WURIUPRANILI THE SUN-WOMAN THE ORIGIN OF FIRE:
The aboriginal people who lived on the north-western coasts of Australia tells how their fire came from the sky.
One of the astronomical myths from northern Australia describes how the sun-woman, Wuriupranili, and the moon-man, Japara, travel at different times across the sky. Each carries a torch of flaming bark, but when they reach the western horizon they extinguish the flames and use the smouldering ends to light their way as they return eastwards through the darkness of the underground world.
Each morning the fire lit by the sun-woman to prepare her torch of bark provides the first light of dawn. The clouds of sunrise are reddened by the dust from the powdered ochre which she uses to decorate her body. It is then that the soft, melodious call of Tukumbini, the honey-eater, wakens the aborigines to the duties of another day. At sunset, Wuriupranili reaches the western horizon. But, before she returns by underground passage to her camp in the east, she again decorates herself with red ochre, thus causing the brilliant colours of sunset.
Witana was a giant mythical being of the tribes of the northern Flinders Ranges in South Australia. He created many of the natural features of that beautiful country; its steep-sided gorges, brightly coloured cliffs and permanent waterholes. Witana also established the rites of initiation, particularly the Wilyeru body-scarring ceremony through which all aboriginal youths must pass before they can achieve full tribal manhood.
According to the traditional stories, Witana once camped at Wataku-wadlu, in the middle of the Finders Ranges. While he was there he made a cut in each of his arms, to obtain the blood with which to decorate youths taking part in the initiation rituals. The pool of blood which ran from one arm was transformed into a deposit if red ochre, and that from the other arm became a reef of black pigment.
Annual pilgrimages where made to Wataku-wadlu to gather these pigments for the initiation ceremonies. The red ochre, for circumcision ceremonies, and the black pigment for body-scarring rituals. Two brothers named Kanbi and Jitabidi lived in the heavens. Their camp was near the Southern Cross, and their fires were the Pointers, Alpha and Beta Centaurus. At that time there was no other fire in the universe. Food was getting scarce in the sky-world, so Kanbi and Jitabidi came down to earth, bringing their fire-sticks with them. They made camp, and laid their fire-sticks on the ground while they went out to hunt. They were away so long that the fire-sticks, becoming bored, began to chase each other about in the grass and this game started a bushfire. Seeing the smoke and flames, the brothers returned at once to their earthly camp, recaptured the playful fire-sticks, and restored them to their place in the sky. It happened that a group of aboriginal hunters saw the fire and felt its warmth. Realising the value of this strange new element, they took a blazing log back to their own camp, from which many other fires were lit. Now all aborigines have the fire that once belonged only to the Southern Cross. Tiddalik, the largest frog ever known, awoke one morning with an unquenchable thirst. He drank and drank until there was no fresh water left. The creatures everywhere were soon dying. It was the wise old wombat who finally suggested that if Tiddalik could be made to laugh, all the water would flow from his mouth. So everyone gathered by the giant frog. For a long time they tried to make him laugh. The kookaburra told his funniest stories; the kangaroo jumped over the emu; and the blanket lizard waddled up and down on two legs making his stomach protrude; but the frog’s face remained blank and indifferent. Then, when all the animals were in despair, the eel, Nabunum, slithered up to the unresponsive frog, and began to dance. He started with slow, graceful movements, but as the dance became faster he wriggled and twisted himself into the most grotesque and comical shapes, until suddenly Tiddalik’s eyes lit up and he burst out laughing. And as he laughed, the water gushed from his mouth and replenished the land.
WURIUPRANILI THE SUN-WOMAN
One of the astronomical myths from northern Australia describes how the sun-woman, Wuriupranili, and the moon-man, Japara, travel at different times across the sky. Each carries a torch of flaming bark, but when they reach the western horizon they extinguish the flames and use the smouldering ends to light their way as they return eastwards through the darkness of the underground world.
Each morning the fire lit by the sun-woman to prepare her torch of bark provides the first light of dawn. The clouds of sunrise are reddened by the dust from the powdered ochre which she uses to decorate her body. It is then that the soft, melodious call of Tukumbini, the honey-eater, wakens the aborigines to the duties of another day. At sunset, Wuriupranili reaches the western horizon. But, before she returns by underground passage to her camp in the east, she again decorates herself with red ochre, thus causing the brilliant colours of sunset.
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