Australia: The Land Where Time Began

A biography of the Australian continent 

In the Wawalag cycle the sisters came to northern Arnhem Land from the vicinity of the Roper River. The sisters were Waimariwi, the elder, and Boaliri, the younger. In some versions they are associated with a man who had boomerang legs, Wojal (aka Wudal, Maimaia), who happened to be travelling in the same direction, though they travelled alone, or with the elder Sister's first child and their dog, most versions. After a number of adventures that came to a sacred waterhole, Muruwul (Miraraminar). Here the elder sister gave birth to a child, the afterbirth blood, or menstrual, or both, attracted the attention of a large python that lived in the waterhole.

In one version of the story, the sisters and their 2 female dogs, Wulngari and Buruwal (Muruwul) (like the place name), were tired by the time they reached the waterhole and the shade of the paperbark trees and cabbage palms by the water's edge. They put down their baskets, that were full of stone spear heads, and began collecting fire wood and paperbark for a hut, or shade, and to make sleeping mats and to cook the food they and their dogs had collected. The sisters knew something was wrong when all the plants and animals they had caught for food, goannas, roots, wallaby and small land snails, suddenly jumped into the water, one after another. The younger sister said 'Oh, elder sister, a snake!' 'Quick, let's go' (Berndt & Berndt, 1964). But they were too late, the sky had clouded over and a storm broke, that had been summoned by Julunggul. They tried to get rid of the smell of blood by washing the baby, but it was too late, it was night. They crouched in their hut while the storm raged outside, taking it in turns to dance and to call ritually to try to drive the storm away. The rain almost stopped when the elder sister danced and called 'Gaibaa, Gaibaa, Gaibaa!' but when the younger sister tried she could do no more than diminish the storm a bit. The storm died down when they sang Kunapipi songs. They were tired and fell asleep. ('Perhaps they thought the snake had gone: but he was there waiting.') (Berndt & Berndt, 1964). He sent his son to look and report back. His son said 'Father, those two are asleep.'(Berndt & Berndt, 1964). He raised himself erect, then lowering himself his head went into the hut as he wrapped his body around it, around the molg, the banagaga (both words refer to the sacred mound used in ritual, also the ubar banagaga. He swallowed the sisters, their children and their dogs, and they slept in his stomach. When an ant bit him he jumped and vomited them all up. Then he swallowed the sisters again but not the children, because they were jiridja moiety, but he and the sisters were all dua moiety. In this version there is a long conversation between the various snakes living in the area. At first he denies swallowing the Wawalag sisters, but eventually, boasting, confesses that that he swallowed them.

The Wawalag sisters are not believed to be creative beings, as the Djanggawul sisters were, and in some versions of the story they are daughters of the Djanggawul.

Sources & Further reading

R.M. & C.H.Berndt, The world of the First Australians, 1964, Ure Smith, Sydney