The
Wagyl (alternative spelling Waugal or
Waagal) is, according to Noongar
culture, a snakelike dreamtime
creature responsible for the creation of the Swan
and Canning River
and other waterways and landforms around present
day Perth
and the south-west of Western Australia
A superior being, the Rainbow Serpent created the universe and the
people and delegated the Wagyl as a lesser, but nonetheless
powerful, deity to create and protect the rivers, lakes, springs
and the wildlife. The Noongar people were appointed as the
guardians of the land by the Wagyl. The Wagyl was seen by certain
tribal elders who spoke to the dreamtime being.
The
Darling Scarp is said to represent
the body of the Wagyl, which meandered over the land creating the
curves and contours of the hills and gullies.
The being is strongly
associated with rivers, lakes like Lake
Monger
, and is supposed still to reside deep beneath
springs. As the Wagyl slithered over the land, his track
shaped the sand dunes, his body scoured out the course of the
rivers; where he occasionally stopped for a rest, and he created
bays and lakes. Piles of rocks are said to be his droppings, and
such sites are considered sacred. As he moved, his scales scraped
off and become the forests and woodlands of the region.
The Wagyl stories may represent the survival in
oral tradition of extinct
Australian megafauna, as there was a
python-like snake,
Wonambi naracoortensis, with a
length of five or six metres.
See also
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