The Unambal
An account of Doctor Andreas Lommel's studies in 1938 of the
Unambal Tribe of Aborigines living in North West Australia

Northwest Australia

In 1938 Doctor Andreas Lommel, a member of the Frobenius Institute, lived for several months in the Outback of north west Australia in a region called Kimberley, with the Aborigine tribe named UNAMBAL.

During this time he recorded and photographed the daily life of a Stone Age Hunter Gatherer people. The story of this unique experience has now been published by Grahame Walsh's Takarakka Publishing, and is recommended to all students of Anthropology.

A General Outline of the Aborigines View of Life

The Aborigines see the Earth as the great serpent Ungut. The Milky Way is seen as another serpent called Wallanganda.

Between them, these two Serpents gave birth to the Creation by dreaming all the creatures that live on the Earth, including the spirit ancestors of the Aborigine people, and also the Wandjina who bring both rain and fertility. The Australian Aborigines lived in two times only: there are primeval times, in which all life came into being, and the present. There is no past, no history, and the future barely figures in their thinking. These Aborigines are still living in the Stone Age, and can not count. Their language has numerals for "one, two, and three", but the word for "four" is the same as "very many".
		Gibb River Wanjina Sacred Site, Ngungunda

The Australian Aborigines lived in two times only: there are primeval times, in which all life came into being, and the present. There is no past, no history, and the future barely figures in their thinking. These Aborigines are still living in the Stone Age, and can not count. Their language has numerals for "one, two, and three", but the word for "four" is the same as "very many".

	The Wandjina's are divided into two groups, which are the originators of all human customs, and the inventor of all implements. The Wandjina can change from one form to another at will, now a Wandjina, now a human, and now an animal. The Wandjina live today at the bottom of the watering place associated with each particular painting. According to the Aborigines, when the Wandjina lay down, they entered the Earth, leaving their imprints on the stone, so they were believed to be the originators of the rock paintings. Painting of Wandjina with snakes by Katharina Lommel, Natural History Museum of Munich.

The Wandjina's are divided into two groups, which are the originators of all human customs, and the inventor of all implements. The Wandjina can change from one form to another at will, now a Wandjina, now a human, and now an animal. The Wandjina live today at the bottom of the watering place associated with each particular painting. According to the Aborigines, when the Wandjina lay down, they entered the Earth, leaving their imprints on the stone, so they were believed to be the originators of the rock paintings.