Depiction of Wandjina
Photogallery
Depiction of Wandjina
This very old painting on bark depicts a Wandjina spirit.
Side A shows the figure of a Wandjina, an Ancestral Creator Being connected to the rainy season that brings the seasonal monsoon. The Wandjina is depicted in an anthropomorphic (human) form, with rounded shoulders, large eyes and a beaked nose. Another typical feature is the upturned "U" shape around the head, which is considered to be a stylised representation of the cumuliform clouds associated with the Wandjina, while the irradiating lines are mostly interpreted as lightning.
The images do not show the mouth, but usually they have an oval shape below the neck that may indicate the heart, the sternum or a jakoli (pendant in mother-of-pearl).
Side B shows a full Wandjina figure. At the bottom of the painting the words "Munja Fem. Tua unia" may be distinguished, with some difficulty. So far it has not been possible to discover the meaning of these words, with the exception of the word "Munja", which suggests that this bark was obtained from the Munja settlement, in the region of Walcott Inlet (Western Australia).