Bunjil, also spelt Bundjil, is a creator deity, culture hero and ancestral being, often depicted as a
Bunjil is the Ancestral Wedge-tailed Eagle, the creator. Waa is the Ancestral Crow, the protector. Bunjil created much of south-eastern Australia and the features and animals within it. He also created people, by breathing life into figures moulded from clay.
The story of Bunjil the eagle
The Wurundjeri people believe an ancestral Wedge-tailed Eagle called 'Bunjil' created the land. Bunjil originated from a falling star, and as he fell from the sky, he blew air from his beak to create the earth we live on today.
Bunjil is a Creator Spirit and Ancestral Being that takes the form of the Wedge-Tail Eagle. Bunjil is one of two Moiety Ancestors of the Kulin Nation. Waa is an Ancestral Being that takes the form of a Raven/Crow. Waa is the other Moiety Ancestor of the Kulin Nation.
The building design for Bunjil Place evokes Bunjil the creator in the shape of a wedge-tailed eagle.
Bunjil, also spelt Bundjil, is a creator deity, culture hero and ancestral being, often depicted as a wedge-tailed eagle in Australian Aboriginal mythology of some of the Aboriginal peoples of Victoria.
Fast Facts. The Wedge-tailed Eagle is Australia's largest living bird of prey and one of the largest eagles in the world.
We teach the children that Bunjil (often represented as an eagle) is the creator spirit for the Wurundjeri people – he created the people, animals and plants and he is watching how we respect the land.
Bunjil is the spiritual totem or moiety ancestor for many of the clans between Geelong and Ballarat. Some Wuthaurung clans have 'Waa' the Crow as their ancestral moiety.
They include bunji, "a mate, a close friend a kinsman" (from Warlpiri and other languages of the Northern Territory and northern Queensland), boorie, "a boy, a child" (from Wiradjuri), jarjum, "a child" (from Bundjalung), kumanjayi, "a substitute name for a dead person" (from Western Desert language), pukamani "a ...
It's the only known painting of Bunjil to exist in Australia. The exact age of the shelter is still unknown, but it is estimated that the artwork is over a thousand years old. In Aboriginal culture, Bunjil was the main Dreaming Being of south-eastern Australia.
Bunjil is a well known (and loved) 25-metre eagle sculpture in Docklands. The sculpture by Bruce Armstrong is a Docklands landmark (2002), was inspired by Bunjil, the eaglehawk regarded as the spirit creator of the Kulin nations, which include the Wurundjeri people.
Bunji: Aboriginal English for mate. Eg. “How're you doing bunji?”
Standing 2.8 metres tall, Bunjil the Eagle has been carved from a sugar gum tree by renowned Aboriginal artist Glenn Romanis.
Bunjil – the Creator
Long ago Bunjil, the Wedge-Tail Eagle, was a very powerful man. He was the headman of the Kulin.
Bunjil Place was officially opened on 28 October 2017, with more than 35,000 visitors streaming through the doors over the opening weekend.
In the Dreamtime, Aboriginal people lived in the forests which covered the land. Bunjil the Eagle and Waa the Crow (who was white then) ruled over the mountain together, but Eagle was greedy and sent Crow far away. One day, when lightning struck a tree, Crow fell into the fire and was turned black.
One of Australia's best known Creation Stories
It's the story of a frog whose greed results in all of the water in the creeks, lakes and rivers being depleted, resulting in the other animals working together to see it returned.
In Australian Aboriginal mythology, Baiame (or Biame, Baayami, Baayama or Byamee) was the creator god and sky father in the Dreaming of several Aboriginal Australian peoples of south-eastern Australia, such as the Wonnarua, Kamilaroi, Guringay, Eora, Darkinjung, and Wiradjuri peoples.
One Boon wurrung story explained the formation of the river and the creation of Port Phillip Bay in what was once dry land. In this story Bunjil told two young companions to empty out two water containers onto the ground. The water formed a great flood that created Birrarung and Port Phillip Bay.
This Geoglyph was created by Andrew Rogers as a tribute to the Creator Spirit Bunjil and is one of the world wide 'Rhythm of Life' series of-sculptures.
“Australia's rarest and most important bird, it is a living fossil, the sole survivor of its genus and family. “With only 1000 plains-wanderers alive today, any extra pressure may drive the species to extinction, especially from a population as large as the wedge-tailed eagles.”
The little eagle (Hieraaetus morphnoides) is a very small eagle native to Australia, measuring 45–55 cm (17–21.5 inches) in length and weighing 815 g (1.8 lb), roughly the size of a peregrine falcon.