Editing Wawalag

{{Short description|Creation spirits recognised by some Indigenous Australians}}
{{distinguish||text=the Wagilak (Wagelag, Wawilak, Waurilak) clan of the [[Ritharrngu]] people}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{use Australian English|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox mythical creature
|name=Wawalag Sisters
|Country=Australia
|Region=[[Arnhem Land]], [[Northern Territory]]
|AKA=Waggilak, Wauwaluk, Wawilak, Wagilag or Wawalik
|Grouping=[[Dhua]] moiety of the [[Yolngu people]]
|Similar_entities=[[Djanggawul]] siblings
|Details=Djangka-Bu (spirit name)
}}
The '''Wawalag''' sisters, also written as '''Wauwaluk''' '''Wawilak''' '''Waggilak''', '''Wagilag''', or '''Wawalik''', are ancestral [[creator being]]s whose story is part of widespread sacred rituals in the [[Aboriginal Australian culture|Aboriginal culture]] from [[Arnhem Land|Arnhem land]], [[Northern Territory]], Australia.

The story takes place in [[Dreamtime]], a period of time in [[Aboriginal Australian mythology|Aboriginal belief]] where ancestral beings created the land as well as the social and linguistic structures in it. The sisters are said to have helped draw linguistic and social differences amongst the clans in Arnhem Land, but the ceremonies associated with their stories create cultural unity.

According to the story, the sisters were travelling to the [[Arafura Sea]], but had to stop as the elder sister was about to have a baby and needed to rest. Later on, the elder sister goes in the river to bathe with her child and the smell of [[afterbirth]] blood awakens [[Yulunggur]], the Rainbow Serpent, who then comes out of its waterhole and swallows both sisters and the baby.

An understanding of a common narrative was developed through field-research by archaeologists such as [[Catherine Berndt]], [[Lloyd Warner]], and [[Ronald Berndt]] during the mid-1990s. Since then there has been an increase in the representation of the story through [[Indigenous Australian art|Aboriginal artwork]] that attempts to show the complexity of the story, and how it cannot be limited to the western idea of chronological storytelling.
{{TOC left|Characteristics and associations=|Narrative=|Regional Variations=|Role in traditional culture=|Modern art and representation=}}{{clear}}

== Narrative ==
The story of the Wawalag (Wauwaluk,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Meletinsky|first=Eleazar M.| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kzmlAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA166|title=The Poetics of Myth| publisher=Routledge| year=2014| isbn=978-1-135-59913-3| access-date=14 February 2020}}</ref> Wawilak,<ref>{{Citation|title=The legend of the Wawilak sisters [Arnhem Land, NT]|date=1979|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/228841340|access-date=14 February 2020}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> Waggilak,<ref>{{Citation|author1=Caruana, Wally|title=The painters of the Wagilag Sisters story|date=1997|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/211869653|access-date=14 February 2020|author2=Lendon, Nigel}}</ref> Wagilag,<ref name=ng1>{{cite web | website=[[National Gallery of Australia]] | title=The Wagilag Sisters Story: Paddy Dhathangu (Liyagalawumirri people) | url=https://searchthecollection.nga.gov.au/object?uniqueId=35365 | access-date=9 August 2021}}</ref><ref name=ng2>{{cite web  | title=Philip Gudthaykudthay – Wagilag Sisters, with child | website=National Indigenous Art Triennial '07: Culture Warriors|publisher= [[National Gallery of Australia]] | url=https://nga.gov.au/exhibition/niat07/Detail.cfm?IRN=163963 | access-date=9 August 2021}}</ref> Wawalik)<ref name=":3"/> sisters takes place in [[Dreamtime]], a period of time in [[Aboriginal Australian mythology|Aboriginal belief]] where ancestral beings created the land as well as the social and linguistic structures in it. The sisters are said to have helped draw linguistic and social differences amongst the clans in Arnhem Land, but the ceremonies associated with their stories create cultural unity.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Sinding Jensen| first=Jeppe |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1020670689|title=Myths and Mythologies A Reader| date=2016| publisher=Taylor and Francis| isbn=978-1-904768-09-8|pages=352–389|oclc=1020670689}}</ref> The story varies across the different linguistic regions in Arnhem land, but they all share a similar pattern that explains the origins of the Djungguwan, Gunabibi and Ulmark rituals, three [[Aboriginal ceremony|sacred ceremonies]] associated with [[fertility]], marriage and [[Age grade|age-grading]].<ref name=":0" /> During these ceremonies each clan reveals more details about their version of the story through songs, dances and paintings; but access to these rituals is usually limited to initiated [[Dhuwa|Dua]] males only.<ref name=":2">Film Australia, 2006. Background Material. Ceremony – The Djungguwan of Northeast Arnhem Land. [online] Film Australia National Interest Program. Available at: http://filmaustraliaceremony.com.au/pdf/background.pdf </ref>

