Ngurunderi- Aboriginal Australian GodDeity
Also known as: Ngununderi
Description
Ngarrindjeri ancestor who chased the great Murray cod Pondi down a flat, featureless land. As the enormous fish swam, its body carved the winding course of the Murray River. When Ngurunderi finally speared it, the fish thrashed the river open into Lake Alexandrina.
Mythology & Lore
The Fish That Made the River
Ngurunderi's Dreaming begins with a chase. The great ancestral Murray cod Pondi swam through flat, featureless country, and its massive body carved the winding course of the Murray River as it went. Ngurunderi followed downstream, spear in hand, shaping landforms and naming the places he passed through. Each camp he made became a sacred site.
When Ngurunderi finally caught up with Pondi near the river's mouth, he drove his spear into the great fish. Pondi thrashed so violently that the river widened into the broad waters of Lake Alexandrina. Ngurunderi cut the fish into pieces and cast them into the water. Each piece became a different species of freshwater fish, and he named every one as he threw it.
The Wives and the Sky
Ngurunderi also pursued his two wives, who had fled from him. The chase carried him south through further country, and along the way he laid down the laws that govern Ngarrindjeri society: kinship, marriage, territory, and proper conduct. His wives reached the coast and attempted to cross to Kangaroo Island, but Ngurunderi called up the waters. The sea rose and swept them away, and their bodies became the rocky islands known as The Pages.
The river shaped, the fish named, the laws laid down, Ngurunderi crossed to Kangaroo Island, cleansed himself of his earthly existence, and departed to the sky world. He remains there still.