Wati-kutjara
Encyclopedia
In Australian Aboriginal mythology
, the Wati kutjara (also Wati kutjarra or Wadi Gudjara) are two young lizard
-men (totem
: goanna
) who, in the Dreaming
, travelled all over the Western Desert. In English, their songline is often called the Two Men Dreaming. The Wati kutjara are ubiquitous in the mythology
of the Western Desert; indeed, their journey extends for thousands of kilometres, stretching from the Kimberley to South Australia
.
; in Kukatja narratives, the Wati kutjara are often likened to the wind, whose form they adopt when in danger. The men's first action is to sing about their names in order to establish their own identity. Then they decide to travel about, and eventually decide to head south-east in order to enlighten the people there who do not possess the rituals known to the Dreaming
heroes. As they travel, they sing of the animals, plants and geographic features that they encounter, naming them and calling them into being. Filled with magical power, these two unmarried brothers eventually travelled all over the Western Desert destroying many dangerous evil spirits. They also created sacred objects
.
The Wati kutjara feature in innumerable stories, whose details vary from region to region. In one recension, they are credited with castrating
the Man in the Moon by throwing a magical boomerang
, Kidili
, because he tried to rape
the first woman. In other versions, the Wati kutjara are the ones attempting to seduce the same group of women.
, another major song-myth cycle from the Western Desert
Australian Aboriginal mythology
Australian Aboriginal myths are the stories traditionally performed by Aboriginal peoples within each of the language groups across Australia....
, the Wati kutjara (also Wati kutjarra or Wadi Gudjara) are two young lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
-men (totem
Totem
A totem is a stipulated ancestor of a group of people, such as a family, clan, group, lineage, or tribe.Totems support larger groups than the individual person. In kinship and descent, if the apical ancestor of a clan is nonhuman, it is called a totem...
: goanna
Goanna
Goanna is the name used to refer to any number of Australian monitor lizards of the genus Varanus, as well as to certain species from Southeast Asia.There are around 30 species of goanna, 25 of which are found in Australia...
) who, in the Dreaming
Dreamtime
In the animist framework of Australian Aboriginal mythology, The Dreaming is a sacred era in which ancestral Totemic Spirit Beings formed The Creation.-The Dreaming of the Aboriginal times:...
, travelled all over the Western Desert. In English, their songline is often called the Two Men Dreaming. The Wati kutjara are ubiquitous in the mythology
Australian Aboriginal mythology
Australian Aboriginal myths are the stories traditionally performed by Aboriginal peoples within each of the language groups across Australia....
of the Western Desert; indeed, their journey extends for thousands of kilometres, stretching from the Kimberley to South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
.
Narratives
Wati kutjara is one of the most important Dreamings around BalgoBalgo, Western Australia
Balgo is a small Aboriginal Community in Western Australia which is linked with both the Great Sandy Desert and the Tanami Desert. The Community is in the Shire of Halls Creek, off the Tanami Road . It has a petrol station, supermarket, Catholic Parish, School Adult Education Centre, Clinic and...
; in Kukatja narratives, the Wati kutjara are often likened to the wind, whose form they adopt when in danger. The men's first action is to sing about their names in order to establish their own identity. Then they decide to travel about, and eventually decide to head south-east in order to enlighten the people there who do not possess the rituals known to the Dreaming
Dreamtime
In the animist framework of Australian Aboriginal mythology, The Dreaming is a sacred era in which ancestral Totemic Spirit Beings formed The Creation.-The Dreaming of the Aboriginal times:...
heroes. As they travel, they sing of the animals, plants and geographic features that they encounter, naming them and calling them into being. Filled with magical power, these two unmarried brothers eventually travelled all over the Western Desert destroying many dangerous evil spirits. They also created sacred objects
Tjurunga
A Tjurunga or as it sometimes spelled, Churinga, is an object of religious significance by Central Australian Indigenous Australian people of the Arrernte groups...
.
The Wati kutjara feature in innumerable stories, whose details vary from region to region. In one recension, they are credited with castrating
Castration
Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which a male loses the functions of the testicles or a female loses the functions of the ovaries.-Humans:...
the Man in the Moon by throwing a magical boomerang
Boomerang
A boomerang is a flying tool with a curved shape used as a weapon or for sport.-Description:A boomerang is usually thought of as a wooden device, although historically boomerang-like devices have also been made from bones. Modern boomerangs used for sport are often made from carbon fibre-reinforced...
, Kidili
Kidili
In Australian aboriginal mythology , Kidili was an ancient moon-man who attempted to rape some of the first women on Earth. The Wati-kutjara wounded him in battle, castrating him with a boomerang, and he died of his wounds in a waterhole. The women he was trying to rape became the Pleiades....
, because he tried to rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
the first woman. In other versions, the Wati kutjara are the ones attempting to seduce the same group of women.
Art and literature
- Locations and events associated with the Wati kutjara are frequently the subject of Aboriginal Art from BalgoBalgo, Western AustraliaBalgo is a small Aboriginal Community in Western Australia which is linked with both the Great Sandy Desert and the Tanami Desert. The Community is in the Shire of Halls Creek, off the Tanami Road . It has a petrol station, supermarket, Catholic Parish, School Adult Education Centre, Clinic and...
and its outstations. - James Cowan'sJames Cowan (author)James Cowan is an Australian author. James Cowan is author of a number of internationally acclaimed books, including A Troubadour's Testament and Letters from A Wild State. In 1998 he was awarded the prestigious Australian Literature Society's Gold Medal for his novel, A Mapmaker's Dream...
book Two men dreaming draws upon Wati kutjara narratives, although the place-names appear to have been disguised.
See also
TingariTingari
The Tingari cycle in Australian Aboriginal mythology embodies a vast network of Aboriginal Dreaming songlines that traverse the Western Desert region of Australia...
, another major song-myth cycle from the Western Desert