Ground Drawings

Another interesting example of the artistic bent of the Central Australian tribes is the ground drawings. A space is smoothed out on the ground, dampened with water, and covered with a layer of red or yellow ochre. The designs, consisting of varying arrangements of concentric circles and scrolls, are defined as black or red lines in a field of white dots. The sacred ground drawings of the Wollunqua totem of the Warramunga tribe have as their main feature a snake combined with concentric circles. Even though each figure entails up to seven hours' work during the ceremonies, a different drawing is made on eight successive days, and they are from six to eighteen feet in length.

Plate II shows a series of these ground drawings which portray incidents in the lives of the spiritual ancestors. Wollunqua, the rainbow-Serpent is shown in Nos. 1-6: No. 1 is a native well where he tried to go into the ground but it was too hard and he gave it up; the circles represent trees in which he left a supply of spirit children. Nos. 2-3 are part of a design at Parapakini ; No. 2 shows Wollunqua meeting two hawks who introduced fire-making to the tribe, fire being represented by circles and bands, whilst the other circles signify a tree and springs of water. No. 3 illustrates Tjinkaringia, where Wollunqua, shown as two curved lines, stopped during his wanderings.

In No. 4 the undulating band is Wollunqua trying to dive into the ground at Ununtamarra, which is represented by the two circles joined at Wollunqua's head ; the other circles are trees and bushes containing spirit-children left by Wollunqua. The tracks are those of a man who followed Wollunqua to Ununtamarra, where he struck the latter on the head to try and make him return to Thapauerlu. No. 5 is at Upitingari, where Wollunqua found the ground too hard to go into, as shown by the circle with attached wavy line ; the largest circle is a big tree, the circle with a loop attached is a very large ant-hill, and the other two circles are ant-hills. No. 6 shows the Wollunqua molded in earth and colored.

The Black Snake, Thalaualla, is shown in Nos. 7-9. In No. 7 the curved branching lines represent a creek at Pitimalu along which Thalaualla left spirit children. In No. 8 the circles are waterholes at Tjinquiroka where the Thalaualla arose, and the bands represent his body. In No. 9 the circles are the bodies of Munga Munga women who were sent away from Tjinquiroka, and the bands are their legs drawn up when they rested. No. 10 is a sacred ground drawing of the sun totem of the Aranda tribe.
Spencer and Gillen have stated that there is nothing whatever sacred about the circles as circles, but that they are regarded as such only when drawn on an object which itself is sacred or " tjurunga"; the design, however, gives to the object which is not sacred a magical power of efficiency. A notable feature of Central Australian art is that the whole surface is utilized as a field, and it is not subdivided into panels or sections.