An understanding of a common narrative was developed through field-research by archaeologists such as [[Catherine Berndt]], [[Lloyd Warner]] and [[Ronald Berndt]] during the mid-1990s.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last=Radok, Stephanie |url=https://www.artlink.com.au/articles/259/embodiment-concerning-the-ontological-in-art/| title=Embodiment : Concerning the Ontological in Art|journal=[[Artlink Australia]]|issue= 18:1 |date= March 1998}}</ref>

The myth tends to be told as a group of related events rather than a continuous narrative that follows a linear structure.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":5" /><ref name=":9">1966-1972. ''Field Museum Of Natural History Bulletin''. [Bulletin] University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, biodiversity, fieldiana. Chicago. https://archive.org/details/bulletin43fiel/page/n1/mode/2up</ref>

===The storyline===
It is said that the sisters were travelling from the south of Arnhem Land to the [[Arafura Sea]], walking only through territory of Dua moiety.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":2" /> They gathered plants and animals along the way to prepare and eat later.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":4" /> They stop to rest and set camp near the Mirrirmina waterhole where the elder sister gives birth.<ref name=":3" /> While the younger sister prepared a fire to cook the food they had gathered, the elder sister takes the baby near the water to bathe him.<ref name=":5" /> Some of the residual afterbirth blood goes in the waterhole where [[Rainbow Serpent|Yurlunggur]], the rainbow serpent, resides and attracts its attention.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":2" />&nbsp;The food the younger sister was preparing comes back to life and crawls away from the fire and into the waterhole.<ref name=":5" /><ref>Dussart, F, Charlesworth, M, & Morphy, H 2016, ''Aboriginal Religions in Australia : An Anthology of Recent Writings'' , 1st ed., Taylor and Francis, London, {{doi|10.4324/9781315263519}}</ref>&nbsp;The serpent removes a rock that was lying at the bottom of the well and throws it onto the land, the well starts filling up with more water and the land begins to flood.<ref name=":3" /> A dark cloud forms on top of where the sisters had set camp and a thunderstorm begins.<ref name=":0" /> Unaware that it was the snake causing the [[thunderstorm]] and the [[flood]]ing, they build a [[hut]] to protect themselves.<ref name=":4">{{Citation|last=Berndt|first=Catherine H.|title=Monsoon and Honey Wind|date=1970-12-31|work=Échanges et communications|pages=1306–1326|publisher=De Gruyter|doi=10.1515/9783111698281-034|isbn=978-3-11-169828-1|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{cite web|title=Dust Echoes: The Wagalak Sisters: A Study Guide|url=https://education.abc.net.au/res/pdf/DustEchoes-TheWagalak-StudyGuide.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200214051741/https://education.abc.net.au/res/pdf/DustEchoes-TheWagalak-StudyGuide.pdf |archive-date=2020-02-14 |url-status=live| last=Lewis| first=Robert| date=2007| website=ABC Education|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation and ATOM|others=From ''Screen Education'' magazine}} A study guide to accompany {{cite web|title=[Dust Echoes] Chapter 10: The Wagalak sisters|url=https://education.abc.net.au/home#!/digibook/2570774/dust-echoes|date=16 May 2017|website=ABC Education|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|format=video}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

When the sisters see Yurlunggur crawl out of its waterhole, they start singing the sacred songs, which are now part of the Djungguan, Ulmark, and Gunabibi ceremonies, in an attempt to keep the snake away.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" /> They continue to sing and dance, taking turns until the storm appears to ease, exhausted the sister seek refuge in the hut where they fall asleep.<ref name=":5" /> The serpent enters the hut and swallows both sisters and the baby, then it rises up to the sky and proceeds to finish singing the songs the sister were singing.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Wawalag |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/wawalag|website=www.encyclopedia.com|access-date=2020-05-31}}</ref>

After swallowing the sisters and the baby, Yurlunggur and other totemic snakes gather together to tell one another what they had eaten.<ref name=":1" /> The snakes realise that they were not speaking the same dialect but despite this they could still communicate using the sacred songs. At first, Yulunggur tries to hide that he/she had eaten the sisters and their baby but he/she, feeling unwell, admits the truth and regurgitates them.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":2" /> The serpent swallows and regurgitates them again, and the third time he/she swallows them and takes them back to Wawilak country where he spits out the two sisters which then turn to stone<ref name=":3" />

