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In this painting ‘Wak Wak (Crow Dreaming Site), Rosina Gunjarrwanga has depicted a sacred site at Kurrurldul, an outstation south of Maningrida.
The rarrk or abstract cross-hatching on this work represents the design for the crow totem ancestor called Djimarr. Today this being exists in the form of a rock which is permanently submerged at the bottom of Kurrurldul Creek. The djimarr rock in this stream at Kurrurldul is said to move around and call out in a soft hooting sound at night. Both the stone itself and the area around it are considered sacred.
The pattern used here is the crow design for the sacred Mardayin ceremony which is a large regional patrimoiety ceremony now rarely conducted in central and eastern Arnhem Land.
Text: Art Gallery of New South Wales
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