Allinga

The sun goddess of the Arrernte. There are two distinct traditions relating to her. At Alice Springs, there is one in which she is supposed to have come out of the earth in the form of a spirit woman, at a spot belonging to the bandicoot people, far away out to the east, where it is now represented by a big stone (at Ilparlinja). She was accompanied by two other Panunga women, who were sisters. Every night it is supposed to return to the stone, and arises there in the morning. The woman belonged to the Panunga class, and therefore the sun does also, and in consequence is regarded as having a definite relationship to various individuals, just as a human being of the same class has.

According to the second tradition the sun arose at a place called Urapailla, in the country of a group of people belonging to the Unjiamba (Hakea plant) totem. Just as in the first tradition, she came up in the form of a woman, who afterwards ascended into the sky.

See also Okerka.

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