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I renamed this section from Aboriginal Demons to
the Demons of Oceania. Much of the material I have been
reading groups Australia in with other Pacific Islands countries
such as Easter Island, Hawaii, American Samoa, Fiji, Papua New
Guinea, etc under the heading of Oceania. Since my research
materials were combined this way I felt that, for the time being, I would organize my notes
that way.
The 'demons' described here
are creatures whose nature is generally one that is harmful in
some way. These creatures may not necessarily be evil
but their effects can be construed that way. Their
powers can be manifested in numerous ways - from the feeling
of minor discomfort or distress to major illness, disaster or
even death.
Demons of Australia1
Bunyip:
Click here.
Kutji Spirits: These spirits are
found mostly in the shade of bushes and in holes. They
can show themselves in a variety of forms, the black crow,
eagles, owl, kangaroo and emus being among the many.
These spirits can possess animals. Creatures possessed
by the Kutji can be found circling around a person or behaving
oddly. The Kutji can also manifest as a black
rain-cloud, a dust-storm, thunder or a mirage. They most
notably cause sickness, disease, distress and death.
They can only be controlled by shaman. In aboriginal
lore, the shaman actually receive their power from them and
can communicate directly with them. From this
relationship a shaman gains his or her magical and healing
abilities.
Marmoo: An evil spirit to the
Koori tribe. He is responsible for plagues of insects.
It was such plagues that caused the spirit Biame and Nungeena,
the spirit of waterfalls, to stop Marmoo's the plague by
creating birds.
Burrawungal
(Water Sprites):
These sprites are usually female and live in pools near
Aboriginal people. These sprites can be dangerous to
those who do not know who to handle them. They pray upon
unsuspecting men whom they trap when one enters the water.
Once trapped, the victim is then drowned.
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1 Aboriginal
Mythology. Mudrooroo Nyoongah. Harper Collins Publishers. ©
1994
This essay
is obviously a work-in-progress. I hope to add more to it in
the future.
People of the Oceanic / Pacific Ocean
countries believe in the existence of demons. However, their view
of them is far different from ours. Many of the tribes believe that
demons are responsible for illnesses and ecological problems, but
unlike in the West they believe that demons are stupid and easily
fooled creatures.
During epidemics, the Dayak tribe of
Borneo (Ketungau River area) place wooden idols on their
doorstep – the hope being that the demons would carry the idol away
instead of the human.
The Dieri tribe of Australia has
a different approach to dealing with demons. During epidemics they
send out a witch doctor who beats the ground with a stuffed kangaroo
tail, which they believe will drive off the demon Cootchie, the one
responsible for the epidemic.
In this region of the world, one tribe
has a very unique type of demon, one not found anywhere else (to my
knowledge). Most Australian tribes believe the demons are
essentially evil creatures that eat humans. However, the Pindupi
tribe believes in a creature called a mangukurata. The
mangukurata is a demon that feeds on other demons. As Messadie
points out, “…a demon that eats demons would in a way be an ally of
God.”
The Mangukurata is interesting twist in the world of demons.
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2 The History of the
Devil. Gerald Messadie. Newleaf. © 1996. Pg. 27 |
