Namorrorddo

Namorrorddo is a profane spirit sometimes called a ‘bad angel’ in Aboriginal English. The Namorrorddo is a yirridjdja moiety being associated with the Yabbadurruwa regional cult ceremony.

Namorrorddo sits upon a rock and is usually painted with long claw like hands and feet. Sometimes spurs protrude from the elbows somewhat like those of a flying fox. Namorrorddo carries light, which emanates from his head. The shooting stars seen at night are Namorrorddo travelling across the night sky. He whistles an eerie cry, which Aboriginal people say they can hear at night from time to time. Namorrorddo is feared as an evil being who attacks humans by clubbing them with his fighting stick or miyarrul. Namorrorddo is also sometimes depicted carrying bamboo spears and a spear thrower. Namorrorddo is a major dreaming totem for the Kardbam clan. There are a few examples of images of Namorrorddo painted in rock shelters in the Mann and Liverpool Rivers district.

In 2012 Nawilil won the Wandjuk Marika 3D Award of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award with a similar spirit pole, of which the judges commented: “ Namorroddo embodies a sense of mysticism and draws in the viewer with its remarkable finesse of execution. This ceremony pole deals with that which is undisclosed, and yet evokes a strong masculine presence. Namorroddo is the Lightning Man, an ancestral figure who causes mischief at night, creating violent electrical lightning storms across the top end. This idea is conveyed by Nawilil’s palette of midnight purple, charcoal black, and bold patches of white that allude to body-paint. Close inspection reveals windings of handmade twine coiled around the pole; the flourish of two feather-tipped strings complement and add further mystery to the grave aesthetic of the piece”.