It’s another day in the life of Pitjantjatjara woman Yanyangkari Roma Butler, and she goes hunting in the bush with her clever dog, Kungka. Together they track down an animal that is notoriously difficult to catch – and very tasty. Yanyangkari prepares the animal and cooks it up for a delicious meal with her companions.
It is important to note that Kukaputju – The Hunter involves the animated re-enactment of a feral cat being tracked, killed, cooked and eaten. The animation depicts declining cultural practice in the NPY Lands. However, people with pet cats and those who are unfamiliar with this cultural practice may find this aspect of the film confusing and possibly upsetting. In the NPY Lands cats are not considered pets by most people. This story refers to a time when people hunted for food, including feral cats. These days, Indigenous Rangers are in charge of controlling feral cats and there are changing values about pets across Yarnangu and Anangu lives.
Language Pitjantjatjara
Director & Animator Jonathan Daw
Cultural Director & Storyteller Yanyangkari Roma Butler
This film was supported by the Australian Government’s Indigenous Languages and the Arts program.
We invite you to enjoy our animations and consider a donation to support the work that we do across 26 communities in the tri-state border region of NT, SA and WA – a geographically-remote, high-cost region, but where creativity shines brightly.
