The Gods Of Aboriginal Australia



Like most 'discovered' countries, Australia had already been discovered by its original inhabitants - the Aborigines. Small nomadic tribes with many languages and ideas roamed the vast plains.

Much of Oz mythology is to do with Dreaming and the DREAMTIME, a wonderful Golden Age in the remote past when Gods were real Gods and anything was possible.

Relying on memory and scratched images, Australian mythology is seemingly fragile, but in many instances in this very dry atmosphere it's amazingly durable. Many of the dreams were trampled on by European invasion, but fortunately there has always been a strong oral tradition, and the legends of the Outback may be making a Comeback.


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REGIONS COVERED: Arnhem Land, Central Australia, Kimberley Region, Melville Island, Murray River, New South Wales, Northeastern Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland, Southeast Australia, West Arnhem Land, Western Australia, Victoria.

Many Gods are spread across different regions, cultures and tribes. We've tried to pin them down to a particular area if possible. But amendments and corrections are always welcome, especially from people with first-hand knowledge. So if you live in the region and would like to comment, we'd love to hear from you. Contact us here.

TRIBES, CULTURES AND PEOPLES COVERED: Aranda tribe, Binbinga tribe, Gunwinggu folk, Juma tribe, Kabikabi tribe, Kamilaroi tribe, Karadjeri tribe, Karraur tribe, Kulin people, Mandjindja folk, Murinbata folk, Murngin people, Nambutji tribe, Wallamba tribe, Wiradyuri tribe, Wulumba tribe, Wurunjerri people.



ADNOARTINA: The Lizard of ULURU, otherwise known as Ayer's Rock.

To be honest, we're not sure which particular lizard he is. There seems to be quite a few of them. See ULURU.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: n/a
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Fabulous Creature


ALCHERA: Not a God, but the primordial timeless dream that existed before the world.

This is very important to Australian Mythology. See DREAMTIME.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: All Aborigine tribes
Location : Australia
Category : Concept


ALTJIRA: God of the DREAMTIME. Depicted as having emu's feet, for no reason we can fathom.

ALTJIRA created the Earth and supplied all the gear humans need, then retired without leaving instructions.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Aranda tribe of Northern Territory and others
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity




BAGADJIMBIRI: Do you know the Kimberley Karadjeris? Out North West? Never mind, let us introduce you to their double deity.

The 'Bag' were two DREAMTIME Brothers who appeared from nowhere in wild dog form. In fact they were two dingos. They experimented with do-it-yourself creation and produced the world's first genetically modified body parts.

Up until this time, the human race was completely androgynous and terribly bored. So the BAGADJIMBIRI brothers mated a toadstool with a fungus and created sex organs for everybody. And bingo - or dingo - here we all are. There's more to mushrooms than you might imagine.

Very self-satisfied, the brothers laughed with delight and were suddenly murdered by a jealous cat spirit. But their mother DILGA drowned the assailant in her own milk and brought the brothers back to life. They soared into the sky and become cloudy water snakes. Or watery cloud snakes.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Karadjeri tribe of Western Australia
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity


BAIAME: A good all-round Creator Sky God.

He believes in controlling things and in the beginning taught humans how everything works.

His weather forecasting, hunting and fishing classes were very popular, particularly with the shamans. And the stone fish trap he invented came in very useful.

He was also the father of DARAMULUM with his wife BIRRAHGNOOLOO.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Kamilaroi tribe of New South Wales
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity
Alternative names : BIAME


BAMAPANA: An outrageous Trickster God of Swearing and Foul Language.

Anything for a laugh. Nothing is taboo to him. He knows all the naughty words and loves to use them in polite conversation.

We would like to tell you more, but we have to abide by certain taboos. This is a family website.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Murngin people of Northern Territory
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity


BELL-BIRD-BROTHERS: Hapless huntsmen whose prey was pinched by the Lizard Men of ULURU. See LUNGKATA.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: n/a
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Legendary Mortal


BELLIN-BELLIN: Crow God of the Wind.

He keeps the winds neatly tied up in various sacks ready for use. Which makes him a bit of a windbag.

As you would expect of a Wind God, BELLIN-BELLIN seems quite capricious; he's best known for unleashing a storm of gales upon unsuspecting BUNJIL.

He may also be sneaking around under the name WAANG.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Kulin nation, Wurundjeri peoples of Victoria
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity


BILDJIWUAROJU: Creator Goddess, one of the Three Children of the Sun.

