The Rich Heritage of Bush Yam Dreaming (Yarla)

Bush Yam Dreaming or Yarla Dreaming is one of the most interesting creation myths from Dreamtime that serves as a base for most Indigenous Australians. Dreamtime is not just a collection of myths but the divine stories through which dreamtime ancestors taught their descendants about the creation of the world and the relationship between people and the natural environment, as well as survival techniques that have been used for thousands of years. Bush Yam Dreaming shows how the native people share a sacred bond with the lot, forces of spirituality that nurture them, and the land that sustains them.

This Dreamtime story is based on the bush yam, a vegetable that thrives in the desert areas of central Australia and is valued for its nourishing qualities and for its role as a symbol of life.

The story of the Bush Yam Dreaming is not only passed orally but also through Yam Dreaming paintings, which have become part of aboriginal art and are referred to worldwide for their values and beauty. Apart from its medicinal use, the Bush Yam (Yarla) holds significant cultural importance in the desert cultures of Australia.

The Cultural Significance of the Bush Yam (Yarla)

Overview of the Bush Yam

The bush yam, or Yarla, is a starchy tuberous root vegetable from Australia’s deserts that has been an important food source for Aboriginal Australians for centuries. As seen in the desert climate where most of the foods may not be available most of the time the bush yam comes in handy in supplying food to the people. Yam harvesting also needs mastery of the land, a knowledge that has been inherited for generations by the people.

Apart from being an important food source, this tuber holds an important cultural significance. It is sung, danced, and depicted in artistic form as fertility, abundance, and a nurturing force. Swallowing the yam or even collecting and consuming it brings the Dreamtime into contact with the tangible world and re-establishes Aboriginal people’s spirituality with the soil.

Yarla in Dreamtime Stories

The Yarla Dreaming story depicts the bush yam as the key component in the spirituality of the landscape and ancestors. The focus of the Dreamtime narrative that is often presented is of ancestral women going on a spiritual quest to find and harvest the yams. This journey has a lot of rituals that remind people about the spirit of the yam and setting up respect towards nature and its creations and sustainable practices.

Yarla Dreaming stories are survival stories, which depict the people’s subjugation to their land and vice versa with cyclical themes. The life cycle of the yam makes the Aboriginal people remember the intertwinement of life especially in relation to the ground on which it depends and which should be respected. The very tuber itself that is the yam metamorphoses into a symbol that encompasses food, germination, and religion as people of agriculture get influenced by natural forces.

Connection to the Land

The story of Bush Yam Dreaming is one of the best examples of the connection between the Indigenous people and their country. The process of the yam’s maturation and its picking may also tell the audience something about the outlook of the aboriginal people on the land – it is not an object for utilization but rather alive and ought to be revered.

Thus, by making this link, the Aboriginal people understand the concept of the conservation of resources and sustainable living which has the part of their culture for many millennia.

This is not merely a physical link but a divine one. The land is considered to possess the spirituality of the people’s ancestors who are believed to be alive in the natural resources. This is well emphasised by the Yarla Dreaming, which demonstrates how the cultural values placed on the land and the resources to feed the people, especially the bush yam, is a precious gift that will be preserved for future generations.

Yam Dreaming in Aboriginal Art

The Yam Dreaming is popular among the Aboriginals which is why it can be found in paintings where the dreamtime story of the yam is illustrated. Most Yam Dreaming paintings illustrate the growth of the tuber, its channels on the ground and its link with the spiritual world. These paintings are not only colourful and beautiful but also carry lots of philosophies that are tangible with the Aboriginal worldview of yam and cosmology.

Like many others, the presentation of bush yam is depicted using dot painting and abstract forms to give an impression of its speciality.  Some depiction of the story differs from the Big Yam Dreaming where the yam is depicted as a strong core force that unites the several clans and regions as people depend on this crop. So, artists represent the Bush Yam Dreaming story through the artworks, and at the same time, they present it in a way that would fit the modern world and the perspectives of the viewers.

Similar to most Dream paintings, Yam Dreaming paintings also contain a lot of symbolism. This is illustrated on the roots of the upper part and the growth patterns on the surface by concentric circles, lines and dots as it travels through the earth and expands. These symbols also depict the water which lies beneath the surface, the other web of life supporting the yam which again focuses on how interrelated everything is.

