Julunggul- Aboriginal Australian GodDeity"The Rainbow Serpent"

The Serpent of Mirrirmina

Julunggul dwells in the deep waterholes of northeastern Arnhem Land, a rainbow serpent whose gender shifts between male and female, whose body rises in the rainbow when sun and monsoon rain combine. The serpent's mythology centers on a single devastating encounter with two traveling women.

The Wawalag sisters journeyed from the south of Arnhem Land toward the Arafura Sea, walking through Dua moiety country. When the elder sister gave birth near the Mirrirmina waterhole, blood ran into the water where Julunggul lay coiled in the depths. The scent of blood disturbed the serpent. Julunggul rose from the waterhole, looming over the camp, and swallowed the two sisters and their children whole.

The Conference of Snakes

After consuming the Wawalag sisters, Julunggul gathered with other totemic serpents. The snakes told one another what they had eaten. At first Julunggul tried to conceal what had happened, but the serpent grew unwell. The swallowed women and children sat heavy. Finally Julunggul admitted the truth and regurgitated the sisters and their children.

In the Kunapipi ceremonies of Arnhem Land, boys undergoing initiation are understood to be swallowed by Julunggul and held within the serpent's power before being returned to the community as men. The dances recreate the serpent consuming and regurgitating the Wawalag sisters at the Mirrirmina waterhole.