This is a somewhat complicated story of crudity and copulation. BILDJIWUAROJU, MIRALALOU and DJANGGAWUL are the three Children of the Sun.

B and M had massive genitals, both male and female, but D just had a willy. They came from heaven in a canoe, landed on earth and canoodled to such effect that they produced plants and animals at every coupling (or tripling).

One night D went off to hunt, leaving the other two asleep by the fireside, but he crept back and hacked of their male appendages - leaving him the sole functioning male with two mates.

After that he led the way and the others followed, creating the myth that man always leads the way and women follow. What a Godawful piece of male chauvinist propaganda.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Wulumba tribe of Northeastern Australia
Location : Australia
Gender : Female
Category : Deity


BINBEAL: Rainbow God. The son of BUNJIL.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Kulin and Wurunjerri peoples of Victoria
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity


BIRRAHGNOOLOO: Goddess of Fertility and Floods. Also mother of DARAMULUM by BAIAME.

If you ever need a flood, just ask BIRRAHGNOOLOO. She may even give you a new loo. With enhanced flush flood facility.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Kamilaroi tribe of New South Wales
Location : Australia
Gender : Female
Category : Deity


BOBBI-BOBBI: Oz Snake God and inventor of the boomerang.

He sent delicious tasty bats to Earth for everyone to eat, but no-one could catch them. So he threw down one of his ribs with detailed aerodynamic instructions.

Humans throw rib. It zonks bats and returns to the hand. Humans impressed. They throw new toy at sky. Boomerang makes hole in Heaven. Boomerang zings back and zaps them.

BOBBI-BOBBI slithers off in disgust. He's had it with humans.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Binbinga tribe of Northern Territory
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity


BUNBULAMA: Rain Goddess. She works in conjunction with a God called WULUWAIT.

They appear together on a painting on wood from Yirrkala, where they seem to be waving sponges at the sky.

She may be one of the DJANGGAWUL sisters but nothing is certain at present. Where are these Gods when they are needed?

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Arnham Land
Location : Australia
Gender : Female
Category : Deity


BUNJIL: The Eaglehawk God. He had two wives, and a son who was a rainbow called BINBEAL.

Busy with construction work and landscaping, he asked BELLIN-BELLIN, a Crow Deity, for some wind, but the Crow opened his wind bag to such an extent he released a whirlwind which destroyed most of the trees and lifted BUNJIL and Co into the skyworld.

We have since learnt that one of the four props that hold up the sky rotted away some time ago, and a portion of the sky fell in. Efforts to sue for faulty construction are still pending.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Kulin nation, Wurundjeri peoples of Victoria
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity


BUNYIP: Well-known Waterhole Bogeys of Oz Folklore.

The average BUNYIP tends to eat anyone within reach, so there are very few eye-witnesses to report what it actually looks like.

By all accounts it is large and bulky - reported glimpses vary from big, black and blubbery to huge and hippo-like. There being no known hippos in Oz this must be treated as hypothetical.

The BUNYIP also gulps down clothes, belongings, buckles, buttons and baggage, leaving no traces or even braces. But it can sometimes be heard, and its cry is harsh and horrible – all the warning you need that trespassers will be eaten.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: n/a
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Fabulous Creature



DARAMULUM: A general purpose All-Father Sky God.

If in doubt, All-Father's about. He looks after the weather, protects shamans and lives in the moon.

Pictures of him are only to be looked at during initiation rites. For some reason, one of his legs appears to be missing. If found, please return to the Lunar Lost Leggage department.

His father is BAIAME but we are still none the wiser.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Kamilaroi tribe of New South Wales and Wiradyuri tribe
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity
Alternative names : NURUNDERE, PAPANG


DARANA: Creator God. He shared the Earth with humans in DREAMTIME and dreamt up the idea of witchetty grubs.

He scooped up two large bagfulls and went off to invite other spirits to a feast. Two foraging mortals found the bags and raided them. Bad mistake. The grubs glowed with an eerie light which alerted angry spirits who killed those two misfortunates.

DARANA however took pity and turned their bodies into Destiny Stones and gave them to the Dieri people to guard. They must not be scratched or famine will ensue - and if they get broken the Universe will end. They are kept carefully wrapped in feathers mixed with lard and we are not at liberty to tell you where.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: n/a
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity


DHAKHAN: Ancestral God of the Kabi people.

