Culture, history and World Heritage
video: About Tjukurpa
video: Creation story
video: World Heritage
Anangu traditional owners have looked after Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park's landscape for tens of thousands of years.
For many people, the image of Uluru has become a national symbol for Australia and the natural and cultural heritage of the park has been recognised by the inscription of the park on the World Heritage List. This listing honours the traditional belief system of Anangu - one of the oldest human societies on earth.
'Tjukurpa Katutja Ngarantja' | Tjukurpa above everything else
Tjukurpa is the foundation of Anangu life and society. Tjukurpa refers to the creation period when ancestral beings, Tjukaritja, created the world as we know it, and from this the religion, Law and moral systems. There is not a single word in English that conveys the complex meaning of Tjukurpa. This is why at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park we use the Pitjantjatjara word. The traditional owners who speak Yankunytjatjara use the word Wapar to mean the same complex body of Law and beliefs.
Tjukurpa is the foundation of the Joint Management arrangement at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park
Tjukurpa/Wapar encompasses:
- Anangu religion, law and moral systems;
- the past, the present and the future;
- the creation period when ancestral beings, Tjukaritja/Waparitja, created the world as it is now;
- the relationship between people, plants, animals and the physical features of the land; and
- the knowledge of how these relationships came to be, what they mean and how they must be maintained in daily life and in ceremony.
