planes of his face, getting a much more studied drawing, frozen on my screen for as long as I needed.

Releasing the pause button, I paused it seconds later when another face looked at me and turned, just as I paused, getting a 3/4's turned away aspect. I drew that one too, thinking more 'practice'. Then I had a long late night phone call with the friend I had stayed with at Nelly's in Adelaide. Finishing the call with "I must get to bed!" I just had to release the Pause Button once more, and again Paused it seconds later, when another face appeared. I stayed up for another hour while drawing this face, as he was almost identical to the face of my 'dream visitor' !

I still felt that these three drawings were merely practice drawings enabling me to get a much greater resemblance to what I wished I could have drawn. It wasn't until Nelly's visit, with her, looking at both my drawing and the archival photo in mum's book, that I finally recognised what had actually occurred.

Once a Nangkari (Spirit Healer), Always a Nangkari ! Nelly had, sent me her Uncle, back there in Canberra. It was he who had won the 'I'll send my father, no my uncle......" battle/conversation in Nelly's head, that I had witnessed.

I had received, a 'Remote Healing' one night, a not uncommon experience for me, when I feel/hear someone other than me, say/imply, that I need some healing. 'They', use my hands, which I merely place on my body, where they direct. I burp and release 'stuff', and then have a great night sleep. This particular night, I remember saying to myself afterwards "wow ! that was .... different ...? .... That was very powerful ! ..... Aaaah!, ...... maybe that was Nelly's Uncle?" nodding my head, I thanked them both.

At the time I'm not sure if I connected the drawings to the healing, which came first? The healing or the drawing? I cannot quite remember, but I do remember some time later when I was seeing a local Kinesiologist (the kind that works with forgotten traumas blocking our healing), that Nelly's Uncle, Minnatjuku, kept coming into my vision at various points, saying "Yes, that fits", whenever I was thinking 'Umm, I'm not sure that relates to me?'. He was 'burping releases' for me, when I was doubting the answers my body was giving.

He is now, always with me, when I call, or when I need his guidance. He is my healer, my teacher, my re-Reminderer.

I have even had a 'Three-Way Conversation with both Nelly and Minnatjuku, when they were correcting me, when I was painting a portrait of Nelly, and some other 'stuff' was going on. I was alone, but they were 'telling me off'!

I'm still not sure if Nelly was in fact trained as a Nangkari or not. Sometimes, she shakes her head saying Wiya (no), other times she wavers her hand 'Jingaroi' (maybe), sometimes she has told others 'Uwa' (yes) .... so I'm left thinking, that Yes she did receive some teachings as a Nangkari, along with all the other Important Business she learnt carries. I think that despite my understanding of, 'Once a Nangkari Always a Nangkari', Nelly is trying to be a 'Retired Nangkari' ..... lol.

These are some of the tracks that Nelly would have walked as a young girl in the days before they had seen white people and motor cars. Many of the tracks are not marked here, I'm guessing, as one that passes Nelly's Homelands of Umutju is not shown. It travels between Pipalyatjara, where she was born, and Kata Tjuta

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