The eyes of the Wandjina can represent thunderstorms and even the line between the eyes resembles a nose, but is actually a power line which is used to transfer energy. © 2020 Japingka Aboriginal Art Gallery. "The Wandjina in a spirit sense is looking after me, our people; that was how we were taught growing up." There are three Wandjinas which represent the three language groups of Mowanjum. I.e. Each site and its art has a name. Before the British colonization of Australia, there existed several hundred groupings of Indigenous peoples of Australia with their own defined territory. Some of the artworks from the Kimberley region date back more than 4000 years ago. The Australian Aboriginal languages, before colonization, consisting of over 300 languages belonging to an estimated twenty-eight language families. See more ideas about Cave paintings, Aboriginal art, Petroglyphs. Mon - Fri  10am - 5:30pm They appear predominantly in rock art in Australia. Wanjina are shape-changing anthropomorphic beings associated with rain. After that he created the first human beings, the Gyorn Gyorn people.  Wallungunder travelled back to Idjair to bring back more Wandjinas to give the Gyorn Gyorn people laws to live by. round the heads of Wandjina are lines or blocks of color, depicting lighting coming out of transparent helmets. The Constitution of Australia, in its original form as of 1901, referred to Aboriginals twice, but without definition. Though cave art of the same type sporadically occurs also outside of Kimberley. The land of the Wandjina is a vast area of about 200,000 square kilometres of lands, waters, sea and islands in the Kimberley region of north-western Australia with continuous culture dating back at least 60,000 years but probably much older. The Wandjina paintings are characterized by common colors of black, red, and yellow on a white background. Wandjina Art: The other major form of rock painting in the Kimberley are the Wandjina, which have strong spiritual significance to the local Mowanjum Aboriginal people. Indigenous Australian Rock Art – Wandjina Style The Wandjina are cloud and rain spirits from Australian Aboriginal mythology that are depicted in rock art in Australia. Some attempts to date the rock paintings of Wandjina in the Kimberley suggest that they may date back 4,000 years. The Wandjina can punish those who break the law with floods, lightning, and cyclones. Rock Painting of Wandjina from Mount Elizabeth, Australia. Traditionally, bark paintings were produced for instructional and ceremonial purposes and were transient objects. The spirits are depicted individually or in groups, vertically or horizontally, depending on the dimensions of the rock. The Wandjina is depicted not only in contemporary aboriginal paintings, but has for many years appeared on bark coolamons which were used for food gathering and for cradles for newborn babes, ceremonial boomerangs and shields and a myriad of symbolic artefacts the Wandjina is part of the lives of the tribes who have for many many years lived and hunted and survived in the country of the Wandjina carvings. The painting style has evolved during this process: more recent figures are stockier, and some now possess eyelashes. “Dreamtime” is a term devised by anthropologists to refer to a religious-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal beliefs. Annual repainting in December or January also ensures the arrival of the monsoon rains, according to local beliefs. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Wandjina rock painting – ( Kimberley Foundation ) … Aboriginal rock paintings in the Kimberley . Joseph Bradshaw, an English pastoralist found the original rock art sites in 1891 on the Roe River in the north-west Kimberley. These artworks are now exhibited in significant museum collections around the world. Rock painting of Wandjina from Bachsten Camp, Kimberley Region, Western Australia. Wandjina is the most significant Creation Spirit, associated with rain and therefore the seasonal regeneration of the land and all natural resources. The spirits are depicted […] When depicted with only head and shoulders the Wandjina is said to be moving across the sky in a cloud or storm. Gyorn Gyorn paintings in rock art sites have been dated at 20,000 years and are often over-painted with Wandjinas and other imagery. It later also included the descendants of any of those people. Dreamtime stories tell how the Wandjina created the landscape and its inhabitants, and continue to influence both. Bark painting is an Australian Aboriginal art form, involving painting on the interior of a strip of tree bark. We examine a particular case study from Perth, Western Australia, whereby graffiti resembling Wandjina rock art figures appeared throughout the metropolis (Figure 10.1). … efreshing the paintings is a method of regenerating life force. The cyclonic Wet Season brings rain to the Kimberley, and elements of the torrential rains, lightning and thunder are often included in the imagery around the head of the Wandjina. The Dreaming is used to represent Aboriginal concepts of “Everywhen” during which ancestral figures with supernatural abilities inhabited the land. In Aboriginal mythology, t he Wandjina were cloud and rain spirits who, during the Dreamtime, created or influenced the landscape and its inhabitants. They are of broad-stroke art work. Repainting has occurred so often that at one site, the paint is over 40 layers deep. “Traveler, there are no paths. Today, they are keenly sought after by museums and public art institutions. These artworks were sold mainly through the mission at Kalumbaru. Inter-clan contact was frequent, as was inter-country communication, but there were strict protocols around this contact. The Wandjina images are often painted alongside much older images of Gwion Gwion (Bradshaw figures), that date back at least 18,000 years. When the spirits found the place they would die, they painted their images on cave walls and entered a nearby waterhole. Some