List of Australian Aboriginal mythological figures

Further information:Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology

TheRainbow Snakeis a common feature of the mythology and art of indigenous Australian cultures

The following is alist of Australian Indigenous Australian deities and spirits.

New South Wales

• Baiame(Baayami), creator spirit of some peoples of New South Wales, including theGamilaraayand theWiradjuri
• Bahloo(Baaluu), Gamilaraay personification of the moon who keeps three pet snakes
• Birrahgnooloo(Birrangulu), Gamilaraay fertility spirit who would send floods if properly asked to; one of Baiame's two wives
• Daramulum(Dharramalan), sky hero and son of Baiame and Birrahngnooloo
• Dirawong,Bundjalungcreator being
• Dulagal,(Yuin people) predatory child-eater with red eyes, no neck and a long forehead, and walking "from side to side"
• Ganhanbili,second wife of Baiame
• Gurangatcha rainbow serpent / human inhabitant of the Dreaming who in his battle with the quoll Mirragañ created the landscape
• Mirragaña quoll / human inhabitant the Dreaming who went to hunt the rainbow serpent / human inhabitant of the Dreaming Gurangatch
• Mungoon-Galigiant goanna inYuwaalaraaymyth, married to Kubbitha or Kabbitha the black duck who created theMurrumbidgee River,rival to Ouyouboolooey the black snake who stole Mungoon-Gali's poison for the snakes.
• Whowiesix-legged seven meter long frog-headed goanna of theMurray Riverwho menaced nearby tribes
• Wurrunna,culture hero
• Yhi(Yaraay/Yaay), Gamilaraay personification of the sun and creator spirit

Northern Territory

• Adnoartina,the lizard guard ofUluru
• Altjira,Arrerntesky god who created the earth
• Ankotarinja,the first man of Arrernte mythology
• Bamapana,Yolngutrickster spirit who creates discord
• Banaitja,creator deity
• Barnumbirr,Yolngu creator spirit
• Barraiya,creator of the first vagina
• Bluetongue Lizard,an elderly trickster
• Bobbi-Bobbi,benevolentBinbingasnake deity
• Djanggawul,three creator-siblings of northeastArnhem Landmythology
• Djunkgao,a group of sisters associated with floods and ocean currents
• Eingana(Jawoyn people) rainbow snake whose body during the rainy season releases animals and plants that the community relies on for food
• Galeru,rainbow snake in Arnhem Land mythology who swallowed the Djanggawul
• Garkainthe Recluse, predatory being whose victim's souls are forced to forever wander the vast jungles of their final resting place
• Inapertwain Arrernte mythology, simple ancestral beings formed into all plants, birds, animals and later humans
• Ipilja-ipilja100ft gecko of Anindilyakwa myth. Adorned with hairs and whiskers. Spews swamp water to make the clouds of the sky, thunder is ipilja-ipilja's roaring. Ipilja-ipilja's home is a swamp filled with deadly waters. Similar to legends ofmaratjiby Tiwi and Iwaidja people.
• Julunggul,Yolngu rainbow snake goddess associated with initiation, fertility, rebirth and water
• Karora,creator god
• Kunapipi,a mother goddess and the patron deity of many heroes
• Malingee,malignant nocturnal spirit
• Mamaragan,lightning deity
• Mangar-kunjer-kunja,Arrernte lizard deity who created humans
• Manuriki,god of beauty
• Maratjiin Tiwi and Iwaidja myth. Lizards guard waterholes, cause floods and thunderstorms when intruded upon. Similar toIpilja-ipilja.
• Mimi,fairy-like beings of Arnhem Land
• Minawara and Multultu,legendary ancestors of theNambutji
• Mokoi,an evil spirit in Yolngu stories who kidnapped and ate children
• Namarrkon(also known as Namarrgon), Lightning man, makes lightning appear and creates roars of thunder in storms
• Ngintaka,Pitjantjatjaracreator being
• Nogomain,a god who gives spirit children to mortal parents
• Onur,Karraurlunar deity
• Papinijuwari,a type of one-eyed giant which feeds on the bodies of the dead and the blood of the sick
• Tjilpa-men, significant mythic figures Aranda,Anmatyerre,Kaytetye,Ngalia,IlparaandKukatjastories. Tjilpa is the Arrernte word forquoll.
• Tjinimin,the ancestor of the Australian people. He is associated with the bat and with Kunmanggur the rainbow serpent - per theMurinbata
• Ulanji,snake ancestor of the Binbinga
• Wala,solar goddess
• Wawalag,Yolngu sisters who were swallowed by a serpent, only to be regurgitated
• Wollunqua,snake deity associated with rain and fertility
• Wuluwaid,rain god of Arnhem Land
• Wuriupranili,a solar goddess whose torch is the sun
• Wurugag and Waramurungundi,first man and woman ofKunwinjkulegend
• Yawkyawk,Aboriginal (Kunwinjku) shape-shifting mermaids who live in waterholes, freshwater springs, and rock pools, cause the weather and are related by blood or through marriage (or depending on the tradition, both) to the rainbow serpentNgalyod.
• Yee-Na-Pah,an Arrerntethorny devilspirit girl who marries andechidnaspirit man.
• Yurlungur,Yolngu snake deity who swallowed and regurgitated the Wawalag sisters; associated with initiation and rebirth