He's half-fish and half-snake. We don't know which half is which. But it doesn't matter as he only appears in rainbow form.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Kabikabi tribe of Queensland
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity


DILGA: Goddess of Fertility and mother of the BAGADJIMBIRI Brothers.

She avenged their deaths and managed to bring them back to life with her own very potent brand of milk.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Karadjeri tribe of Western Australia
Location : Australia
Gender : Female
Category : Deity


DJANGGAWUL: Sexy Godsiblings of Creation.

There were two sisters and a brother, who emerged from the Underworld to set the world to rights. First they done good by creating the landscape of Australia and filling it with goodly things.

Then things went a little pear-shaped. The two sisters broke off pieces of their naughtiest bits to make sacred talismans. After that, legends based on hearsay abound and rebound and multiply - suddenly there are three sisters instead of two, and turvy is turned into topsy.

The end result is always the same. For some reason women follow men and a man has to come from somewhere. There also seems to be a great deal of confusion with the WAWALUG sisters. The wonderful wizards of Oz seem to make it up as they go along the yellow outback track.

See BILDJIWUAROJU.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Peoples of Northern Territory
Location : Australia
Gender : Both male and female
Category : Deity


DREAMTIME: The original Aboriginal DREAMTIME, overseen by the God ALTJIRA.

This was when the ancient spirits of all tribes walked the Earth in a state of profound dreaminess.

Now they all sleep underground, but shamans and other interested parties can still communicate with the Dreamtime past if they enhale the right substances.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: n/a
Location : Australia
Gender : Sorry, we don't know
Category : Legendary Event


DREAMTIME-SNAKE: Not to be confused with the RAINBOW-SNAKE, this is the official title of Mother Goddess EINGANA.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: n/a
Location : Australia
Gender : Female
Category : Deity


EINGANA: Snake Goddess of primordial DREAMTIME, and the mother of humanity and all water animals.

Initially she had a lot of trouble giving birth, not having the relevant aperture. This was rectified by another deity, who obliged with a spear in the appropriate place.

Since then, creatures and humanity both great and small have issued forth. But EINGANA keeps hold of the mystical umbilical cord, attached to every living thing. If she cuts the cord, the creature dies.

And if she herself should die, everything would cease to exist. This worries us. Who's holding her umbilical cord then?

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: n/a
Location : Australia
Gender : Female
Category : Deity
Alternative names : EINGANU


ERATHIPA: Mother Goddess of Pregnancy Fulfilment.

Godchecker's Advice for Childless Couples: Look for a large boulder that resembles a pregnant woman. This is ERATHIPA. She has the souls of deceased children hiding inside her.

If a woman of child-bearing age and inclination walks past, she will pop a soul into your womb to be re-born. Give a soul a home today.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: n/a
Location : Australia
Gender : Female
Category : Deity



GNOWEE: Searchlight-carrying Sun Goddess.

She comes from a time when all the world was in darkness. Her baby son wandered off into the gloom and she has never been able to find him.

So every day she carries her torch into the sky to carry on the search and shed some sonlight.

If he's ever found, the world will be plunged back into darkness. Which is a little worrying.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Peoples of Southeast Australia
Location : Australia
Gender : Female
Category : Deity


GOANNA: Somewhat surreal Lizard God. We are not at all sure about this one. It's DREAMTIME meets Salvador Dali.

A monitor lizard deity that invents the canoe? Marries magpies? Weds teals? Finds a secret reservoir of water and refuses to share? But somehow the water flows into what becomes the Murray River? And now teals refuse to marry goannas? And who was Murray?

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: n/a
Location : Australia
Category : Deity


GURUMUKAS: Vampire spirits. Another good reason not to travel on your own at night.

These thin spindly demon spirits have long spindly teeth and, being cowardly, will only creep up on the unsuspecting. Expect a bite on the back of the neck in the dark.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Groote Eylandt
Location : Australia
Category : Demon


IPILYA: Lizard God of Storms.

In a large swamp lives this enormous gecko, 100 yards long. He is responsible for thunderstorms and heavy rain. When the monsoon period is imminent he slurps up large helpings of water and sludge, which he squirts up into the sky to become thunderclouds.

With a bit of roaring to set things in motion and induce some lightning flashes, he feels he has done his bit. Then he goes back to basking quietly without being disturbed until next season.

