Abie Jangala

Senior Warlpiri Lawman, Rainmaker and Pioneer of Lajamanu Art, Abie Jumbyinmba Jangala (also spelt Tjangala) was b orn in 1919 at Thompson’s Rockhole in the Tanami Desert. Abie was initiated into Warlpiri Law and inherited his father’s custodianship of the powerful Rain, Water, Cloud and Thunder Dreamings. In a region defined by vast arid country, he became the most senior Rainmaker (‘rain man’) of the northern Tanami — a ceremonial authority whose knowledge ensured the spiritual and ecological continuity of his people.

As drought forced Warlpiri families toward European settlements, Abie worked at the Granites copper mine and later helped construct wartime infrastructure in Alice Springs. Eventually relocated to Lajamanu, far from his ancestral lands, he maintained ceremonial obligations while adapting to immense social change. Upon his father’s passing, he assumed full ceremonial seniority.

Initially, many Warlpiri elders resisted transferring sacred designs to permanent media. In 1983, Abie travelled to Paris with senior men to create a traditional sand painting at the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, declaring: “The permanence of these designs is in our minds.” This pivotal encounter introduced Warlpiri art to the global contemporary art world.

By the late 1980s, Abie helped negotiate a careful cultural path that enabled painting to flourish while safeguarding sacred knowledge. He became the first Lajamanu artist to hold solo exhibitions, represented for many years by Coo-ee Aboriginal Art Gallery, establishing a model for future generations.

Abie’s paintings are celebrated for their bold rainmaking iconography — rainbows, lightning, waterholes and frogs — rendered in high-contrast compositions. Early works feature deep green or black grounds with striking bands of red, yellow and white dots. His shimmering white in-fill, representing rain and hail, evokes both ceremonial body adornment and the meditative rhythm of desert landscapes.

In later years, his palette softened into blues and mauves, and his dotting dissolved into expressive, storm-like fields. Even when unable to paint, he created etchings, including works for the landmark Yilpinji – Love Magic portfolio. He passed away in 2002.

Spanning the transition from nomadic desert life to international recognition, Abie Jumbyinmba Tjangala remains one of the most significant Warlpiri painters — a senior Lawman whose art carried the enduring power of Country, ceremony and rain.