Australian Aboriginal Mythology

The Dreaming Gods and Spirits of Oz

WAPIYA

Australian Aboriginal Songs and Singing Spirits

Picture of the Australian Aboriginal Songs and Singing Spirits Wapiya from our Australian Aboriginal mythology image library. Illustration by Chas Saunders.

All-singing, all-dancing, Boomerang Girls

They are a band of delightfully frolicsome young ladies who danced their merry way across Australia singing boomerang songs and having adventures — and a lot of fun. At some point they joined forces with the Mankara-waka-ya-pirna girls for even more frolics.

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 have interrupted a sacred Wodampa Dance... Sorry girls, that’s for men only. Now they are being strangled by an angry mob — this does not seem to stop them. They just laugh and dance away. Oh, there’s a big hill in their way. Never mind. Slice it in two with this magic Wona penknife. Carry on. There they meet an old guy listening to the sky.

They listen too and the Sky God Arawotya drops a heavenly cord from the sky. They all cling to it and it draws them upwards. Are they going home, or just visiting? We don’t know. Perhaps they will be turned into stars.

Oh dear, the last girl cuts herself on the Wona and drops her 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. Her sisters wave goodbye forever.

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.

And the moral of this story is... Er, sorry, we don’t have a clue.

Wapiya Facts and Figures

Name: Wapiya
Pronunciation: Coming soon
Alternative names:
Name means: Boomerang

Gender: Female
Type: Spirits
Area or people: Wonkamala tribe, Central Australia
Celebration or Feast Day: Unknown at present

Role:
In charge of: Musical Vocals
Area of expertise: Songs, Singing

Good/Evil Rating: OKAY, not bad
Popularity index: 4462

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Article last revised on November 27, 2018 by the Godchecker data dwarves.
Editors: Peter J. Allen, Chas Saunders

References: Coming soon.

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