Original Bush Yam Dreaming paintings are appreciated for their cultural representation and the narratives related to spirituality. Every single picture painted by the artist appears to be personal and directly related to the Dreamtime story as well as how the yam is seen by the artist. It is important to mention that these works are not solely mere ornamentations – they are sacred representations of cultural information.

Yam Dreaming by Emily Kame Kngwarreye

Of all the popular artists who did depict Yam Dreaming, the most famous is Emily Kame Kngwarreye, an Anmatyerre Aboriginal woman from the Utopia region in the Northern Territory of Australia. Kngwarreye’s work is best described as ‘abstract’ yet the paintings always depict the Dreaming story of the Yams. Her paintings are rich in colours and lines but stylised with dots and quick-flowing curves which symbolize the vitality and energy of the yam.

What is unique to Kngwarreye’s Yam Dreaming works is that they elaborate both, the material and the spiritual plots of the story. In her paintings like Big Yam Dreaming, one can see the stages of the growth of the yam, and the energy it symbolizes. Thus, through her art, Kngwarreye gained a place among major artists of the contemporary Aboriginal art movement, whose works found their audience worldwide.

The works of Kngwarreye are considered paintings with a modern approach combined with traditional symbols and elements. This is evident in her interpretation of Yam Dreaming; a work that is highly personal and stems from her lifetime relationship with the land and its narratives. Currently, her work is exhibited in numerous prestigious galleries and her paintings are considered to be among the most popular in the market of Aboriginal art.

Bush Yam Dreaming Paintings: Value and Authenticity

The number of purchases for Bush Yam Dreaming paintings has increased over recent years both within the Australian and abroad markets. People who love art and collectors find these paintings not only beautiful pieces of art but also pieces that hold great cultural meaning. The price of an original bush yam dreaming painting can also differ because of several factors which include the reputation of the artist who painted it, the size of the painting, and complexity as well as the authenticity of the painting.

The price that one gets to pay for a Bush yam dreaming painting largely depends on how well the artist has understood the Dreamtime story and how he has passed across the cultural and religious significance of the subject matter. Some famous people artists like Emily Kame Kngwarreye also offer some illustrations that can cost a good amount of money and the new artists are also coming up with new styles that are giving good recognition.

Another factor that should be considered is the legitimacy of the painting especially when purchasing Aboriginal painting. Potential buyers should approach galleries and dealers that are in direct contact with Indigenous artists, thereby avoiding fake and non-ethical artworks.

Analysis of Bush Yam Dreaming Paintings

Before one can comprehend and unravel a bush yam dreaming painting completely, the viewer has to take into consideration its use of colours, patterns and placement. All the above parts combine so as to create the impression of the journey of the yam underground, its evolution, and its spiritual linkage with ancestral spirits. Plain colors which include ochre, brown and red are used to represent the desert while lighter colors like white, yellow blue can be associated with water, sky or spiritual power.

The circular movement painted in these works of art, the coil-like twists and the dotting are representations of the yam’s subterranean roots and channels. Through a repetition of these symbols, a rhythmic pattern is produced within the painting that would mirror the cyclic nature of the seasons and the growth cycle of the tuber in question; the yam.

Analysis of the bush yam dreaming paintings from different artists shows variation in the way it is interpreted. While some of the artists make figures realistic and more representative of the story, others give a more contemporary and abstract look to the picture, as seen in the case of Emily Kame Kngwarreye. In this, however, all the Bush Yam Dreaming paintings have one thing in common, they are all done with the utmost respect for the earth and the spirit it embodies.

Buch Yam Plucking with Mandel!

Bush Yam Dreaming is one of the most fascinating and meaningful stories which reveals the sacred and historical values of aboriginal tribes. Thanks to yam dreaming paintings, this story is being told and thus the rest of the world knows a little more about how spiritual and connected with the land and its products Aboriginal people were.

If you are interested in further information or in obtaining an original bush yam dreaming painting, contact us or call us at 03 9497 5111. This way, you can support a culture that has been created since thousands of years ago.