Wattie Karruwara

Painted at Mowanjum, Kimberley, April 1975

Kim Akerman Collection

Mary Macha, Perth

The Thomas Vroom Collection, The Netherlands

Sotheby's, London, Aboriginal Art - Thomas Vroom Collection, June 10, 2015, lot 55

Private Collection

There is a painting of Mandangari in a cave near Wanalirri in the central Kimberley. He is shown as a young married man, 'ombut', after the initiation stage when a young crocodile is placed on his back. Mandangari's son is the long-necked tortoise, Wulumarin. The tortoise was in a pool drying up in the heat of summer. He called to his father to give rain. Mandangari heard him and sent a small cloud, which grew larger and larger and then let the rain fall to relieve the stricken tortoise. Wattie Karruwara (also known as Wattie Kaduwara; Karuwarra; Karawara and 'Long Wattie') was born in the Hunter River (Mariawala) basin, an area known as Elalemerri to the Woonambal (Wunambal) in about 1910. The Hunter River, rising in the rugged majesty of Mitchell Plateau flows into the turbulent waters of Prince Frederick Harbour. His clan is known as Landar after the small yellow-flowered, holly-leaved, pea-flower, Bossiaea bossiaeoides, locally called Emu-flower; the flowers and seedpods are a favourite food of emus. Wattie had, as did all members of his estate, the Brolga (karangkuli) as his primary patrilineal moiety totem.

Cf. Judith Ryan and Kim Akerman, Images Of Power : Aboriginal Art Of The Kimberley, Melbourne, 2003, p.15, for a photograph of Wattie Karruwara painting another from this series on stone for Kim Akerman at Mowanjum in 1975.