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Namorrorddo a profane spirit

Namorrorddo is a profane spirit sometimes called a ‘bad angel’ in Aboriginal English.

The Namorrorddo is a yirridjdja moiety being associated with the Yabbadurruwa regional cult ceremony.

Namorrorddo sits upon a rock and is usually painted with long claw like hands and feet. Sometimes spurs protrude from the elbows somewhat like those of a flying fox. Namorrorddo carries light, which emanates from his head. The shooting stars seen at night are Namorrorddo travelling across the night sky.

He whistles an eerie cry, which Aboriginal people say they can hear at night from time to time. Namorrorddo is feared as an evil being who attacks humans by clubbing them with his fighting stick or miyarrul. Namorrorddo is also sometimes depicted carrying bamboo spears and a spear thrower. Namorrorddo is a major dreaming totem for the Kardbam clan. There are a few examples of images of Namorrorddo painted in rock shelters in the Mann and Liverpool Rivers district.

Name: Janet Marawarr


Language: Kuninjku


Community: Maningrida


Biography:

Janet is a talented linocut and screenprint designer. She regards textile design as an opportunity to work with colour and and new methods to express her djang (ancestral creator stories).

As well as her artistic work with Bábbarra Women’s Centre, she is an established bark painter with Maningrida Arts Centre.


© the artist / art centre