Eingana
Encyclopedia
In Australian Aboriginal mythology
, Eingana is a creator goddess and the mother of all water
, animal
s, and human
s. She is a snake
goddess of death
who lives in the Dream time. She has no vagina
; she simply grew in size and, unable to give birth to the life inside her, had the god Barraiya
open a hole with a spear near her anus
, so that labour could commence. Eingana holds a sinew that is attached to every living thing; if she lets go of one, the attached creature dies.
. She swallowed all the blackfellows. She took them inside herself, down under the water. Eingana came out. She was big with everything inside her. She came out of a big waterhole
near Bamboo Creek. Eingana was rolling about, every way on the ground. She was groaning and calling out. She was making a big noise with all the blackfellows, everything inside her belly. No one can see Eingana. In the raintime, when the flood water comes, Eingana stands up out of the middle of the flood water. She looks out at the country
, she lets go all the bird
s, snake
s, animal
s, child
ren belonging to us.
Australian Aboriginal mythology
Australian Aboriginal myths are the stories traditionally performed by Aboriginal peoples within each of the language groups across Australia....
, Eingana is a creator goddess and the mother of all water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
, animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s, and human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s. She is a snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
goddess of death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
who lives in the Dream time. She has no vagina
Vagina
The vagina is a fibromuscular tubular tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles. Female insects and other invertebrates also have a vagina, which is the terminal part of the...
; she simply grew in size and, unable to give birth to the life inside her, had the god Barraiya
Barraiya
Barraiya is a god in Australian aboriginal mythology who created the first vagina with a spear so that Eingana could give birth....
open a hole with a spear near her anus
Anus
The anus is an opening at the opposite end of an animal's digestive tract from the mouth. Its function is to control the expulsion of feces, unwanted semi-solid matter produced during digestion, which, depending on the type of animal, may be one or more of: matter which the animal cannot digest,...
, so that labour could commence. Eingana holds a sinew that is attached to every living thing; if she lets go of one, the attached creature dies.
Extract
Eingana made everything, Eingana had everything inside herself that first time, Eingana is a snakeSnake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
. She swallowed all the blackfellows. She took them inside herself, down under the water. Eingana came out. She was big with everything inside her. She came out of a big waterhole
Depression (geology)
A depression in geology is a landform sunken or depressed below the surrounding area. Depressions may be formed by various mechanisms.Structural or tectonic related:...
near Bamboo Creek. Eingana was rolling about, every way on the ground. She was groaning and calling out. She was making a big noise with all the blackfellows, everything inside her belly. No one can see Eingana. In the raintime, when the flood water comes, Eingana stands up out of the middle of the flood water. She looks out at the country
Country
A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously...
, she lets go all the bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s, snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s, animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s, child
Child
Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
ren belonging to us.