Water Man

The painting Children’s Story (Water Dreaming by Two Children) by Native Australian artist Johnny Warangkula Tjupurrula (1925-2001) and Thomas Cole comments appeared in Art of JAMA.  Life in the arid Northern Territory is difficult and is sustained on meager amounts of water found in locations well hidden and known only to the indigenous people who have survived for millennia by keeping the locations of water to themselves.  The Water Man depicted in this painting is important for survival as he knows where to find water in remote wells, caves, and soaks. He used mental maps known as songlines to find water in the desert. By repeating the words of a song or the movements of a dance, indigenous Australians could follow routes and find landmarks in the open country. Indigenous Australians believed that songlines have been existed thru eternity, a concept referred to as the dreamtime.