Intruders will be severely slurped.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Groote Eylandt
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity


JULANA: Dirty old God in a raincoat. He tends to pop up in unexpected places, especially where women are concerned.

He travels underground and in a flash pops up in front of them. And what also pops up is not a normal flasher's flash but a larger-than-life legend of phallic fantasy. If you happen to encounter this Dirty Old God, it's probably best not to point and laugh.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Juma tribe of Western Australia
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity


JULUNGGUL: The Great Rainbow Snake Goddess.

Mythology is full of rainbow serpents (particularly Oz mythology). Lots of swallowing people and then regurgitating. No wonder there are so many sickly people.

But at least JULUNGGUL has a day job. She oversees the initiation of boys into manhood. So if you're having awkward teen problems such as acne, bad hair, and social angst, slip her a note during break.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Arnhem Land
Location : Australia
Gender : Female
Category : Deity
Alternative names : KALSERU


JUNKGOWA-SISTERS: Watery Goddesses of the Sea and Marine Life.

They do oceans and fish, so they do like to be beside the seaside. Which side we are not sure, but if you follow the Australian coastline you are sure to run into them sooner or later.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: n/a
Location : Australia
Gender : Female
Category : Deity


JURAWADBAD: Snake Spirit. Could go from snake to man and back again at will.

He was married to a mortal woman who cheated on him with another snake man. She was obviously into snakes in a big way. In revenge he hid in a log, or it may have been a primitive drum, and bit her.

It's all tied up with fertility and initiation rites which are beyond our comprehension. It's all to do with DREAMTIME of course, but we are going to have an early night.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Gunwinggu folk of Northern Territory
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Spiritual Being


KARORA: Creator God of the Bandicoot clan of the Aranda people. At least, so they reckon.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Aranda tribe of Northern Territory
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity


KIDILI: Horny old Moon God who paid a visit to Earth after spotting all the beautiful ladies down here.

But his advances were spurned - and so was he after the WATI-KUTJARA castrated him with a boomerang. He died in a waterhole and his intended victims retreated into the night sky to become the Pleiades.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Mandjindja folk of Western Australia
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity
Pronunciation : Coming soon
Alternative names : KIDILLI


KULTANA: God of the Dead from Arnhem Land. He greets your spirit as it departs from the world of mortality, and welcomes you to your death.

KULTANA also does North Wind and Rain, both very popular items, and his effigies represent falling rain. Does it rain in the afterlife?

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Arnhem Land
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity


KURUKADI: Lizard-like KURUKADI and MUMBA are Twin Iguana Spirits. One white, one black.

They rescued some women being pursued by a moon deity (KIDILI?) by killing him with a boomerang. But his spirit went back to the moon which is why it looks so dead.

They themselves became the constellation of Gemini. We find it hard to come to terms with the idea of iguanas throwing boomerangs.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: n/a
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Spiritual Being



LUMALUMA: God of Gluttony and Gate-crashing.

He started off as a whale who came ashore at Cape Stewart in the guise of a man who knew sacred rituals which he was happy to share. However, when it came to food, he took more than his share, declaring himself sacred so that only he could eat at feasts.

Consequently everyone stopped inviting him, but this made no difference as he turned up anyway. He only had to see smoke from a fire and he could time his arrival to perfection. (We all know people like that.)

Fed up with eating left-over scraps, LUMALUMA became partial to consuming dead children. That was the final straw and a seething mob set upon him and his two wives with sticks and stones and spears.

Like an ancient martyr he took some time to die. Partly because he was as big as a whale but mostly because he asked them to slow down so he could make sure they understood all his sacred rituals. When they thought he was dead enough, they propped his body against a tree, tied it in place with ropes, and built a shade hut over him using branches. Rumour has it that he didn't die after all but returned to the sea as a whale.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Arnhem Land
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity


LUNGKATA: Dirty cheating Lizard Man of Ayer's Rock. He had a blue tongue and a sneaky stealing temperament.

Together with fellow lizard creature MITA, he used to lie in wait for hunters and steal their prey, being too much of a lazy lizard to go hunting himself.

One day, the BELL-BIRD-BROTHERS were chasing an emu (which was something of a national sport at the time) and the two blue-tongued lizards diverted it into their lair. When the hunters turned up, out of breath and starving, LUNGKATA and MITA had scoffed the lot and could only offer emu left-overs.

