The Wandjina, also written Wanjina and Wondjina and also known as Gulingi, are cloud and rain spirits from Australian Aboriginal mythology that are depicted prominently in

rock art In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Some of the artwork in the

Kimberley region The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami deserts in the region of the Pilbara, an ...

of Western Australia dates back to approximately 4,000 years ago. Another closely related spirit entity is the

creator being A creator deity or creator god (often called the Creator) is a deity responsible for the creation of the Earth, world, and universe in human religion and mythology. In monotheism, the single God is often also the creator. A number of Monolatris ...

Wunngurr, a being analogous to the Rainbow Serpent in other Aboriginal peoples' belief systems, but with a different interpretation. The stories of the Wandjina and the artwork depicting them remain important to the Mowanjum Community of Aboriginal people, and are one of the basic cultural elements of the Wanjina Wunggurr cultural bloc, which includes four Aboriginal peoples in the Kimberley.

Dreamtime legends

Some Dreamtime stories say the Wandjina created the landscape and its inhabitants, and continue to have influence over both. When the spirits found the place they would die, they painted their images on cave walls and entered a nearby waterhole. These paintings were then refreshed by Aboriginal people as a method of regenerating life force. The Wandjina can punish those who break the law with floods, lightning and cyclones.

Wandjina and Wunggurr beliefs

The Wandjina and Wunggurr spirits are essential elements of the life of the

cultural bloc Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

known as the Wanjina Wunggurr, consisting of the Worrorra (and neighbouring Ngardi), Wunambal and Ngarinyin peoples of the Kimberley. Rock paintings depicting Wanjina, as well as the Gwion Gwion ("Bradshaw") paintings, are evidence of the shared culture. The Wunambal people in the Mitchell Plateau area refer to Wandjina as Gulingi. Wunggurr is a variant on the Rainbow Serpent creator being belief, while the wandjina are local spirits, attached to places, and associated with particular clans. Although some local expressions use the two terms interchangeably, ''wungurr'' is a "more diffuse life force animating and underlying the particular manifestations of its power that find expression in all species of things, including the wandjina". One facet of wungurr is embodied in a rock python known as Wanjad.

Traditional rock artwork

The broad-stroke artwork of the Wandjina rock art dates to around 3800–4000 years ago. 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. The Wandjina paintings have common colours of black, red and yellow on a white background. The spirits are depicted alone or in groups, vertically or horizontally depending on the dimensions of the rock, and are sometimes depicted with figures and objects like the Rainbow Serpent or yams. Common composition is with large upper bodies and heads that may show eyes and nose, but typically no mouth. Two explanations have been given for this: they are so powerful they do not require speech and if they had mouths, the rain would never cease. Around the heads of Wandjina are lines or blocks of color, depicting lighting coming out of transparent helmets. Today, the paintings are still believed to possess these powers and therefore are to be approached and treated respectfully. Each site and painting has a name. Indigenous people of the Mowanjum community repaint the images to ensure the continuity of the Wandjina's presence. Annual repainting in December or January also ensures the arrival of the monsoon rains, according to Mowanjum belief. Repainting has occurred so often that at one site the paint is over 40 layers deep. The painting style has evolved during this process: more recent figures are stockier and some now possess eyelashes.

Depictions on bark

In the late 1960s and early 1970s several Mowanjum artists depicted traditional Wandjina on pieces of string bark. These

bark painting Bark painting is an Australian Aboriginal art form, involving painting on the interior of a strip of tree bark. This is a continuing form of artistic expression in Arnhem Land (especially among the Yolngu peoples) and other regions in the Top ...

s were sold mainly through the mission at Kalumbaru. Some of the important artists from this region include

Alec Mingelmanganu Alec or Aleck is a Scottish form of the given name Alex. It may be a diminutive of the name Alexander or a given name in its own right. Notable people with the name include: People * Alec Aalto (1942–2018), Finnish diplomat *Alec Acton (1938� ...

Charlie Numbelmoore Charlie may refer to: Characters * "Charlie," the head of the Townsend Agency', from the ''Charlie's Angels'' franchise * Charlie, a character on signs for the CharlieCard, a smart card issued by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority * ...

and Jack Karedada. These artworks are now in major museum collections around the world.

Other depictions

Wandjina were the inspiration for a 1966 children's fantasy television series, '' Wandjina!'', produced by ABC Television in 1966. In 2007, graffiti depictions of Wandjina appeared in Perth, Western Australia. Styles ranged from stencil-work to a spray painted Wandjina driving a pink car. Using Flickr and

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, several people engaged in "Wandjina watching", documenting the Wandjina graffiti they found. These "wandering Wandjina" angered and upset some Indigenous people who said that only certain artists from their people are permitted to depict the Wandjina, without saying who these people are. A short film, ''Who Paintin' Dis Wandjina'', discussed the Aboriginal reaction. Images of the Wandjina are displayed on the walls of the Ringwood Magistrates Court in Victoria; these are referenced as produced the National Gallery of Victoria. In 2016, during the Vivid Sydney festival, artwork of Wandjina by artist

Donny Woolagoodja Yornadaiyn (Donny) Woolagoodja (born 1947) is an Aboriginal Australian artist. He is a member of the Worrorra people of the Kimberley area of Western Australia. Career Woolagoodja is the first chairman of the Mowanjum Artists Centre. Woolagoo ...

was projected onto the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

as part of its Lighting of the Sails celebration. The Wandjina are referenced as rain spirits in the 2022 novel
Music in the Mirrors
'.

References