Balayang
Encyclopedia
In the mythology of the Aboriginal people
of south-eastern Australia
(specifically, the Kulin
nation), Balayang the bat
was a brother of Bunjil
the eagle
hawk, but lived apart from him. Once, Bunjil asked him to come and live with him, but Balayang replied that Bunjil's country was too dry and that Bunjil ought to come and live with him instead. This upset Bunjil, who sent his two helpers, Djurt-djurt the Nankeen Kestrel
and Thara the quail hawk, after Balayang. They set fire to the bat's country and Balayang and his family were scorched and turned permanently black.
Because of his black colouring, Balayang was associated with Crow
, and thus belonged to the moiety in opposition to Eaglehawk. Another story credits him with creating or finding Crow women (and thus marriage partners for the Eaglehawk moiety). One day Balayang was amusing himself by thumping the surface of the water, causing it to thicken into mud. Something stirred underneath the mud and, probing with a branch, he found two women. He called one Kunnawarra ("black swan") and the other Kururuk ("native companion"). He took them to Bunjil, who gave them as wives to the men he had created.
Balayang was represented in the night sky by the star Antares
.
Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
of south-eastern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
(specifically, the Kulin
Kulin
The Kulin nation, was an alliance of five Indigenous Australian nations in Central Victoria, Australia, prior to European settlement. Their collective territory extended to around Port Phillip and Western Port, up into the Great Dividing Range and the Loddon and Goulburn River valleys. To their...
nation), Balayang the bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
was a brother of Bunjil
Bunjil
In Australian Aboriginal mythology, Bunjil the eagle is a creator deity, culture hero and ancestral being. In the Kulin nation in central Victoria he was regarded as one of two moiety ancestors, the other being the trickster Crow. Bunjil has two wives and a son, Binbeal the rainbow. His brother...
the eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
hawk, but lived apart from him. Once, Bunjil asked him to come and live with him, but Balayang replied that Bunjil's country was too dry and that Bunjil ought to come and live with him instead. This upset Bunjil, who sent his two helpers, Djurt-djurt the Nankeen Kestrel
Nankeen Kestrel
The Australian Kestrel or Nankeen Kestrel is one of the smallest falcons, and unlike many, does not rely on speed to catch its prey. Instead, it simply perches in an exposed position, but it also has a distinctive technique of hovering over crop and grasslands...
and Thara the quail hawk, after Balayang. They set fire to the bat's country and Balayang and his family were scorched and turned permanently black.
Because of his black colouring, Balayang was associated with Crow
Crow (Australian Aboriginal mythology)
In Australian Aboriginal mythology, Crow is a trickster, culture hero and ancestral being. In the Kulin nation in central Victoria he was known as Waa and was regarded as one of two moiety ancestors, the other being the more sombre eaglehawk Bunjil...
, and thus belonged to the moiety in opposition to Eaglehawk. Another story credits him with creating or finding Crow women (and thus marriage partners for the Eaglehawk moiety). One day Balayang was amusing himself by thumping the surface of the water, causing it to thicken into mud. Something stirred underneath the mud and, probing with a branch, he found two women. He called one Kunnawarra ("black swan") and the other Kururuk ("native companion"). He took them to Bunjil, who gave them as wives to the men he had created.
Balayang was represented in the night sky by the star Antares
Antares
Antares is a red supergiant star in the Milky Way galaxy and the sixteenth brightest star in the nighttime sky . Along with Aldebaran, Spica, and Regulus it is one of the four brightest stars near the ecliptic...
.