Katrina Kitson Nungurrayi

Katrina has been given permission to paint this story by her mother Janet Long Nakamarra, custodian of “Underground Water Dreaming”. This is Janet’s story: “Water Dreaming (Ngapa) The lines represent the flowing of water at Warntaparri where the people did the dancing of the rain. They painted their body with paint (white) and sat and sang the song of the hailstones. Thunder clouds rose in the distant, people saw the clouds and sought shelters because of the rain. They knew the rain was big and strong. When it came closer they all stayed in the shelter and waited till it rained. It rained and rained until everything was flooded then it made rivers, billabongs, lagoons etc and made streams and soakage’s. They lived next to the soakage for one month, until the soakage dried up, and then they would move to another soakage. In the dry the people would dig a hole and cover it with plants and the next morning there would be clean drinking water in there. (As told by Janet)”