The alukura is the women's camp, where women stay and are looked after by other women, especially whilst they are preparing to give birth. <br />During this time women should stay away from the men, and are generally looked after by their grandmother. The local women used to cut the umbilical chord and then have a smoking ceremony to keep the woman strong and the baby.<br /><br />In the Old Days the alukura was always in the bush, and then during the Mission Days the women built humpies for their alukura. <br /><br />These days there is an alukura in Alice Springs, which is run by the Aboriginal Congress of Australia. There is no longer an alukura in Hermannsburg, and younger women prefer to stay with their husbands during the birthing period. (Terracotta and Underglazes, 10 x 7cm)