went about doing as much harm as he could.[1] The Gippsland blacks say that the first lot of men he met he turned into ducks, and left them in that condition. On one occasion he visited the Eagle. He set his miam near that of the Eagle. The Eagle had been out in the forest catching kangaroos, when the Moon camped near his abode, and having come home with two of these animals, he offered the Moon some of the flesh. The Moon swallowed joint after joint. He left nothing. He devoured the two carcasses. He then killed the Eagle and swallowed him. After performing these feats he went upon a journey. In going through the forest he met the two wives of the Eagle. They were alarmed when they saw him, and guessed suddenly that he had swallowed their husband. The Moon asked for water, and they pointed to a well. He went there to drink, and, as he was drinking, the women struck him with the stone tomahawk (Wallung-gwi-an). They cut open the Moon, and extracted from his capacious stomach the body of the Eagle, who thereupon came to life again.
The Aborigines are not without some knowledge of astronomy. Mr. W. E. Stanbridge, in his paper On the Aborigines of Victoria, states that "All the tribes have traditions, and particular families have the reputation in their respective tribes of possessing the most exact knowledge of them. A family having this character in the Boorong tribe, who inhabit the Mallee country in the neighbourhood of Lake Tyrril, and who take pride in saying that they know more of astronomy than any others, state that the earth is flat, and that it was in darkness until the Sun was made by Pupperimbul. This person was one of the race who then inhabited the earth, and who are now called Nurrum-bung-uttias, or old spirits. They possessed fire, and also the same characteristics as the present race, but were translated in various forms to the heavens before the present race came into existence. All the celestial bodies, as well as all appearances in space (tyrille) are supposed to have been made by them. They exercise all spiritual influences, whether for good or evil, upon the earth, where they are represented in a material form amongst other creatures by the Pupperimbul (Estrelda-Temporalis), to kill one of which would be avenged by a deluge of rain.
"Gnowee (Sun); an emu's egg, prepared and cast into space (tyrille) by Pupperimbul, before which the earth was in darkness.[2]
"It is said by another tribe that the emu's egg was prepared by Berm-berm-gl, and carried into space by Penmen, a small bird which they do not destroy.
- ↑ The Encounter Bay people say that the Moon is a woman, and not particularly chaste. She stays a long time with the men, and from the effects of her intercourse with them, she becomes very thin, and wastes away to a mere skeleton. When in this state Nurrunduri orders her to be driven away. She flies, and is secreted for some time, but is employed all the time in seeking roots, which are so nourishing that in a short time she appears again and fills out and becomes fat rapidly.—Aborigines of Encounter Bay Tribe, South Australia. H. E. A. Meyer, 1846.
- ↑ The Sun, the Encounter Bay tribe believe to be a female, who, when she sets, passes the dwelling-places of the dead. As she approaches, the men assemble, and divide into two bodies, leaving a road for her to pass between them. They invite her to stay with them, which she can only do for a short time, as she must be ready for her jonrney of the next day. For favors granted to some one among them she receives a present of a red kangaroo skin, and therefore in the morning, when she rises, appears in a red dress.—Ibid.
