The Mark of the Wagarl

Age range 5 to 9

Maadjit Walken is the Sacred Rainbow Serpent. She is the mother spirit and creator of Nyoongar Country in the south-west of Western Australia. She formed the landscape and the waterways, and made her first child Maadjit Wagarl, the Sacred Water Snake, the guardian spirit of all the rivers and fresh waters. The Mark of the Wagarl is the story of a how a little boy dared to questioned the wisdom of his elders and why he received the Sacred Water Snake for his totem. Janice Lyndon's pastel illustrations resonate with the cultural power of the Maadjit Wagarl and the landscape of the south-west.