Mutitjulu

Mutitjulu is an Aboriginal Australian community in the Northern Territory of Australia located at the eastern end of Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock). It is named after a knee-shaped water-filled rock hole at the base of Uluru, and is located in the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. Its people are traditional owners and joint managers of the park with Parks Australia. At the 2011 census, Mutitjulu had a population of 296, of which 218 (71.2%) were Aboriginal.[1]

Mutitjulu
Northern Territory
Mutitjulu
Coordinates25°21′03″S 131°03′59″E
Population296 (2011 census)[1]
Postcode(s)0872[2]
Elevation523 m (1,716 ft)
Location
LGA(s)MacDonnell Shire
Territory electorate(s)Namatjira[3]
Federal Division(s)Lingiari[4]
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall
38.5 °C
101 °F		 4.7 °C
40 °F		 217 mm
8.5 in

The majority of the Anangu (people) are Pitjantjatjara but there are also associated Yankunytjatjara, Luritja and Ngaanyatjarra people with the languages spoken being Pitjantjatjara, Luritja and Yankunytjatjara. Arrernte people also have a traditional relationship with Uluru.

Tourism

Mutitjulu community run a number of guided tours for tourists visiting Uluru, who show tourists certain sites, and share Tjukurpa the story of Uluru, as well as of its inhabitants. These tours are called Anangu Tours, from the Pitjantjatjara word Anangu which means "people".

Access to the community is controlled by Anangu, who do not allow visitors to go to Mutitjulu community without permission. The community reserves the right to forbid visitors from entering their land.

The people of Mutitjulu are also the traditional owners of Uluru, and have an art exhibition there where they sell paintings and other artefacts.

Economy

Much of the economy of Mutitjulu comes from tourism at Uluru and nearby Yulara, a small proportion of which is funnelled back to the local economy. Despite this, Mutitjulu is not wealthier than most other Indigenous Australian communities.

Art centre

Maruku Arts & Crafts is a large and successful Aboriginal Australian-owned and -operated enterprise, run by Anangu (people of the Western and Central Deserts of Australia) since about 1990. It has a warehouse based in Mutitjulu, a retail gallery at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Cultural Centre, as well as a market stall in Yulara town square. Its artwork consists mainly of paintings and woodcarvings. With about 900 artists in the collective, it provides an important source of income living in remote communities across central Australia. It seeks to "keep culture strong and alive, for future generations of artists, and [to] make culture accessible in an authentic way to those that seek a more in-depth understanding".[5]

Maruku is one of ten Indigenous-owned and -governed enterprises that go to make up the APY Art Centre Collective,[6] established in 2013.[7]

Education

The community has a school which services students from Year 1 to Year 7, and a high school, Nyangatjatjara College. The cultural traditions of Mutitjulu dictate that once reaching adolescence, children must be taught only with peers of the same sex. Nyangatjatjara College is a boarding school, and hosts the young men and young women of the community separately in consecutive semesters.

As with housing and health, Anglo-European education standards at Mutitjulu, are far lower than the Australian average.

Language

Languages spoken are Pitjantjatjara, Luritja and Yankunytjatjara. Communication between the languages, however, is not difficult as most residents speak several languages and these Aboriginal languages are closely related, all being mutually intelligibly varieties of the Western Desert Language.

Efforts are made to preserve traditional customs, including traditional languages, but some English is spoken by most residents. The level of English literacy by Mutitjulu residents is higher than in many Indigenous Australian communities primarily due to the regular exposure to tourists at Uluru.

Relationship to Uluru

Many stories have been told by Indigenous Australians from all around Central Australia about Uluru. Some of these stories are recreated in paintings and artwork, and many relate to the dreamtime. Uluru is seen as having an explanation for why we are humans, and the stories help to describe much of the surrounding flora and fauna.

Climbing of Uluru

The local Indigenous community from 1990 requested that visitors respect the sacred status of Uluru by not climbing the rock, with signs posted to this effect in late 1989. In 2017 the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park board decided unanimously to ban the activity, from October 26, 2019.[8]

Ownership of Uluru

The Anangu consider themselves caretakers rather than owners of Uluru. For many years, Uluru was controlled by non-Aboriginal Australians, with motels placed close by. Traditional owners who had been forced out of the national park returned and settled at Mutitjulu, and worked towards restoring their land rights. Tourist facilities have been moved about 24 km north to Yulara, just outside the national park boundary.

Title handback

Title to the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park was returned to the traditional owners on 26 October 1985.[9][10]

Notes and references
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Mutitjulu (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  2. "Yulara Postcode". postcode-finders.com.au. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  3. "Division of Namatjira". Northern Territory Electoral Commission. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  4. "Federal electoral division of Lingiari". Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  5. "About". Maruku Arts. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  6. "Our Art Centres". APY Art Centre Collective. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  7. Marsh, Walter (20 May 2019). "New gallery run for and by Anangu artists opens in Adelaide". The Adelaide Review. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  8. Georgia Hitch and Nick Hose (2 November 2017). "Uluru climbs banned from October 2019 after unanimous board decision to 'close the playground'". ABC News.
  9. Toyne, Phillip; Vachon, Daniel (1984). Growing Up the Country: the Pitjantjatjara Struggle for Their Land. Fitzroy, Victoria: McPhee Gribble. p. 137. ISBN 0-14-007641-7. OCLC 12611425.
  10. "On this day: Aboriginal Australians get Uluru back". Australian Geographic Society. 26 October 2010.

Further reading
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