Mamaragan or Namarrgon ( Australian . Narm -arr-gon) - the spirit of lightning in the mythology of Australian aborigines . He rides a cloud and throws lightning at people and trees, this spirit is responsible for the storms in the Arnhem Land region , from October to November at the beginning of the rainy season . It lives in puddles.
Description
Ancient images of Mamaragan can be found on many cliff ledges in Arnhem Land , including the Kakadu National Park in a gallery near Lake Anbangbang Billabong .
The head and genitals of the spirit are joined together by a mustache. Two stone hammers are suspended on his head and elbows, two more others are mounted on his knees, and, thanks to their blows against each other, thunder is created. The body shape of Mamaragan is akin to the grasshopper Leichhardt ( Petasida ephippigera ), these grasshoppers themselves are considered his children from his wife Barrinj. The seasonal appearance of the Leichgardt grasshoppers, who allegedly “go out to meet their father,” gave indigenous people who had no other calendar a signal that the time of strong North Australian thunderstorms was approaching, and they should find a reliable shelter in time from devastating lightning strikes.
Links
- (English) Peter Prevos "Levels of meaning in Aboriginal art" (inaccessible link) (10/10/2010)