The BELL-BIRD-BROTHERS were outraged at this thievery and set fire to the lair. The lizards, not being used to exercise, were unable to escape and turned into burnt boulders which stand there to this day. Which just goes to show that you shouldn't trust anyone with a blue tongue.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: n/a
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Fabulous Creature


MAMARAGAN: Awe-inspiring God of Thunder and Lightning. Speaks with a booming voice of pure thunder.

When the mood takes him, he rides a vast black storm cloud across the sky, throwing great bolts of lightning down to Earth in a terrifying display of power. So it's something of a disappointment to discover that when it's not raining he actually lives in a puddle.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: n/a
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity


MAMU: A dingo spirit who eats and absorbs the spirits of children who stray at night.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Central Australia
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Spiritual Being


MANGAR-KUNJER-KUNJA: It's okay to call him Flycatcher. He's a Lizard Creator God who made humans from logs. There must be a log book somewhere.

Apparently they were fused together and he separated them with a knife. His wood-carving skills were further demonstrated by whittling out ears, mouths and noses.

His own image is that of a very large lizard. So always be kind to lizards. He is not pleased if you kill one. Offer him flies.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Aranda tribe of Northern Territory
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity


MARRALLANG: Double trouble. The MARRALLANG Sisters were two twin girls who both shared the same name and married the same man.

This must have been either a nightmare or marital bliss, but history is silent on the subject.

Most sources appear to find all this of deep symbolic magnitude. We assume the worst.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: n/a
Location : Australia
Gender : Female
Category : Legendary Mortal
Alternative names : MAR'RALLANG

MIMI: Careful where you tread in West Arnhem. The MIMI are very thin spindly little spirits that live in crevices.

It is best to warn them of your approach. If you tread on one, or if you harm a wallaby, they will attack. But they're mostly very personable and are always willing to teach the arts of dancing, singing and hunting.

The MIMI love nothing better than chasing emus, singing and dancing as they go. They are also fond of scratching stick figure portraits on rocks to mystify archeologists.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Arnhem Land
Location : Australia
Category : Spiritual Being


MINAWARA: MINAWARA and MULTULTU are Kangaroo Creator Gods.

It's quite a handy form for getting about. Hippety hoppety hither and thither, progressing in leaps and bounds. Just think, Skippy could be a descendant of theirs.

There is an ancient legend surrounding their origins and adventures, but frankly it's so pointlessly unexciting that you would do better to invent your own. Skippy is far better value.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Nambutji tribe of Central Australia
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity


MIRALALOU: One of Three Children of the Sun. See BILDJIWUAROJU, if you can spell it.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Wallamba tribe of Northeastern Australia
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity


MITA: One of the blue-tongued Lizard Men of Ayer's Rock.

We don't like to talk about people behind their backs, but he appears to be a nasty thieving schemer. See the entry on his brother LUNGKATA for more info.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: n/a
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Fabulous Creature


MOKOI: Malevolent spirit invoked by shaman magicians.

Should you indulge in a bit of black magic for evil ends, MOKOI will do something very nasty with you.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Murngin people of Northern Territory
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Spiritual Being
Alternative names : MOKPOI


MOPADITIS: Spirits of the newly dead.

Not wishing to be alone, the MOPADITIS try and steal the souls of the living for a bit of company. They seem to frequent quite a few pubs and bars around here.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Melville Island
Location : Australia
Category : Spiritual Being


MUDUNGKALA: Whether it's mud or dung, MUDUNGKALA is very aptly named. She started off in Underearth during DREAMTIME, which was more of a nightmare for her, being muddy and smelly.

She had two daughters and a son and felt sure there must be somewhere better to bring them up. Up being the operative word. She pushed and shoved her way to the surface, took up creative gardening on Melville and after a long and fruitful time went back down to her old homestead.

She has never been seen or heard from since. This could be a sign that she'll be appearing in pantomime next year.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Peoples of Melville Island
Location : Australia
Gender : Female
Category : Deity



MULTULTU: One of the Kangaroo Creator Gods, along with MINAWARA.

Quite frankly, it's hard to take the idea of a Kangaroo Creator God seriously. However, no less a person than respected scientist Carl Sagan (in his book The Dragons of Eden) speculated upon Kangaroo Cosmology. And it turns out that the entire Universe is currently bouncing around inside the Cosmic Pouch.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Nambutji tribe of Central Australia
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity


MUMBA: One of two Boomerang-throwing Iguana Spirits who ended up as the constellation of Gemini.