=== Regional variations ===
Each clan of Dua moiety has its own version of the story as the songs, dances and painting used to tell the story changes according to the relationship the ancestral beings had with the clan's land.<ref name=":3" /> The most common differences amongst the various interpretations are the places in which the sisters camped and the combination of plants and animals they gathered along the way.<ref name=":4" />  This is  determined by the geographical location of a clan, as these details are often changed to make it more relatable to their context by using the animals and territory they are familiar with.<ref name=":1" /> The group of events that each clan has access to or ownership of also varies, meaning that the more clans a person is affiliated to, the more knowledge about the story they will have. People affiliated to the [[Djinang language|Marrakulu]] clan country, for example, have knowledge that focuses on the journey of the sisters from Nilitji to Guaka'wuy, where it is said that they encounter the first ancestral people of Australia, also known as Djuwany people.<ref name=":2" />

== Characteristics and associations ==
The sisters were from [[Ngukurr]] and they were part of the Wawalak clan which belongs to the Dua [[Moiety (kinship)|moiety]], one of the many&nbsp; [[Australian Aboriginal kinship]] groups of the Yolngu people.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book|last1=Buchler|first1=Ira R.|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1089423795|title=The Rainbow Serpent : a Chromatic Piece| last2=Maddock |first2=Kenneth| year=1978| isbn=978-3-11-080716-5 |pages=76–85| oclc=1089423795}}</ref><ref name=":5" /> Most commonly, the elder sister, ''Waimariwi'', is pregnant while the younger one, ''Boaliri'', is going through early puberty.<ref name=":4" /> In other versions, the younger sister is pregnant while the elder sister already has a baby that is around two to three years old. It is unclear what gender the baby is as it is addressed as both male and female. They were creation beings who travelled through Arnhem Land performing [[songline|song and dance cycles]] that revealed, for the first time, the names of the places they were walking through and the plants and animals they gathered along the way.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":10">{{Cite journal|last=Swain|first=Tony|date=February 1991|title=The Earth Mother from Northern Waters|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/463227|journal=History of Religions|language=en|volume=30|issue=3|pages=223–260|doi=10.1086/463227|s2cid=162308386|issn=0018-2710}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> Because of this, they are associated with the development of moieties and language in  Arnhem Land.

=== Moieties ===

The myth is closely associated with the importance of moieties and the [[Australian Aboriginal avoidance practices|avoidance practices]] that go along with them.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":7" /> In Arnhem Land, the Yolngu clans are divided into two [[Australian Aboriginal kinship|moieties]], [[Dhuwa|Dua]], also known as Dhuwa, and [[Yirritja]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" /> According to the story, the sisters only travel through Dua territory, meaning that everything they encountered also share the same moiety.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal|last=Hargrave|first=Susanne|date=1983|title=Two Sister Myths: A Structural Analysis|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/j.1834-4461.1983.tb01998.x| journal=Oceania| volume=53|issue=4|pages=347–357|doi=10.1002/j.1834-4461.1983.tb01998.x|issn=0029-8077}}</ref> In some versions of the story, there is a strong focus on the pregnancy being a result of an [[incestuous]] relationship between the elder sister and a Dua clansmen; while they may not be directly related, they share the same moiety, which is why the act is frowned upon.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":8" />&nbsp;When the baby is born, the sisters encounter for the first time something that does not belong to the Dhua moiety, as children take the opposite moiety from their mother's, making the baby Yirritja.<ref name=":3" />

Similarly, the Rainbow Serpent swallowing the sisters is also seen as an act of incest, as the serpent is also of Dua moiety.<ref name=":3" /> While it is unclear if Yulunggur, the serpent, is male or female because it is often referred to as both, the encounter between he/she and the sisters is often interpreted as a symbolism of sex.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":0" />

=== Language ===
The story is also associated with the origin of linguistic differences in Arnhem Land. During their journey, the sisters were singing and naming the different  plants and animals they were gathering as well as the territories they were passing through.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":8" /> They do this by using a range of dialects including Djaun, Rainbarngo, Djimba, Wawilak, and Liaalaomir.<ref name=":3" /> The emergence of linguistic differences is mainly addressed at the end of the story, when Yulunggur gathers with the other totemic serpents and realises that they speak different dialects.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":7" />

