HEART OF THE KIMBERLEY

The Kimberley region of Western Australia is one of the greatest natural galleries of ancient art in the world. Many different styles of rock paintings are found there, but the most intriguing and perplexing are those depicting the mysterious Dreamtime spirits and legends called ‘Wandjina’.

Wandjina country is a vast area of some 200,000 square kilometres, embracing the land, sea and islands of its traditional custodians, the Worora, Ngarinyin and Wunumbal people, whose occupation dates back more than 40,000 years.

Wandjina

The Wandjina were powerful ancestor beings who came down from the heavens to create the land and all its inhabitants. After completing their creation journeys, the Wandjina returned to the spirit world, leaving behind their ‘shadows’ imprinted on the rock in places where they descended into the earth or ascended to the sky.

Wherever they now reside, the Wandjina continue to influence the land and people, bringing the rains, controlling the elements and maintaining the fertility of all living things. As well as benevolent seasonal regeneration, they can also deliver floods, lightning and cyclones to punish those who break their laws. As their images are believed to possess these