The Wandjina, also spelled Wanjina and Wondjina, are cloud and rain spirits in the beliefs of the Wanjina Wunggurr group of Aboriginal Australians. They are shown often in rock art in northwestern Australia. Some artwork in the Kimberley region of Western Australia is about 4,000 years old. Another related spirit is Wunngurr, a creator being similar to the Rainbow Serpent in other Aboriginal groups, but with a different meaning. The stories and artwork of the Wandjina are important to the Mowanjum Community. They are an important part of the Wanjina Wunggurr group, which includes four Aboriginal peoples in the Kimberley region.

Dreamtime legends

Some Dreamtime stories say the Wandjina created the land and its people, and still have power over them today. When the spirits found a place where they would die, they painted their images on cave walls and entered a nearby waterhole. Aboriginal people later refreshed these paintings to help keep life going.

The Wandjina can cause floods, lightning, and cyclones as punishment for breaking rules.

The Wandjina and Wunggurr spirits are important parts of the culture of the Wanjina Wunggurr group, which includes the Worrorra (and nearby Ngardi), Wunambal, and Ngarinyin peoples of the Kimberley region. Rock paintings of Wandjina, along with Gwion Gwion ("Bradshaw") paintings, show how these groups share a common culture. The Wunambal people in the Mitchell Plateau area call Wandjina "Gulingi."

Wunggurr is a version of the Rainbow Serpent belief, while Wandjina are local spirits tied to specific places and connected to certain clans. Though some people use the terms Wandjina and Wunggurr together, Wunggurr represents a spread-out energy that gives life to everything, including the Wandjina. One part of this energy is shown in a rock python called Wanjad.

Traditional rock artwork

The Wandjina rock art is about 3800 to 4000 years old. This art style appeared after a drought that lasted for many centuries ended, leading to a wetter climate with regular monsoons.

The Wandjina paintings use black, red, and yellow colors on a white background. The spirits are drawn alone or in groups, placed vertically or horizontally based on the rock's shape. Sometimes, other figures or objects like the Rainbow Serpent or yams are included. They usually have large upper bodies and heads with eyes and a nose, but no mouth. There are two reasons for this: they are too powerful to need words, and if they had mouths, rain would never stop. Lines or blocks of color around their heads show lightning coming from transparent helmets.

Today, people believe these paintings still have power, so they

Depictions on bark

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, some Mowanjum artists painted traditional Wandjina images on pieces of string bark. These bark paintings were mostly sold through the Kalumbaru mission. Important artists from this area include Alec Mingelmanganu, Charlie Numbelmoore, and Jack Karedada. Today, these artworks are part of major museum collections around the world.

Other depictions

Wandjina inspired a 1966 children's fantasy television series called Wandjina!, created by ABC Television.

In 2007, images of Wandjina appeared as graffiti in Perth, Western Australia. The artwork included different styles, such as stencil art and a painting of a Wandjina driving a pink car. People used Flickr and blogs to share photos of these images, a practice called "Wandjina watching." Some Indigenous people were upset because they believe only certain artists from their community can create images of Wandjina, though they did not name these artists. A short film titled Who Paintin' Dis Wandjina described the Aboriginal community's response.

Images of Wandjina are displayed on the walls of the Ringwood Magistrates Court in Victoria. These images are credited to the National Gallery of Victoria.

In 2016, during the Vivid Sydney festival, artist Donny Woolagoodja created a Wandjina artwork that was projected onto the Sydney Opera House as part of the Lighting of the Sails celebration.

In 2023, Wandjina was added to the mobile game Fate/Grand Order. At first, the character appeared as an antagonist, but later became a playable character classified as a Foreigner-class Servant.