Queensland

• Anjea,fertility goddess or spirit, in whom people's souls reside between their incarnations
• Gaiya,giant devil dingo of lower Cape York Peninsula
• Dhakhan,ancestral god of theKabi
• I'wai,culture hero of theKuuku-Ya'u
• Yalungur,god of the first baby
• Yarria tree-climbing predatory animal along theHerbert River(possibly part of the myths of speakers of theWarrgamay languageorWarrongo language).

South Australia

• Akurra,great snake deity of theAdnyamathanhapeople
• Bila,cannibalsun goddessof theAdnyamathanhapeople
• Bunyip,mythical creature said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes
• Mar'rallang,twin sisters who share a name and whose exploits are immortalized in the night sky inNgarrindjeristories
• Minka Birdbird that foretells death among the Ngarrindjeri ofMurray River
• Muldjewangk,water spirit or spirits inhabiting theMurray River
• Ngintaka,Pitjantjatjaracreator being
• Thardid Jimbo,cannibalisticgiant inNgarrindjerifolklore
• Tjilbruke,Kaurnacreation ancestor

Tasmania

• Moinee,Creator spirit/God for Tasmania
• Droemerdene,Moinee's twin brother
• Rageowrapper,malevolent spirit

Victoria

• Baiame,southeast Australian creational ancestral hero
• Balayang,batdeity and brother of Bunjil
• Binbeal,Kulin rainbow deity and son of Bunjil
• Bunjil,Kulin creator deity and ancestral being, represented as an eagle
• Bunyip,mythical creature said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes
• Daramulum,southeast Australian deity and son of Baiame
• Gnowee,solar goddess who searches daily for her lost son; her torch is the sun
• Karatgurk,seven sisters who represent thePleiadesstar cluster
• Kondole,man who became the first whale
• Lo-an-tuka,wife ofLoo-errn
• Loo-errn,spirit ancestor and guardian of theBrataualung people
• Nargun,fierce half-human, half-stone creature ofGunailegend
• Thinan-malkia,evil spirit who captures victims with nets that entangle their feet
• Tiddalik,frog of southeast Australian legend who drank all the water in the land, and had to be made to laugh to regurgitate it
• Waang,Kulintrickster,culture heroand ancestral being, represented as a crow
• Wambeen,evil lightning-hurling figure who targets travellers

Western Australia

• Bagadjimbiri,a pair ofKaradjericreator-spirits
• Dilga,Karadjeri goddess of fertility and growth, and mother of the Bagadjimbiri
• Julana,lecherousJumuspirit who surprises women by burrowing beneath the sand, leaping out, and raping them
• Kidili,Mandjindjamoon deity who was castrated for attempting to rape the first women, who in turn became thePleiades
• Kurdaitcha(or kurdaitcha man) is a ritual "executioner" in Australian Indigenous Australian culture (specifically the term comes from the Arrernte people).
• Ngariman,Karadjeri quoll-man who killed the Bagadjimbiri and was drowned in revenge
• Njirana,Jumu deity and father of Julana
• Ungud,snake deity associated with rainbows and the fertility and erections of the tribe's shamans
• Wagyl,Noongarsnakelike creator being
• Wati-kutjara,a pair of western Australian lizard-men
• Wirnpaa rainmaking snake who created the land aroundPercival Lakesduring the Dreaming
• Wondjina,Mowanjumcloud or rain spirits

Pan-continental

• Erathipa,central Australia, a boulder that has the shape of a pregnant woman
• Min Min lightterm may originate with aboriginal groupsCloncurry area(with theMitakoodi,KalkadoonandPitta Pitta aboriginal people) in Queensland, sightings in NSW and Western Australia
• Rainbow Serpent,a common feature of the art and mythology of Indigenous Australian cultures

Unknown

• Kinie Ger,evil half-man, half-quoll beast
• Yara-ma-yha-who,monstrous bloodsucking dwarf

References

• Bishop, W (1970),Australian Indigenous Australian mythology,retrieved12 May2013
• Hiatt, L. R., ed. (1975),Australian Aboriginal Mythology: Essays in Honour of W.E.H. Stanner,Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies,ISBN978-0-85575-044-2