Outside the Indigenous community to whom they belong, Wandjina have long been the subject of speculation. Their mystique can be traced to the earliest European recording of Wandjina rock art by George Grey, during his expedition of 1838–39.[52] Grey questioned the derivation of the Wandjina paintings: ‘Whatever may be the age of these paintings, it is scarcely probable that they could have been executed by a self-taught savage. Their origin, therefore must still be open to conjecture.’
By calling into question the origins of the Wandjina paintings he saw in the Kimberley, Grey initiated a kind of conjecture that has continued to this day.[53] Grey’s initial belief in the non-Indigenous external origins of Wandjina took firm sway among the interpretations that followed. His illustrations and the creative licence they entailed (Figure 10.11) played a part in seeding further speculation. Some commentators were convinced they could translate ancient script from the headdress detail of Grey’s drawing.[54] Later, Erik Von Daniken[55] famously used the Wandjina as evidence of humanity’s ancestral connections to outer space. Magazines and web sites supporting celestial evolution theories continue to interpret Wandjina figures in this way. The characteristic semicircular headdress is often referred to as an extraterrestrial’s helmet.
As these examples indicate, one aspect of the Wandjina’s contested heritage envelops the views of alternative archaeology and hidden-history theories.[56] The other trajectory of debate regarding Wandjina concerns the cultural and intellectual property of Indigenous people and their rights to repaint the Wandjina image. This controversy revolves around a division in how Wandjina are perceived either as culturally situated tradition or as part of a collective universal heritage. Both lines of debate distance Wandjina figures from the Indigenous people to whom they belong. Their effect is to question Indigenous ownership and their custodial rights and obligations in mediating how Wandjina are represented and in managing the powers that they carry. This context of mystery, controversy and speculation adds an important dimension to the appearance and reception of Wandjina in Perth and in understanding the full gamut of reactions that were conveyed.
[52] Grey, George 1841, Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-West and Western Australia during the Years 1837, 38 and 39, London.
[53] Chaloupka, George 1992, ‘Retouch events’, in Ward, Retouch, pp. 12–16; Walsh, ‘Rock art retouch’.
[54] Morphy, H. 1998, Aboriginal Art, Phaidon, London; Wilson, Lost World of the Kimberley.
[55] Von Daniken, Erik 1971, Chariots of the Gods, Corgi, London; Von Daniken, Erik 1972, Return to the Stars, Corgi, London.
[56] White, J. Peter 1974, The Past is Human, Taplinger Publishing, New York; Hiscock, Peter 1996, ‘The new age of alternative archaeology of Australia’, Archaeology in Oceania, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 152–64.