Nurrundere
A sky spirit who manifests his will through the rainbow. He created all things on earth, the terrain along the Murray River, and the fish that lives in the river. Nurrendere gave the people weapons for hunting and war as well as their rites and ceremonies. He was their teacher and lawgiver. He distributed the hunting-grounds among the various tribes, and the boundaries of these tribal hunting grounds have remained unaltered.
According to one legend, he and Nepelle pursued a gigantic fish in Lake Alexandrina. Nepelle caught it and Nurrendere tore it in pieces, and threw the fragments into the water, and each fragment became a fish, which is the origin of the different species of fish.
He has two wives, who are sisters, and four children. He made his ascent to heaven from Lake Victoria and lives now in Wyirrewarre. The thunder is his angry voice.
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References
Sources
- Howitt, A. W. (1904). The Native Tribes of Southeast Australia. London: Macmillan, p. 488.
- Roberts, A.; Mountford, C.P. (1969). The dawn of time: Australian Aboriginal myths in paintings. Syndey: Angus & Robertson Ltd., p. 20.
- Smith, W. Ramsey. (1932). Myths and legends of the Australian Aboriginals. New York: Farrar & Rinehart Publishers, p. 17.
- Woods, J. D. (1879). The Native Tribes of South Australia. Adelaide: E. S. Wigg & Son, pp. 55 ff.