See the entry on his brother KURUKADI for further strange details.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: n/a
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Spiritual Being



NADUBI: Very spine-chilling spirits.

Barbed spines project from their knees and elbows, and if they creep up on an unwary traveller he can get shafted.

But all may not be lost if the victim can get to a medicine man in time and have the spine extracted.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Arnham Land
Location : Australia
Category : Spiritual Being


NAMORODO: Monsters to make your flesh creep. Nothing but skin and bones, shreds and sinews.

The wind moans through them as they fly at night, waiting to pounce on you and suck your insides out. If they catch you, they'll turn you into one of them. Vampires are quite cuddly in comparison.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Peoples of West Arnhem Land
Location : Australia
Category : Demon


NGALYOD: Great Rainbow Snake and God of Transforming the Land.

He's the son of the equally rainbow-snakey YINGARNA.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: n/a
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity


NGURUNDERI: The God of Cod, and Codfather of Fishing.

One day he was chasing this huge cod all over the land, because that's where it lived at the time. The cod was so immense it gouged out a channel as it writhed to escape. This later became the course of the Murray river.

Our Godly hunter caught up with it on the sea shore, chopped it into pieces, gave them names and threw them into the sea, where they all swam away as different fish. So this was the very first Cod Quota.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Peoples of Murray River
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity


NJIRANA: The DREAMTIME father of the lecherous JULANA.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Juma tribe of Western Australia
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity


PILIRIN: Kestrel God of Fire.

He showed humans how to rub sticks together to wake up the spark spirits which live inside. See also TJINIMIN.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Murinbata folk of Northern Territory
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity


RAINBOW-SNAKE: The Great Creator Serpent, in charge of Fertility, Growth and Refreshing Rain.


The RAINBOW-SNAKE is a bit of a mish-mash, with a kangaroo's head, a crocodile's tail and a python's body, all decorated with water lilies and waving tendrils.

The Snake has many names and comes in male and female form. YINGARNA, the female, is the original Mother of Creation, and her son NGALYOD is the Great Transformer of Land. Family portraits go back 8,000 years, which makes the Rainbow Snake one of the oldest religious symbols. And it's still going strong today.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Arnhem Land
Location : Australia
Gender : Both male and female
Category : Deity
Alternative names : ALMUDJ, KALSERU



TATJI: The Red Lizard of Ayer's Rock (ULURU).

His boomerang didn't come back. Out hunting one DREAMTIME day, he threw the prototype hunting stick and it got stuck in the rock.

Unable to scoop it out with his bare hands, he finally died in a cave of frustration and starvation. His remains are there to this day.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: n/a
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Fabulous Creature


TJINIMIN: Sex-starved Bat God.

Lust was TJINIMIN'S downfall. He just could not resist trying to get into the feathers of those Green Parrot Girls, consorts of the Great RAINBOW-SNAKE.

He was driven off with bees, they tried to drown him by diverting a river, and his biggest downfall came when he was thrown off a high cliff onto jagged rocks. But he had magic powers which were never available to Humpty Dumpty, and managed to put himself together again. Just to double check, he cut his nose off and stuck it back again. Yep - no problem.

Then he made a magic spear and went off to vent his rage on the Great RAINBOW-SNAKE. He stabbed it in the side and watched as it writhed in agony creating an interesting new terrain. In its struggles the Snake must have felt burning sensations because the next thing anyone knew was that it had dived to the bottom of the sea taking every last scrap of fire with it.

TJINIMIN gazed apprehensively at one last charred stick. This is where PILIRIN the Kestrel God comes into the story. He was a bright spark and taught humans how to make fire using only two twigs.

TJINIMIN went completely batty at this point and took to roosting upside down. Light and fire now scared him and he only wanted to look upwards at night. He decided he was never ever going to attempt sex again, and then his nose dropped off. This is why bats have snub noses.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Murinbata folk of Northern Territory
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity


ULANJI: Snake God. He's the ancient ancestor of the Binbinga tribe and very venerable.

According to the legends, he climbed rocks and bit the heads off a number of flying foxes. He then removed his heart and took out two of his ribs. No-one seems to know exactly why he did this. As soon as we find out, we'll get back to you.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Binbinga tribe of Northern Territory
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity


ULURU: Aborigine name for Ayers Rock, one of the world's largest, reddest, and most beautiful monoliths - and the ancestral site of primeval DREAMTIME.

