Arthur Koo'ekka Pambegan Jnr (Wik-Waya/Chaa-Ngkoth/Wik Mungkan/Winchanam peoples) 'Untitled XXVI [Walkan-aw and Kalben designs]' 2008

The hypnotic bands of alternating ochres in 'Untitled XXVI' symbolise two aw, or sacred totemic places, that lie within the Pambegan family’s traditional estate. Kalben, the Flying Fox Story Place, is located on the Watson River, and Walkaln-aw, the Bonefish Story Place, on the small Archer River. Both places are aw for the Pambegan and other family groups of the Winchanam clan. The associated ancestral stories of each aw are parables of the relationships between various sections of Wik society. Walkaln-aw is where Bonefish and his sister Mangrove had a fight over who should cook some meat. The story of Kalben recollects the events surrounding two young initiates who hunted flying foxes at initiation time, when eating the bats’ meat is prohibited. Still salient today, the events at Kalben and Walkaln-aw continue to be evoked in the Winchanam clan’s initiation ceremonies.