Mowanjum

In the culture of the Worora, Ngarinyin, and Wunumbul tribes, which make up the Mowanjum community outside Derby, Western Australia, the Wandjina is the supreme spirit being. The tribes came together early this century at the Kunmunya Presbyterian mission and the government settlement at Munja. Since 1950, they have endured many forced moves, first to Wotjulum, then to the old Mowanjum site and, finally, to the present day Mowanjum site about 15 kilometres outside Derby.

As with most complex cultures, opinions about creation can differ. According to David Mowaljarlai (now deceased), a highly respected Mowanjum elder, the Worora, Ngarinyin and Wunumbul people are the three Wandjina tribes. Only these three tribes see the Wandjinas as the true creators of the land. Many other Australian Aboriginal tribes believe that the Dreamtime snake or Rainbow Serpent was the main creative force. According to Mowanjum artist Mabel King, during Lai Lai (the creation time), Wallungunder, the "big boss" Wandjina, came from the Milky Way to create the earth and all the people. Their belief is that the first people were the Gyorn Gyorn, scientifically identified as the Bradshaw figures, named after Joseph Bradshaw who, in 1891, discovered this ancient art form when he was lost on an expedition in the north-west of Australia and are known to predate the present occupation of Indigenous peoples, possibly as early as 30k before present. There is an belief with the Worora, Ngarinyin, and Wunumbul people that, Wallungunder saw that he could do good with these people, so he went back to the Milky Way and brought many other Wandjinas with the power of the Dreamtime snake to help him bring laws and kinship to the Gyorn Gyorn people. The Dreamtime snake represents Mother Earth and is called ungud. Each of the artists has his or her own ungud birthplace or Dreaming place. It is believed that the Wandjinas created the animals and the baby spirits that reside in the rock pools or sacred ungud places throughout parts of the Kimberley, and continue to control everything that happens on the land and in the sky and sea.

Sam Woolagoodja (deceased), a distinguished and eminent Worora leader and law man, described the Wandjina image by saying 'their power is so great that they don't need to speak, so they have no mouth. Their eyes are powerful and black, like the eye of a cyclone. The lines around a Wandjina's head can mean lots of things – clouds, rain, lightning. The Wandjinas, he said, painted their own images on the cave walls before they returned to the spirit world. In addition to being the sole holder of many sacred laws, one of Sam's most important responsibilities (and one that now belongs to his son, Donny) was the maintenance of hundreds of Wandjina cave images along the West Kimberley coast. This is to ensure that the Wandjinas' ower remains strong. Today, through the efforts of the Mowanjum elders (past and present), artists and many dedicated local people and businesses, the Wandjina culture is not being lost. Rather, as the artists continue to paint and the Mowanjum children begin to rediscover their own beliefs and heritage, the culture is evolving.

Gecko Gallery is proud to support the art and artists associated with Mowanjum Artists, Spirit of the Wandjina Aboriginal Corporation and acknowledges the information provided here has been adapted from that source.