It is only recently that details of the Tingari Ancestral Beings have been revealed to outsiders, and even then many secret and sacred song and dance cycles were forbidden to be disclosed. At one time it was thought that the ceremony was for men only, but women now claim that they play a part in certain sections if it.
The Tingari Ancestral Beings were a group of old men who travelled continuously throughout the desert, moving from camp to camp to instruct Aboriginal men in law, language and ceremony. They were accompanied by novitiates and several young men who were initiated to a certain degree, but still had to pass further age-grading rites and receive instruction in the hundreds of religious song and dance cycles revolving around the adventures of the old Tingari men, the location of sacred sites which they had created, fertility rites, the significance of body designs which each group of people had to paint on their bodies for ceremonies, and many other secret procedures.
One of the most important dreams passed on to the people told how the earth was once a black solid mass, without light. Then one day the sun burst through the crust of the earth and enabled the first ancestors to see clearly. The moon also rose on the same night and shed its light over the land. The Tingari men were then able to travel around more easily, creating sacred sites, hills, sand dunes and other nafural phenomena.
This painting by Kuddtji depicts the country at Boundry Bore Utopia, relating to the Tingari ancestors and men's ceremonies. The site is where men's initiation ceremonies are performed. The colors depict the different visual aspects of the landscape such as grass areas, sandhills and vegetation at various times of the day.
