November 25, 2024
A collection of resources in the Pitjantjatjara and
English languages published by Bible Society Australia.
Inspired by seeing the Children’s Bibles available in English, Nami Kulyuru, a long-serving Pitjantjatjara Bible translator from Central Australia, had the vision to pass on the stories of the Bible to her descendants using traditional paintings. Following Nami’s passing in 2022, her family and community ensured that Nami’s legacy would live on through “Godaku Tjukurpa” (God’s Story) – the Pitjantjatjara Children’s Illustrated Bible – produced by Bible Society Australia (BSA).
After sharing her idea with friends and colleagues, Nami began the artistic work for this book in 2021. She was passionate about seeing the children in her community, including her children and grandchildren, have access to visual representations of Scriptures with which they could connect.
In her role as a Bible Translator on the Pitjantjatjara Bible translation project, Nami was instrumental in the translation of the book of Habakkuk. Nami had the opportunity to see a final draft of Habakkuk completed before she passed away in 2022.
David Barnett, BSA’s Coordinator for the Pitjantjatjara Translation project, shared at the launch event that Nami described the Children’s Illustrated Bible project as creating a “visual map” for the indigenous Pitjantjatjara children to better understand the Scriptures. In many indigenous cultures, art is a method for communicating stories across generations – full of symbolism and cultural references. Historically, indigenous tribes throughout Australia have communicated their cultural origin stories and history to young people through art, painting on rock structures, in the dirt, and on their skin.
Nami’s visual representation of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4.
Tragically, Nami was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour shortly after beginning this work, and yet persevered through this hardship to create several more paintings.
In mid-2022, Nami passed away and returned to be with Jesus. Still, her family, community, and people inspired by her work would not leave the Pitjantjatjara Children’s Illustrated Bible unfinished. Nami’s friends, family, and colleagues – including fellow translators from the Pitjantjatjara translation project – took it upon themselves to finish this book in her memory.
To supplement what Nami had already created, this team of artists began working to ensure the artwork for this Illustrated Bible was completed.
Note: Video courtesy of Bible Society Australia, and available only in English.
Fundraising Support
In addition to all the artistic work done by the friends and family following Nami’s passing, generosity from a school community and family ensured the necessary funds were available to bring this book to fruition.
Neil Blenkinsop, Emmaus Christian College teacher,
at the finish line of a fundraising bike ride for the
Pitjantjatjara Illustrated Children’s Bible project.
Currently part of the BSA team, Jonathan Harris and his family chose to support the Pitjantjatjara Children’s Illustrated Bible project through a gift Jonathon’s father had left in his will, upon his passing. Jonathan shared: “Nami had the idea of helping the next generation get God’s word through art. This is exactly what Dad would have wanted.”
You can see more about the Harris family’s gift here.
Note: Video is only available in English.
In August 2023, Neil Blenkinsop, Senior School Teacher at Emmaus Christian College in Adelaide, South Australia embarked on a bicycle ride of 1,351 kilometres over eight days, from the Emmaus College campus to Ernabella – where Nami’s community is located. This ride was a fundraiser seeking to raise the $30,000 needed to finance the Illustrated Children’s Bible. The fundraising bicycle ride more than met its goal – raising almost $40,000 – and also united the school around this shared vision. Read more about this fundraiser here.
Connecting Communities
Blenkinsop is the reason why Emmaus College – which hosted the Pitjantjatjara Children’s Illustrated Bible Launch – has such a strong connection with Ernabella and the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. Neil formerly taught at the Ernabella Anangu School for a number of years in the 1980’s, before moving back to Adelaide to work at Emmaus Christian College. As a result of the connections he had built over the years, he forged a relationship between the two communities. Emmaus College’s Year Eleven students visit Ernabella annually, accompanied by Neil, where they develop these connections with the Anangu people.
Nami was one of the Pitjantjatjara teachers who worked each year with Emmaus College students in Ernabella. In 2022, Emmaus College commissioned Nami to create a painting celebrating the long relationship between the two communities, which is now displayed at one of the school campuses. The below video celebrates the long relationship between the two communities.
Note: Video is only available in English.
Special Launch Event
Nami’s friends and family who contributed to finish
the Pitjantjatjara Illustrated Children’s Bible.
The Pitjantjatjara Children’s Illustrated Bible launch event, hosted by Emmaus Christian College in the Adelaide suburb of South Plympton, began welcoming attendees at 1pm on November 2. The college’s recreation hall was converted into a gallery – displaying more than 55 artworks, each depicting a scene that visually represents a pivotal moment in the biblical text.
More than one hundred guests filled the hall to view the artwork, gradually increasing in number until 2pm, when the formal festivities began. College Principal Andrew Linke welcomed all the attendees to the event and school, and provided some context for the connection between this book and the school community.
David Barnett, BSA’s Coordinator for the Pitjantjatjara Translation project, took to the stage and introduced various multimedia and speakers to provide more context and information to the event’s attendees. Neil Blenkinsop was one of the speakers to share their story and why this project was so personal for him and the college.
As part of the event, the team of artists who helped to complete Nami’s vision were presented with copies of the book – an emotional time of gratitude and reflection. One of the artists prayed in the Pitjantjatjara language which was a touching moment, profoundly relevant to the event’s core.
Attendees were able to purchase a copy before they became available to the public a week later, and copies are now available to purchase here.
Pitjantjatjara Language and Context
Pitjantjatjara is a language spoken by the indigenous Anangu community in Central Australia. Approximately 3,000-5,000 Pitjantjatjara speakers live on the APY Lands, and many more live in regional centres throughout Australia, including Ceduna, Port Augusta, and Alice Springs.
Nami and many translators who worked on the Pitjantjatjara translation are from Ernabella, which is only approximately 250 kilometres away from the iconic Australian natural landmark, Uluru.