== Role in traditional culture ==
===Rituals and ceremonies===
The story of these ancestral beings forms the basis of sacred rituals that are widespread across Arnhem Land.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal| last1=Berndt| first1=Ronald| last2=Berndt| first2=Catherine| author-link1= Ronald Berndt| author-link2=Catherine Berndt|date=1948| title=Sacred Figures of Ancestral Beings of Arnhem Land| journal=Oceania| volume=18| issue=4| pages=309–326| doi=10.1002/j.1834-4461.1948.tb00487.x}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal| last=Eliade| first=Mircea| date=1967| title=Australian Religions. Part III: Initiation Rites and Secret Cults|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/462555|journal=History of Religions| volume=7| issue=1| pages=61–90| doi=10.1086/462555| s2cid=162261057| issn=0018-2710}}</ref> The story of the sisters embody what the clans consider their [[religious law]] and it is traditionally told through paintings, sculptures, song and dance cycles.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> These sacred laws, also referred to as ''[[madayin]]'', are specific to each clan and they are taught during three [[Ceremony|ceremonies]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> Because of the sacred nature of these rituals, there is a restricted access to them and a limited understanding of the knowledge shared during them.

Djungguwan is considered the initiation ritual when young boys from the Dua moiety are [[Circumcision|circumcised]] and introduced to the cultural laws of their clan through the story of the sisters.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> In the narrative, the gender of the babies is ambiguous, sometimes they are referred to as sons or  daughters, because they are yet to be circumcised.<ref name=":3" /> The removal of the foreskin marks the separation of what is considered the 'female part of male infants'<ref name=":3" /> Dua men and women come together to perform dance and [[song cycle]]s which represent the snake awakening when it smelled the blood and exited the waterhole to make its way to the sisters’ [[hut]].<ref name=":1" /> In 1966 footage of the ceremony was captured, parts of the ritual were not shown as they are only accessible for&nbsp; those taking part in the ritual or initiated Dua men.<ref name=":2" />

Gunabibi is a [[fertility]] ritual that is done during dry season; the song and dance cycles focus on recreating the part of the story where the land was flooding because of the rain.<ref name=":1" /> The transition from dry season to wet is often seen as a symbol of fertility in the story, making this the main focus of this ritual.<ref name=":10" /> For weeks, both men and women perform together non-sacred songs until the [[bullroarer]] is turned, representing the voice of Yurlunggur.<ref name=":1" />

Ulmark ceremony, also known as Ngurlmak, is the final ceremony and while it involves other myths, it "re-emphasizes the fertility elements and the bisexual symbolism already present in the first two" ceremonies.<ref name=":1" />

These rituals belong to the Dhua moiety which means that the clans affiliated to it are the owners and custodians of the knowledge shared during them. However, clans of the Yirritja moiety are involved during some parts of these rituals<ref name=":3" />

=== Totems and paintings ===
During these rituals, wooden sculptures and [[bark painting]]s are used as mnemonic devices to tell parts of the story and or represent the sisters.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":8" /> Some of these objects are considered sacred and can only be accessed and made by a select group  of men.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":9" />  What limits how public the display of these objects can be is the ceremonial context not the design itself.<ref name=":2" /> The process behind making the wood-cravings is lengthy, a lot of detail goes into the [[totem]]ic painting as the specific pattern and colours used is what symbolises the connection with the ancestral being.<ref name=":0" /> These painted designs can be used and adapted to other media, such as bark painting, [[sand sculpture]], [[body painting]], etc.<ref name=":2" /> Because the story varies among clans depending on their geographical origin, the design used also changes to fit their interpretation.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":2" />

=== Sacred sites ===
Some of the locations mentioned in the story are considered ceremonial grounds while others have become [[Aboriginal sacred site|sacred sites]] that cannot be visited.<ref name=":5" /> For example, the Mirrimina waterhole, which is where the sisters last camped before being swallowed by the serpent, can only be visited by elder clansmen.<ref name=":7" /> The Liaalaomir, Gunabibi and Ulmark dancing grounds, which according to the story were made by the impact of Yurlunggur falling sick to the ground after swallowing the sisters and their babies, are considered sacred territory where ceremonies are held.<ref name=":3" />

== Modern art and representation ==
Since the late 1990s there has been a shift in the way knowledge about the story is shared, making it more accessible to people outside of the Indigenous community from Arnhem Land, creating a better understanding of Aboriginal culture.<ref name=":6" /> There are still strong restrictions as to what type of knowledge can be shared, and the design and patterns used in the artistic representation of the story require pre-existing knowledge of the context to be fully understood; this helps maintain certain aspects private.<ref name=":9" /> Artists will often accompany their work with a brief description of the story but will avoid going into detail to respect the parts of the story that are considered sacred.<ref name=":6" /> 

