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Ngaldjorlhbo (Mother of Everything)
Ngaldjorlhbo is a powerful woman who created the spiritual and tangible world for the Aboriginal people in Western Arnhem Land. In creating the land and environment, she endowed Kuninjku people with the ability to create art, and with their culture, to share with future generations. Ngaldjorlhbo gives women the cultural knowledge and deep links to country, identity and ancestor spirits.
Ngaldjorlhbo created daluk (women) When she started walking she started talking and telling stories. She create, came together as one. She was walking, thinking and writing with her hand creating all the animals and trees. Creating mountains and rivers. Came together and made a beautiful flowing wind and river to the coming of the land. From fresh water to the salt water river, all the fish, all kinds of fish she created .From little bird, big bird she created. She came all the way from east, west, north and south. She knows all the places from this land. She was speaking, she was telling, she was creating the country, this world. She was carrying kunmadj and digging stick and she created yawkyawk. So that’s the story about Ngaldjorlhbo.’ JM 2022
(And the old lady Ngaldjorlhbo says:) ‘then I made this’
She was carrying her own dillybag and was walking slowly and she kept looking at Country. She made the rocks, the rivers. In the same way she made the fish and she also made the animals and the butterflies. She kept on creating all this while walking.
She made the water spirit mermaids from the sea so she kept on walking while creating all the things. She also made the mimih spirits – the spirit of the rocks. She also created Djarnbokkorn, the sacred dog. And then she created Ngalng, the yabby. Then she made the Namorrorddo – the shooting star spirit, who lives inside the hill. Then she made the freshwater mermaids and she kept on going and she made Ngalyod (rainbow serpent). Then she named those two humans, Kodjok and Kamanj. So she made all the humans. JM 2026
