John Cummins (Mulga) - " Ganddr" The Salt Water crocodile and his wife

the painting story : This bark briefly relates a small part of the story of “Gandar” the Salt water Crocodile and his wife:

While “Old Gandar” was asleep on the bank of the Endeavour River one day, his wife crept up to him and broke a stick in half to see if he was really asleep. When she found that he was, she began to run away.

She had been his wife for a long time now and she was very afraid of him.

As she ran, “Old Gandar” awoke with a fright, and chased after her. While running back to her people’s camp, she began to drop crocodile eggs from her womb along the way.

She was so desperate to escape from “Old Gandar” that she’d forgotten to get her own baby from his camp, and to this day nobody knows whatever happened to her child.

Story: “Old Gandar & His Wife”
Area: Hopevale / Cooktown at Endeavour R.
Language: Gu Gu Yimidhirr
Artist: John Cummins (Mulga)
    Gu Gu Yelandji

Ochre & Charcoal

16-9-1990.