Yawkyawk, Ancient River Guardian of the Yawuru People

Yawkyawk is the ancient dreaming goddess of the Yawuru people in western Australia, associated with the vital Nagulagun river and the lands surrounding it. Believed to inhabit a deep pool in the river, Yawkyawk is a benevolent figure who provided the Yawuru with fresh water, fish, mangroves, and guidance.

According to Yawuru legends, Yawkyawk was one of the creative spirits who sang the world into existence during the Dreamtime. She molded the lands around Broome and etched paths for the waterways to flow. Yawkyawk also gifted the Yawuru with laws to live by and rituals to connect with the ancestral past.

One myth recounts how Yawkyawk helped a lost girl who had wandered from her parents find her way safely back to camp. Yawkyawk emerged from the river and led the child through the winding landscape by singing a guiding song.

The Yawuru continue to revere Yawkyawk and take care not to offend or anger her. They pass down oral histories about the dreaming goddess through stories, songs, and ceremonies at sacred sites along the Nagulagun. She is a living presence still enriching and sustaining her people’s lives.

Image source: idaia.com.au