WAWALAG. The most important myth and ritual constellation in Australia's north-central Arnhem Land belongs to the Dua moiety. (Everyone and everything in this entire region belongs through patrilineal descent to one or the other of the two moieties, Dua and Yiridja.) The myth focuses on two sisters in human form who were swallowed by the Great Python, Yulunggul. The sisters are known in northeastern Arnhem Land as the Wawalag and in north-central Arnhem Land as the Wagilag. The dramatic story line, told in narrative or song form or in a combination of both, is now a popular subject of bark paintings created for sale to non-Aborigines.

Summary of the Wawalag Story

The two sisters leave their home near the Roper River in Wawalag country for their long journey toward the north coast. In some versions the elder, Waimariwi, is pregnant and in some versions already has a small...