Wirnpa (Lightning Man) - 2007, 2009, 2014, 2016
2007 Milpirri - Kurdiji
Wirnpa (Lightning Man)
Dance Story
*the lighting makes the dancer's blue costume look green
First a cloud forms, a big Milpirri cloud. It grows and grows. Then lightning comes and the rain falls down. In this dance the Jangala is throwing lightning at the cloud, hitting it to make the rain come down, opening up the cloud. Ngapa-Partaluwarna - hitting him, it starts to rain. "I’m Ngapa, I have to start falling down".
From the Milpirri cloud the first rains starts running. The rain is the legs of the cloud - the wanarri - (thighs). During the dance this dancer is being yelled at by the kurdulangu to be more aggressive when using the boomerangs to hit the cloud.
From the Kurdiji ceremony
Belonging to Skin Groups
Jangala, Jampijinpa, Nangala and Nampijinpa (Blue Group)
2009 Milpirri - Jurntu
Wirnpa (Lightning Man)
Dance Story
First a cloud forms, a big Milpirri cloud. It grows and grows. Then lightning comes and the rain falls down. In this dance the Jangala is throwing lightning at the cloud, hitting it to make the rain come down, opening up the cloud. Ngapa-Partaluwarna - hitting him, it starts to rain. "I’m Ngapa, I have to start falling down".
From the Milpirri cloud the first rains starts running. The rain is the legs of the cloud - the wanarri - (thighs). During the dance this dancer is being yelled at by the kurdulangu to be more aggressive when using the boomerangs to hit the cloud.
From the Kurdiji ceremony
Belonging to Skin Groups
Jangala, Jampijinpa, Nangala and Nampijinpa (Blue Group)
2014 Milpirri - Jardiwanpa
Wirnpa (Lightning Man)
Dance Story
In this Wirnpa (Lightning) dance it sings about the clouds being everywhere, not just Milpirri clouds.
From the Kurdiji ceremony
Belonging to Skin Groups
Jangala, Jampijinpa, Nangala and Nampijinpa (Blue Group)
2016 Milpirri - Kurdiji
Wirnpa (Lightning Man)
Dance Story
*In a proper ceremony, this dance can only be danced by an initated man so it would be wrong to have the child dancing.
The Lightning man sings the rain creating a giant storm. He is the Milpirri cloud spitting out Lightning. The songs talks about hitting the cloud, from behind, and the lightning striking, maybe the ground, maybe a tree.
From the Kurdiji ceremony
Belonging to Skin Groups
Jangala, Jampijinpa, Nangala and Nampijinpa (Blue Group)
Body Design
In the body design, you cans see the Milpirri cloud on the top of the chest, the 'legs' of rain (wavy lines), and the lightning (two straight lines).
Words of Song
Ya ngapa patarluwanu
Ya ngapa kunyanu
Ya milpirri-rli
We wish rain and thunder coming/shooting down.
Water
That is rain cloud.
Transcription of the song by Jerry Jangala (2009, 17 September).
Source - Milpirri at Lajamanu as an intercultural locus of Warlpiri discourses with others. A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The Australian National University September 2015 Yukihiro Doi. It was sung four times in Milpirri 2009.