attempts to date the rock paintings of Wandjina in the Kimberley suggest that they may date back 4,000 years. They are Namarali for the Worrorra people, Wodjin or Wanalirri for the Ngarinyin people, and Rimijmarra for the Wunambul people. The Kimberley mountain ranges stretch across the northern tip of Western Australia. This art is old, it belongs to a group of people, and it is a story that we can tell as a tribe. Within each region or country, people lived in clan groups: extended families defined by various forms of Australian Aboriginal kinship. The Wandjina (sometimes Wondjina) are cloud and rain spirits from Australian Aboriginal mythology that are depicted prominently in rock art in Australia. The Wanjina and their associated mythology, religious practices and rock art played a central part in the cosmology of the people of the north-central Kimberley. These figures were often distinct from gods as they did not control the material world and were not worshipped, but only revered. Creation is believed to be the work of culture heroes who traveled across a formless land, creating sacred sites and significant places of interest. The Mowanjum Aboriginal Art & Culture Centre organised it with some of the rock art researchers. The Wandjina represents the creator spirit for the Aboriginal people of the Kimberley region. The Wandjina images are painted in significant ritual sites for Aboriginal people of the region, and the paintings were traditionally repainted each decade to ensure the image was kept fresh and lively. The spirits are sometimes illustrated with other figures and objects like the Rainbow Serpent or yams. A full-bodied Wandjina is said to be present walking the Earth. Wandjina depictions are usually found as rock paintings in the remote Australian northwest Kimberley region. The facial characteristics of Wandjina can be seen to represent climatic features. National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian – Arthur M. 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The Wandjina images are painted in significant ritual sites for Aboriginal people of the region, and the paintings were traditionally repainted each decade to … The broad-stroke artwork dates to around 4,000 years ago. Rock shelters preserve a complex sequence of Kimberley Rock Art that may extend back more than 20,000 years into the Pleistocene era. This culture was practiced into the 20th century and today are still major identifying and unifying cultural elements. The dreaming and traveling trails of the Spirit Beings are the songlines. The environs of Nitmiluk National Park have some of the … For people of Mowanjum community, near the town of Derby in the Kimberley, the Wandjina brought the law, the culture and the language of their people. Wandjina images are painted on the rock galleries and in caves throughout the region, marked in red and white ochre. Wandjina is a powerful Rain Maker spirit associated with the north-west region of the Kimberley in Western Australia. You are welcome to review our Privacy Policies via the top menu. This new research has given us another new way of sharing our stories. Wandjina images are painted on the rock galleries and in caves throughout the region, marked in red and white ochre. The indigenous people of the Mowanjum Community repaint the images to ensure the continuity of the Wandjina’s presence. Begining in the 1960’s several Mowanjum artists depicted traditional Wandjina on pieces of string bark. Aboriginal rock art in Wunnumurra Gorge, Barnett River, Kimberley, Western Australia. Wandjina Art. The concept of the Dreamtime has subsequently become widely adopted beyond its original Australian context and is now part of popular culture. Ceremonial dances that pay homage to the Wandjina Rain Spirit can include headdresses that symbolically refer to lightning and thunder. A “Songline,” also called “Dreaming,” records the tracks across the land or sometimes the sky within the animist belief system of Aboriginal Australians. Refreshing the paintings is a method of regenerating life force. Sat & Sun 12pm - 5pm. Guided by respected elder Jimmy Dillon Andrews this is a once in a lifetime experience. Exclusive Rock Art tour in the areas surrounding Windjana Gorge! Today, the paintings are still believed to possess powers and therefore are to be approached and treated respectfully. Known by the local Worrorra People as Umbre, this area is home to one of the more accessible galleries from the sea. Indigenous Australian rock art in the wandjina style, Kimberley, Western Australia. The Wandjina, or Wondjina, Petroglyphs are a collection of various Aboriginal rock art located in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Paths are made by walking.” Nitmiluk National Park, Northern Territory. Their Dreaming stories tell of the first Wandjina, called Idjair, who lives in the Milky Way and is the father of all Wandjinas. Contemporary Aboriginal artists of the region continue to paint the Wandjina images on canvas, which allows the great Rain Maker image to move beyond his traditional Kimberley sites. They are a vital part of Aboriginal culture, connecting people to their land. The Wandjina is an ancient, powerful, mysterious and deeply spiritual symbol. While the Gwion Gwion paintings have been fused into the rock by millennial climate changes, the rock paintings of Wandjina are temporal and will deteriorate with the effects of fire, flooding, rainstorms and human and animal contact. This article explores the re-purposing of rock art imagery in contemporary graffiti. The emergence of this art style follows the end of a millennium-long drought that gave way to a wetter climate characterised by regular monsoons. These sites are sacred to Aboriginal Australians as they are inhabited by the spirits of their ancestors. The large upper bodies and heads may show eyes and nose, but typically no mouth. It is thought that there are over 100,000 rock art sites in Australia which provide a unique archive of indigenous art. The rock art we saw while we were in the Kimberley was from Raft Point – a remote, steep bluff of deep red rock that launches from the shores of the Indian Ocean. The category “Aboriginal Australia” was coined by the British after they began colonizing Australia in 1788. Aboriginal Rock Art Paintings Located along the King River Road these rock art paintings show Wandjina Spirit ancestors and animals, all painted in natural ochres. The Wandjina images are painted in significant ritual sites for Aboriginal people of the region. In this way, “songlines” were established, some of which could be used to travel right across Australia, through as many as six to ten different language groupings. