6 AM 1659/04
Billiago Nabegeyo Mimi Spirits & Namarodo Spirits c. 1970
Natural ochres & pigments on eucalyptus bark 305 x 530mm $950
Mimi spirits have match-thin figures, with very short necks, for if their necks were long they would snap in a
breeze. Namorodos are slightly thicker in build. These tiny spirit creatures live in the rocky escarpments which
stretch in an almost unbroken line for hundreds of miles north and south of Oenpelli in Arnhem Land. Paintings
of Mimis and Namorodos are prominently featured in the vast natural rock galleries of the escarpments. Mimis
are friendly little souls which live within the rocks by day. As soon as it is dark they blow a hole in the rocks and
come out to cavort among the rocky escarpments - hunting, fishing, making love, dancing and singing. Towards
dawn they retreat into the rocks and pull the rock door shut after them. Namorodos also live in the rocks and
come out at night, but they are unfriendly and naughty, delighting in frightening anyone found wandering or
sleeping near the escarpments.