Australia: The Land Where Time Began

A biography of the Australian continent 

Dhurrmulan was believed to be the All-Father among some of the tribes of New South Wales, while other believed he was the half-brother or other close relative on Baiame. It was said he had only 1 leg and lived in trees had a voice that was the sound of distant thunder. He was believed to have taken boys from their families to initiate then, to teach them the ceremonies of the tribe, leading them through the bush with a rug over their heads so they didn't know where they were going, then he hit them on the back of the head, knocking out a front tooth. Then he threw the boy into the fire to scorch off all his hair. Sometimes he even burned a boy to ashes, but revived him with sorcery. He gave them a type of wood lizard that they had to eat raw.

He eventually entered different trees where he remains, coming out only during initiation ceremonies. A bullroarer, called Dhurramulan,  is made from a piece of wood cut from one of these trees and the sound it makes when swung around represents his voice. He was believed to be shape changer, being able to change from the size of a small animal to that of a giant. He was said to like to live on the variously shaped bulges on the stems of eucalypts.

Sources & Further reading

1. Jennifer Isaacs, Australian Dreaming: 40,000 years of Aboriginal History, New Holland Publishers, 2005
2. R. M & C. H. Berndt, The World of the First Australians, Ure Smith Pty Ltd, 1964

• Aboriginal Mythology
• Great Ancestor Spirits
• Baiame
• Bunjil
• Dhurramulan