A closer look at Uluru

NOTE:  If you would like less narrative and more pictures, please visit my website. 


Our tour continued with a walk around part of the base of Uluru, during which we were told a good deal about the natural and mythic world we were visiting.  One such story is the legend of Kuniya, the Woma python, and Liru, the poisonous snake.  Go here to read more of this fascinating story, that like other Aboriginal stories, is used even today to teach their young people the values and history of the local Anangu people.  

This is a marker in a series relating the story.

Even without the legends, this is a magical place.  There is just something about it that makes it easy to see why it is a sacred site for the local people.  The grandeur and beauty of Uluru speaks for itself.

From a distance, Uluru looks smooth.  Up close, the view is quite different.  The rock gets its red color from the high concentration of iron in the material it is made from which oxidizes when exposed to air and moisture.  You would think that in this desert area moisture would be lacking, but quite even in very dry times, reserves of water lie under the soil, and they say the rock acts like a giant sponge, wicking it upward and releasing it in occasional waterfalls and pools.

Parts of Uluru are so sacred to the local Anangu people that visitors are not allowed to photograph them.  Separate sites on opposing sides of the rock are dedicated to men and to women.  This is not one of them, but both, especially the women's site, feature cave-like formations similar to this.  For us, they are a reminder that erosion plays a strong role in what we see today and will see in the future when much of what is "set in stone" will change.

You can see where water has flowed down from the top of the rock.  At the very bottom, you can glimpse a bit of the large pool at the base of this section.

Our guide illustrated the Mala legend with traditional symbol drawings in the dirt, much as elders tell these stories to their children.  Here is a recounting of the Mala legend.

This is our guide's rendering of the story.  The concentric circles represent watering holes or camps, the lines are the paths of the people, for example.

The local people have traditionally used paintings on the sheltered walls of shallow caves to more permanently illustrate their stories for the children of the tribe.

This shows some of the traditional symbols used to tell a story.

In the past, many Westerners climbed Uluru, and some of them died in the attempt.  Today, a condition of the partnership between the original stewards of the land and the government is that climbing is allowed in only one place, and it is discouraged even there.  On the day we visited, the climbing site was closed due to high winds

This is the only place on Uluru where climbing is sometimes allowed.  That faint vertical line on the rock is a railing that people apparently us in their supposedly arduous climb.  I have NO idea why anyone would want to do this, but I suppose the answer is, "because it is there."

On to the cultural Center where we heard more stories from a local Anangu man/artist, Vincent, and saw some of his art.  Other artists were working in other buildings there, paintings, bowls, carvings, etc.  No were photos allowed there, unfortunately.  Here is more information about the Anangu culture, the cultural center, and local art.