The following post is drawn from :
The Astronomy of the Kamilaroi People and their Neighbours
Robert S. Fuller1,2, Ray P. Norris1,3, Michelle Trudgett1
1Department of Indigenous Studies, Warawara, Macquarie University NSW 2109, Australia
With a few exceptions, Scorpius is referenced not for the star pattern, but for some dark spaces around it. King Rory (Ridley, 1873: 273-4) said the dark spaces in Scorpius are Wurrawiburu (demons), but also said (ibid: 274-5) that Scorpius is Mundewur (notches cut in tree for climbing). This could be mubirr (G/Y), which is either initiation scars, or carvings, possibly in trees.
Thanks for this information from P2 in this study: P2 said these dark spots are actually holes, which the spirit of the whirlwind, Wilbaarr (G/Y), uses to come to Earth in September, when whirlwinds are common (known as dust devils; the Australian “willy willy” seems to come from the Euahlayi word Wirrawilburro). In the northwest of NSW, September is the windiest month, and whirlwinds are most likely. Wilbaarr has a reputation for creating madness and stealing souls. Baayami eventually calls him back, but can’t stop him coming to Earth, as he can come out through any of the three dark spots. September is also the time the sacred fire is lit, so young men travel, and Wilbaarr tries to catch them. For this reason, pregnant women, and women with children avoid whirlwinds.
P2 also showed us how the ground in the Narran and Barwon River countries is connected to the three dark spots. Three depressions in the ground, one each in Euahlayi, Murrawarri, and Kamilaroi country, are called buulii (G/Y). The fact that there are three buuliis on the ground reflects the theme that what is up in the sky is also on the ground. Buulii, in Kamilaroi/Euahlayi, also means “whirlwind”, so the connection with Wilbaarr is clear. The buuliis in this country are located in the same pattern as the buuliis in Scorpius, as shown by the Scorpius constellation overlay to the map, which is centred on Walgett.
If you clik through the home page to the 19th scartree I call the DOMINO TREE you can see a fair representation of these 3 Buuliis that correspond to the 3 dark spots in Scorpius. While on the night sky theme you may also notice the 20th tree called the wobbly boot is also a similar shape to the dark spaces in the Milky way that the people here knew as crocodiles:
The only mention of a crocodile in the sky is in Parker and Lang (1905: 95), where she describes in the Milky Way a “dark shadow of a crocodile”, which seems strange, as she was located in an area (Narran Lakes) where the last known crocodile was Pallimnarchus, a crocodile from the Pleistocene, extinct over 40,000 years BP (Gillespie and David, 2001: 42). Parker names it Kurreah, and in the current Kamilaroi/Euahlayi language there is a word, garriya, “crocodile”.
Also thanks to James at Arborco down in Vic. for his help in deciphering some scars and for sharing his extraordinary knowledge of our native trees.
