Bunyip | |
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Background | |
Purpose | To not get lost in the marshlands, rivers, lakes and swamps, day or night |
Country | Australia |
The Bunyip or Kianpraty is a large creature from Aboriginal mythology. Its favourite habitat is said to be swampy areas such as marshes and riverbeds. Although the history of this creature's mythology dates back a long time, the first proper written accounts on Bunyips were made in the early nineteenth century, when white settlement began to spread across Australia.
Meaning[]
The word "bunyip" is translated as "evil spirit" by most Aboriginal Australians today. George Angus, in 1847, however, nicknamed the beast "water spirit" in his famed account of a dreadful creature that inhabited the Murray River. Other sources simply say that bunyip is most accurately translated as "devil".
Characteristics[]
In George Angus's aforementioned account of the bunyip, the man described the creature as resembling a huge starfish. This portrayal is wholly different from that of the "regular bunyip", characterized by a dog-like face, dark fur, flippers, tusks or horns and perhaps a duck-bill.
However, the bunyip is a catch-all term for an amalgamated monstrous chimera with multiple powers i.e. hypnotism, seduction, paralyzing roars and deadly embraces.