Legions of legends and multitudes of myths emanate from here. Unfortunately, most of these are top secret and can only be divulged to members of the appropriate tribe. More information will be supplied on a need-to-know basis only.

However, we can reveal that ULURU is 318 metres high, 8 kilometres in circumference, and is host to a surprising amount of lizards. See ADNOARTINA, LUNGKATA,TATJI.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: n/a
Location : Australia
Category : Legendary Place




WAANG: Crow God of the Wurundjeri.

The five tribes of the Kulin Nation (which is now more or less Melbourne) used a moiety system in which you were either a crow person or an eagle person. If you were an eagle person, BUNJIL was your mascot, and if you were a crow person your loyalties lay with WAANG.

This might sound like the beginning of a national football league, but in fact which God you belonged to affected your entire life - because it was forbidden to marry someone the same.

Which, we feel, is a very neat way for a collection of small clans to ensure genetic diversity for future generations.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Wurundjeri clan of the Woi-Wurrung tribe
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity


WALLUNGUNDER: The enterprising Big Chief of the WANDJINA Gods Consortium.

He is now employed full-time as Executive Director of the Milky Way Galaxy, Inc.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Kimberley Region
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity
Alternative names : WALAGANDA


WANDJINA: A set of all-powerful and very intriguing Creation Gods.

WALLUNGUNDER, the big boss WANDJINA, came down from the Milky Way during DREAMTIME and created the earth and all its inhabitants. Then he took one look at those inhabitants and headed back home for reinforcements. This was going to be a tricky job.

With the aid of the DREAMTIME-SNAKE, the WANDJINA descended and spent their DREAMTIME creating, teaching and being God-like to the natives. These Gods from the Milky Way were so powerful that they didn't need to speak. So they didn't bother to have mouths.

They were definite good guys, and are still worshipped and respected to this day. (And how many Gods can say that?) Eye-witness reports are thin on the ground, but many ancient cave paintings still exist and show eerie creatures with large heads, huge black eyes and suspiciously spacesuit-like garments. In fact, they look just like Grey aliens from modern U.F.O. abduction scenarios.

Strangely enough, in 1838, a sea captain discovered an amazing treasure trove of Aboriginal artistry, filled with primitive and powerful WANDJINA cave pictures. His name was Captain Grey. Coincidence??? We can't tell you because the Kimberley tribes are very close-mouthed, just like their WANDJINA.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Kimberley Region
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity
Alternative names : WONDJINA


WAPIYA: The WAPIYA are all-singing, all-dancing Boomerang Girls. Seems like fun.

Just a moment, what are they doing with that lad they have just enticed? He seems to be encircled... now he seems to be circumcised...

Oh dear, now they seem to have interrupted a sacred Wodamp Dance... Now they are being strangled - this does not seem to stop them and off they go again dancing up a hill.

A heavenly cord drops from the sky to which they all cling as it draws them upwards. Oh, the last one has dropped a bowl. She thinks she can retrieve it so she nips down to the ground. But when she looks up the cord is out of reach.

Now she is being chased by some youths with spears. Now she has lost all her clothes. Oh, it's all ending happily, one of the youths is going to marry her.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: n/a
Location : Australia
Gender : Female
Category : Spiritual Being


WARAMURUNGUNDJU: Fertility Goddess. One day in DREAMTIME she walked out of the sea with her partner WURAKA.

She was the one with the long name and he was the one with an even longer appendage. It was so impressive he had to keep it coiled around his neck. And then it was wham-bam fertility time. Phew!

Finally their non-stop bouts of fulfilment and fertility culminated in multiple creation. WARAMURUNGUNDJU then taught her children to talk and gave them all a different language to play with. This magnificent piece of creative effort achieved, she and her partner calmly walked back into the sea again.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Gunwinggu folk of Northern Territory
Location : Australia
Gender : Female
Category : Deity
Alternative names : WARAMURUNGUNDI


WATI-KUTJARA: Lizard Gods or God Lizards. They are the nice guys.

They descended from a mountain in the DREAMTIME and befriended the shamans of many peoples, teaching them DREAMTIME tricks and the use of talismans. They also created hills and valleys, and littered them with trees and plants.

And when the lecherous KIDILI came a-calling, they dealt him a most unforgiving blow. See also KURUKADI.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: n/a
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity
Alternative names : KUTJARA


WAWALUG: Fertility Goddesses, the daughters of the DJANGGAWUL creator trinity.