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. The three Wandjina tribes consist of the Worrorra, Ngarinyin, and Wunumbul– these tribal groups are the protectors of the oldest known figurative art, which can be found all throughout Kimberley. Wandjina images are painted on the rock galleries and in caves throughout the region, marked in red and white ochre. (Supplied: Neil McLeod)Author Mike Donaldson has written extensively on Kimberley rock art … They have no mouth because they are powerful and do not require speech, and if they had mouths, the rain would never cease. Each rock art site and paintings have different names. The significance of the Wandjina story was shared by a number of language groups across the west and coastal areas of the Kimberley, including Ngarinyin, Worrorra, and Wunambul people. Photograph courtesy of Ursula Frederick, 2007. This rock art is only accessible with an elder like Jimmy Andrews – don’t miss your chance. This practice is a form of artistic expression in Arnhem Land and other regions in the Top End of Australia. The body of Wandjina is often shown covered with dots that represent the rainfall. Wandjina- The Spiritual Art Work of Mowanjum People The Wondjina Paintings were painted predominately using Black, red and yellow on the white background of the rocks. Around the heads of Wandjina are lines or blocks of color, depicting lighting coming out of transparent helmets. Ancient aboriginal Wandjina rock art in cave, Bigge Island, Western Australia. Kimberley Rock Art Visitors to the Kimberley region of Western Australia have the opportunity to discover one of the world’s oldest and richest rock art regions in some of … They have no mouth because they are powerful and do not require speech, and if they had mouths, the rain would never cease. Kimberley artist Jack Dale Mengenen's Wandjina and the New God Church (2009). These figures are depicted in large-scale paintings of either a complete human figure or simply a head and shoulders. The Wandjina can punish those who break the law with floods, lightning, and cyclones. They date back between two to four thousand years. The large upper bodies and heads may show eyes and nose, but typically no mouth. The broad-stroke artwork dates to around 4,000 years ago. In a lot of Western Australian Aboriginal languages "jina" means "feet", and therefore some see a connection between Wandjinas and the sacred act of walking the land. Bradshaw/ Gwion Gwion . The paths of the songlines are recorded in traditional song cycles, stories, dance, and art, and are often the basis of ceremonies. When they found the place they would die, they painted their images on cave walls and entered a nearby waterhole.. Wandjina are the supreme spirit ancestors of the Indigenous people of the Kimberley. Visiting a Wandjina site is, without doubt, the most dramatic experience in rock art. The term was used to refer collectively to all the people they found already inhabiting the continent. Stories of the Wandjina and the artworks depicting them remain important for the Mowanjum Community of Indigenous people. The Wandjina Wallungunder was Idjair's first son and he created the Earth and all life upon it. The Wandjina paintings are characterized by common colors of black, red, and yellow on a white background. The Mysterious Aboriginal Rock Art of the Wandjinas One of the most intriguing and perplexing legends of the Australian Aboriginal people is that of the Wandjinas, the supreme spirit beings and creators of the land and people. A boriginal rock art is the oldest form of indigenous Australian art with the earliest examples discovered at Gabarnmung in Arnhem Land dating back around 28,000 years. The Wandjina are cloud and rain spirits from Australian Aboriginal mythology that are depicted in rock art in Australia. Rock shelter Wandjina painting Within the rock shelters and caves of the northern and central areas of the Kimberley are preserved a staggering history of cultural change. The broad-stroke artwork of the Wandjina rock art dates to around 3800–4000 years ago. ... School kids teach expert a thing or two about Indigenous rock art. The emergence of this art style follows the end of a millennium-long drought that gave way to a wetter climate characterized by regular monsoons. All Rights Reserved. Wandjina style, also spelled Wondjina, type of depiction in Australian cave paintings of figures that represent mythological beings associated with the creation of the world. The Wandjina paintings have common colours of black, red and yellow on a white background. Annual repainting in December or January also ensures the arrival of the monsoon rains, according to local beliefs. For the Mowanjum people, Wandjina is the supreme creator, and a symbol of fertility and rain. These figures are sometimes known as Bradshaws. This site is also of interest to the WA Museum. The Wandjina are cloud and rain spirits from the Australian Aboriginal mythology. Small brush marks on the Wandjinas body usually represent rain drops. The term “Aboriginal Australians” refers to the people who are members of the several hundred Indigenous peoples of Australia. Wandjina rock art is unique to the Kimberley of Western Australia. By: David Wroth, Japingka Gallery, Updated: July 2019. 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