Nina Maraltadj

My name is Maria Maraltadj but people call me Nina. I have lived in Kalumburu all my life. I am Kwini, and my language is Bela. My family’s country is Cape Londenery area. I live in Kalumburu but we take our children to McGowan beach on the weekend and school holidays. It’s just 20km out of Kalumburu. We’ve been going there since we were kids; that’s when the old people used to teach us what to eat; what to find in the bush. Now we’re teaching our kids.  

I have two children, and two grandaughters. My sister runs Bela language courses here in Kalumburu; I help out by teaching the kids when I’m looking after them. I like getting together with the women at the Women’s Centre: to have a yarn, and paint. I mostly paint the Gwion figures that the old people used to do as rock art (you can find these in my mother's country, along the coast); they are the ancestors of our people. They are also our protector spirits of us and our sacred places and waterholes. Their songs and dances are about their journey through life.