They lived in a whirlpool and their main claim to fame is that they were swallowed by YRLUNGGUR and then regurgitated.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Arnhem Land in North Australia
Location : Australia
Gender : Female
Category : Deity
Alternative names : WAWALAG


WIDJINGARA: The first human to die, allegedly killed by the WANDJINA for reasons now lost in the mists of time.

His utterly shocked wife was at a bit of a loss. So she shaved her head and smeared herself with ashes. It seemed the right thing to do at the time. So she invented mourning quite by accident.

But death had not really been fixed or finalised and three days later WIDJINGARA came back. He was so surprised and upset by his wife's mournful appearance that the shock killed him again. The human race has had death and mourning ever since.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Kimberley Region
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Legendary Mortal


WULUWAIT: Rain God. The consort of BUNBULAMA, he knows the secret of making rain by tying strips of water grass together.

Extremely useful in drought situations.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Arnham Land
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity


WURAKA: He's a Fertilty God with an enormous attribute. See WARAMURUNGUNDJU.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Gunwinggu folk of Northern Territory
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity
Alternative names : WURUGAG



YALUNGUR: God of the first sex change in North Eastern Australia.

He not only underwent castration, but worse - forced a wooden doll into the wound and willed it to be alive so he could do pregnancy and childbirth.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: n/a
Location : Australia
Gender : Both male and female
Category : Deity


YARA-MA-YHA-WHO: Very nasty little vampire. He looks like a small red man with an enormous head, but has no teeth and octopus-like suckers for fingers.

If you ever sit beneath an Australian fig tree, be very careful. YARA-MA-YHA-WHO is likely to jump on top of you and suck all your blood out. And then eat you.

Strangely enough, as soon as his food has gone down, he vomits it back up again. His victims are thus miraculously reborn, albeit slightly shorter.

Should he happen to catch the same person repeatedly, the unfortunate regurgitatee will get smaller and redder each time, eventually becoming a YARA-MA-YHA-WHO themselves.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: n/a
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Demon


YHI: Asleep in DREAMTIME, a Goddess awakes in a bare barren world.

Her very presence brings light and radiance. She walks, and in her very footprints plants and flowers spring up. She peers into dark caves and butterflies and bees burst forth.

She walks in deeper caves and can sense spirits yearning for existence. She bestows form upon them and myriads of creatures pour forth. Having spread light and joy, she departs.

All seems serene but nothing is ever quite perfect. YHI was not very good at anatomy. Most of her creations had no means of locomotion. No legs, no feet, no wings. They just couldn't get about.

YHI had not planned a return trip, but Earthly pleas reached her ears, and what is such a darling Goddess to do? Her best of course! So back she came and added legs and wings and fins and things.

But her anatomy is still far from brilliant which is why you have such weird and wonderful wildlife in Australia. Think duckbilled platypus and kangaroo. There was also a strange thing called man that wandered around on two spindly legs. He was shunned by all, so in her compassion she offered to make him a companion. Oh no, thought the man, what will she come up with this time?

But all that practice had paid off at last and, using the most beautiful flower stalk, YHI created the first woman. This was much better than the wombat! Content at last, man wandered away in bliss and YHI returned to DREAMTIME in triumph.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Karraur tribe
Location : Australia
Gender : Female
Category : Deity


YINGARNA: Goddess of Creation and the Great Rainbow Snake.

Her son is the serpent NGALYOD. See RAINBOW-SNAKE for more details.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: n/a
Location : Australia
Gender : Female
Category : Deity


YRLUNGGUR: The Great Rainbow Snake of the Murngin people.

Roused to fury by the smell of menstrual blood, he swallowed the WAWALUG sisters in one angry gulp. But later, at the Annual General Meeting of Snakes and Serpents, he was accused of eating his kin and throwing the good name of snakes into disrepute.

Not one to go against the status quo, YRLUNGGUR admitted his error and offered to make amends. The WAWALUG sisters were promptly thrown up in a heap of vomit, as good as new and demanding compensation. We understand there was an out-of-court settlement. Meanwhile, YRLUNGGUR may now be trading under the name JULUNGGUL.

VITAL STATISTIX
Area or people: Murngin people of Northern Territory
Location : Australia
Gender : Male
Category : Deity
Alternative names : YURLUNGUR