The exhibition ''The Painters of the Wagilag Sisters story 1937-1997'' was an exhibition of the work of more than 100 Aboriginal artists<ref name=":6" /> held at the [[National Gallery of Australia]] in [[Canberra]].<ref>{{Cite book | title=The Painters of the Wagilag sisters story, 1937–1997 / edited by Wally Caruana, Nigel Lendon  | author1=Caruana, Wally  | author2=Lendon, Nigel|  year=1997  | publisher=National Gallery of Australia  | isbn=064213068X | language=English }} [https://www.nigellendon.art/static/c48c3adb319b8aaec042e0bd79e77ec2/a-narrative-in-paint.pdf Excerpt]</ref> It was curated by Nigel Lendon and Tim Bonyhady.<ref>{{cite web | title=Biographies | website=Rugs of War | date=7 August 2006 | url=https://rugsofwar.wordpress.com/biographies/ | access-date=31 August 2023}}</ref> Artists represented in the exhibition included:
*[[Mawalan Marika]], prominent artist and senior member of the [[Rirratjingu]] clan, who was also custodian of Djang'kawu stories and ceremonies<ref>{{cite web | title=Djang'kawu Ancestors, c. 1964 | website=Deutscher and Hackett | date=24 March 2010 | url=https://www.deutscherandhackett.com/auction/13-important-aboriginal-oceanic-art/lot/djangkawu-ancestors-c1964 | access-date=31 August 2023}}</ref>
*[[Ramingining]] artist [[Philip Gudthaykudthay]] (aka "Pussycat")<ref name=agnswpg>{{cite web | title=Philip Gudthaykudthay | website=[[Art Gallery of NSW]] | url=https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/artists/gudthaykudthay-philip/ | access-date=30 August 2023| others= [From] Ken Watson in ''Tradition today: Indigenous art in Australia'', Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2014|first=Ken| last=Watson}}</ref><ref name=npgpg>{{cite web | title=Phillip Gudthaykudthay, b. 1935 | website=National Portrait Gallery people | date=2018 | url=https://www.portrait.gov.au/people/phillip-gudthaykudthay-1935 | access-date=30 August 2023}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Djanggawul]], another Dua creation story

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
*{{Cite book| title = Australian Aboriginal Religion | last = Berndt | first = R. M. | author-link = Ronald Murray Berndt | year = 1974 | volume = 3 | publisher = Brill | isbn = 9004037276 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Z9E3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA4 }} (online)
*{{Citation | last1=Caruana|first1= Wally | last2=Lendon|first2= Nigel | title=The painters of the Wagilag Sisters story | date=1997 | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/211869653 | quote=[From] ''Art and Australia'', Vol. 35, no. 1 (1997), pp 82–87; Significance of the Wagilag Sisters story to Yolngu people; role of the artist in the depiction of the rituals connected with the narrative of the Wagilag Sisters; role of bark painting in Yolngu culture; Paddy Dhatangu; Albert Djiwada; Daisy Manybunharrawuy. }} Link is to Trove; available at AIATSIS only. [https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/779083 Online subscription]
*{{Citation | title=The legend of the Wawilak sisters [Arnhem Land, NT] | date=1979 | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/228841340|quote=Includes paintings illustrating the legend. Part of ''[[Aboriginal Arts Board]] Newsletter''}} – Link is to Trove; available at AIATSIS only.
*{{Citation | last=Marcus|first= Lynn | title=An analysis of the Wawaluk sisters myth | date=1971 | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/228851627 | quote=Examination of the Wawaluk myth and its representation in bark painting; draws on published sources }} – Link is to Trove; available at AIATSIS only.
*{{cite book | title=Encyclopedia of Goddesses and Heroines |first=Patricia |last=Monaghan|edition =revised |publisher = New World Library|date= 2014 |isbn= 9781608682188|page=164| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cj5OAwAAQBAJ }} 
*{{Citation |last=Róheim|first= Géza | title=Mythology of Arnhem Land | date=1992 | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/38823649 | pages=141–142|quote=Psychoanalytic interpretation of three Arnhem Land myth cycles: Djanggewul (Djanggawul), Banaitja/Laintjung and the Wauwelak Sisters (Wauwalak); argues that the first two cycles represent fundamental unconscious conflicts between father and son and the third the need to materialise dreams; meaning of ceremonial objects.}} Link is to Trove; available at AIATSIS only.
*{{Citation | author1=Savill, Sheila | author2=Cook, Chris | author3=Parrinder, Geoffrey | author4=Barker, L. Mary | title=Pears encyclopaedia of myths and legends. [Book 4] : Oceania and Australia, the Americas | date=1978 | publisher=Pelham | isbn=978-0-7207-1050-2 }}

[[Category:Legendary Australian people]]
[[Category:Australian Aboriginal mythology]]
[[Category:Yolngu people]]
[[Category:Arnhem Land]]