In Kimberley tradition, the Rainbow Serpent (as Ungud) and the Wanjina spirits cooperate to control rain and fertility, with Wanjina bringing monsoon rains from above while the Rainbow Serpent guards waterholes below.
Ungud and the Wanjina work together in the Kimberley cycle of life — Ungud coils in the deep waterholes and deposits spirit children there at night, while the Wanjina send those spirits into women to be born, ensuring the continuation of human life.
The Wanjina spirits created and rule over the Kimberley region of northwestern Australia. Each Wanjina shaped a specific part of the country during the Dreamtime and remains present in rock shelters throughout the landscape.
The Wanjina spirits directly control the wet season in the Kimberley region. Their ritual repainting at the end of the dry season activates their power to bring the monsoon rains. If the paintings are not maintained, the rains may fail.
The Wanjina spirits created the Kimberley landscape during the Dreamtime, including its mountains, rivers, coastline, and waterholes. Each Wanjina shaped a specific part of the country before laying down in a rock shelter to become a painting.
The Wanjina spirits created songlines across the Kimberley as they traveled during the Dreamtime. The routes each Wanjina walked became dreaming tracks encoding creation narratives, territorial boundaries, and sacred law.
Namarali is an individual Wanjina spirit remembered for specific creative acts in his territory during the Dreamtime. As a specific manifestation of the Wanjina, he laid down in his rock shelter and became a painting that must be ritually repainted.
Namilgoon is an individual Wanjina spirit depicted in rock art near Gibb River in the Kimberley. As a specific manifestation of the Wanjina, his image must be ritually repainted to maintain his rain-bringing power.
Wallanganda is an individual Wanjina spirit associated with the Milky Way and certain star patterns. As a specific manifestation of the Wanjina, Wallanganda shaped celestial features during the Dreamtime before laying down in his rock shelter to become a painting.
Wanalirri is an individual Wanjina spirit who shaped his specific territory during the Dreamtime before laying down in a rock shelter to become a painting. His image is maintained by the traditional owners of his country.
Wodjin is an individual Wanjina spirit who transgressed sacred law during the Dreamtime. His punishment is central to traditions explaining why Wanjina are depicted without mouths in Kimberley rock art.
The Gwion Gwion are depicted in distinctive thin-figured rock art in the Kimberley that predates the Wanjina style. The Wanjina replaced them as the dominant creative spirits of the region, painting their own bold, haloed images over the older Gwion Gwion figures.
The repainting ceremony is the central ritual act maintaining the Wanjina's power. Performed at the end of the dry season by authorized individuals, it refreshes the Wanjina's rock art image and reactivates their ability to bring the wet season rains.
In Kimberley tradition, the Wanjina send spirit children from sacred sites and waterholes to enter women, making every human birth a gift from the ancestral cloud spirits.
The Wanjina spirits unleashed the Wanjina Flood in the Kimberley to punish transgressors of sacred law, after which they repainted themselves on rock shelter walls, establishing the ritual repainting cycle.
After completing their creative work during the Dreamtime, each Wanjina laid down in a rock shelter and transformed into Wanjina Rock Art. The paintings are not representations but the Wanjina themselves in transformed form, still exercising spiritual power.
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