The story about maku (witchetty grub) is as vast and winding as their tracks depicted in my artwork. It's a story that I need to hold onto, to keep it safe. It's important for me to keep some of these stories a secret, so I will tell a safe version that isn't dangerous for you to hear. I will tell it from another perspective.

These important stories like this maku tiukurpa (story) inform my artwork and help Anangu to understand our history. Maku is important for Anangu as a source of good food and also shows us an example of how beings can evolve and grow in positive ways. If the Maku travel underground for a long time they eventually make it out of the root systems of those trees and grow nyalpi (wings) and start a new way of being. They evolve. They shed their old ways and become new again.

As a pastor, I can see strong connections between our tjukurpa and the Bible. Long before Jesus, there was Tjukurpa and God together. I can see that God was always with us, in our stories; Jesus came later. I am trying to pass all this knowledge on to our young people to keep our stories alive. We need to hold on tight to tjukurpa; to keep it safe.