Yolngu artist Dhuwarrwarr Marika depicts the life-giving spring Milngurr.

Marika is from the Rirratjingu and Miliwurrwurr clans of Yalangbara in north-east Arnhem Land. These concentric circles tell the creation story of her country. The Djang’kawu were three ancestral beings who came from far across the sea in the east, bringing warmth and light. Following the morning star, they paddled their canoes with digging sticks, then used these to pierce the earth and create Milngurr, the first of a series of sacred freshwater springs. The water of the springs gave life to the dry land and has sustained it ever since.

The spring Milngurr is a reservoir of souls when they are bodiless, in between visits to this earthly realm. Each newborn, emerging into the world from the spring, selects its mother. After birth, the child remains watery and takes time to solidify; the fontanelle is the last part to harden, and Marika’s Milngurr echoes this form.