Wind Dreaming, or Walpa Tjukurpa, tells of the ceremony performed to call up the wind, one of the many ways Aboriginal people worked with the natural world to manage Country.
What Are Dreamtime Stories?
Dreaming, or Dreamtime stories are traditional Aboriginal narratives that explain how the land, its creatures and its people came into being, and that set out the Law and cultural obligations that flow from that creation. Different language groups have their own word for it, Tjukurpa in Pitjantjatjara Country, Jukurrpa in Warlpiri, Alcheringa in the Illawarra, but the underlying idea is shared: the Dreaming is understood as timeless, existing in the past, present and future all at once, and kept alive through ceremony, storytelling and art.
Specific Dreamings, and the right to tell them, belong to particular families and communities, which is why the same country or natural feature can be explained through several distinct, equally valid stories, each held by different custodians.
What Does Wind Dreaming Walpa Tjukurpa Mean?
Walpa Tjukurpa translates as Wind Dreaming. It refers to a ceremony performed to induce the wind to blow, part of a much broader Aboriginal practice of using ceremony and generations of environmental knowledge to manage fire, water and the wider natural world. Aboriginal communities moved within set boundaries across the seasons, timing their movements to when different parts of Country were most abundant, and ceremonies like Walpa Tjukurpa were part of maintaining the best possible conditions for people living on that land.
The Wind Dreaming Story
Walpa Tjukurpa comes from Utantja, on Pitjantjatjara Country near where Western Australia, the Northern Territory and South Australia meet. Utantja is a large stretch of sacred ceremonial land set among hilly country, where a substantial rock hole holds enough water for people to gather there in numbers. It's here that people traditionally came together at set times to prepare for ceremony: painting up in ochre, singing the sacred Tjukurpa song cycles, and dancing the symbolic journey of the ancestors.
The Wind Dreaming ceremony was performed to bring the wind, cooling the land and improving conditions for people living on it. Jorna Newberry has explained that the wind ceremony creates air to cool the country, and that wind also assists hunters, since approaching game from downwind makes for a more successful hunt. Utantja's surrounding country is rich with kangaroos, camels, rock wallabies and birds, all part of the resources the ceremony was understood to help provide.
Jorna Newberry Aboriginal Artist
Jorna Newberry paints the Dreaming stories of her mother's Country at Utantja, in the Pitjantjatjara lands near the tri-state border of Western Australia, the Northern Territory and South Australia. Alongside Walpa Tjukurpa (Wind Dreaming), she is known for her Waru Tjukurpa, or Fire Dreaming, paintings, which depict the traditional use of fire for hunting and land management on the same Country.
When Jorna Newberry paints Walpa Tjukurpa, she uses a vibrant palette in which circles and lines trace the movement of the wind, showing it forming eddies over the land and growing larger as it moves across open country, a visual tribute to this ceremony and to the broader Aboriginal practice of caring for Country.
In her Fire Dreaming works, Newberry represents land being burned off in a controlled way, with sweeping fields of white for the land itself and swirling red for the fire and the wind that drives it, showing hunters positioned downwind of the fire line to catch the lizards, snakes and goannas it flushes out. Together, her Wind and Fire Dreaming paintings form a connected body of work describing how her mother's Country was traditionally read, managed and cared for.
Wind Dreaming Walpa Tjukurpa for Sale
Every Wind Dreaming artwork in this collection is created with the cultural authority to paint this story, direct from Jorna Newberry and other artists connected to Utantja Country. Buying a Walpa Tjukurpa piece supports the artist and their community directly, with full provenance behind every work.
Famous Dreamtime Stories
Dreaming stories exist across every Aboriginal language group in Australia, each tied to specific Country, families and custodians. Some of the best-known examples include:
- Wind Dreaming (Walpa Tjukurpa): The ceremony to call up the wind, from Jorna Newberry's mother's Country at Utantja.
- Seven Sisters Dreaming: One of the most widely shared songlines in Australia, the Seven Sisters Dreaming follows seven ancestral sisters linked to the Pleiades star cluster.
- Wandjina Dreamtime Story: The Wandjina Dreaming is about rainmaker spirits of the Kimberley.
- Bush Plum Dreaming: Bush Plum Dreaming is a Central Desert story celebrating the bush plum as a vital food source.
- Fire Dreaming (Waru Tjukurpa): The traditional use of fire for hunting and land management, also painted by Jorna Newberry.
- Water Dreaming (Ngapa Jukurrpa): The Warlpiri story of rainmakers and the storms that formed the desert's waterholes.
These are just a handful of the many hundreds of Aboriginal art held across the country, each one belonging to a particular community, and each telling its own story about how the land, its plants, animals and people came to be.
Dreaming Stories for Kids
Dreaming stories have always been used to pass on knowledge to children, teaching them about Country, food sources, family relationships and appropriate behaviour, long before they were written down. Many, like Wind Dreaming and Fire Dreaming, explain practical, everyday knowledge, how weather patterns work, how to manage fire safely, or where to find food and water, wrapped inside a memorable, often beautifully illustrated story.
Aboriginal-led educational resources and children's books continue this tradition today, and Dreaming stories remain a valuable, age-appropriate way to introduce children to Aboriginal culture and connection to Country, provided they're sourced respectfully and attributed to the community that holds them.
Shop the Collection
Every artwork in this collection is created by Aboriginal artists with the cultural authority to paint these stories, supporting artists and their communities directly. When you buy through Mandel Aboriginal Art Gallery, you're supporting the continuation of these stories for future generations, backed by clear provenance and a direct connection to Country. Contact us for further details.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Wind Dreaming Walpa Tjukurpa mean?
Walpa Tjukurpa means Wind Dreaming, referring to a traditional ceremony performed to call up the wind, which cools the land and helps with hunting by putting hunters downwind of their prey.
What is the story behind Walpa Tjukurpa?
It comes from artist Jorna Newberry's mother's Country at Utantja, near the border of Western Australia, the Northern Territory and South Australia, where ceremonies to bring the wind were, and still are, part of caring for the land.
Who is Jorna Newberry?
orna Newberry is an Aboriginal artist who paints Dreaming stories from her mother's Country at Utantja, best known for her Wind Dreaming (Walpa Tjukurpa) and Fire Dreaming (Waru Tjukurpa) paintings.
What is a Dreaming story?
A Dreaming, or Dreamtime, story is a traditional Aboriginal narrative explaining the creation of the land, animals and people, and the Law that flows from it. Dreaming stories are held by specific families and language groups and remain a living tradition, not simply a historical record.
What are some famous Dreamtime stories?
Well-known Dreamings include the Seven Sisters, Wandjina, Water Dreaming, Fire Dreaming, Bush Plum Dreaming and Wind Dreaming, each belonging to a specific community and Country, with its own story and artistic tradition.
