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Yowie (cryptid)
Encyclopedia
Yowie is the term for an unidentified hominid reputed to lurk in the Australia
n wilderness. It is an Australian cryptid
similar to the Himalayan Yeti
and the North American Bigfoot
.
The origins of the yowie (also "Yowie-Whowie" and yahoo) may lie in a mythological
character in native Australian Aboriginal folklore. This creature's characteristics and legend are sometimes interchangeable with those of the bunyip
. According to some writers, reports of yowie-type creatures are common in the legends and stories of Australian Aboriginal tribes, particularly those of the eastern states of Australia.
Another story, collected from an Aboriginal source, seems to confirm the creature as a part of the Dreamtime
.
On the other hand, Jonathan Swift
's yahoos from Gulliver's Travels
, and European traditions of hairy wild men
, are also cited as a possible source.
In an article entitled “Australian Apes” appearing six years later, a Mr. H. J. McCooey, claimed to have seen an "indigenous ape" on the south coast of New South Wales;
McCooey offered to capture an ape for the Australian Museum
for £40. According to Robert Holden, a second outbreak of reported ape sightings appeared in 1912. The yowie appeared in
Donald Friend
's Hillendiana, a collection of writing about the goldfields near Hill End in New South Wales. Friend refers to the yowie as a species of bunyip
. Robert Holden also cites the appearance of the yowie in a number of Australian tall stories in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
, a self-employed cryptozoologist, has attempted to popularize the Yowie. He claims to have collected over 3000 reports of them and proposed that they comprise a relict
population of extinct ape or Homo
species.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n wilderness. It is an Australian cryptid
Cryptid
In cryptozoology and sometimes in cryptobotany, a cryptid is a creature or plant whose existence has been suggested but is unrecognized by scientific consensus and often regarded as highly unlikely. Famous examples include the Yeti in the Himalayas and the Loch Ness Monster in...
similar to the Himalayan Yeti
Yeti
The Yeti or Abominable Snowman is an ape-like cryptid said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal, and Tibet. The names Yeti and Meh-Teh are commonly used by the people indigenous to the region, and are part of their history and mythology...
and the North American Bigfoot
Bigfoot
Bigfoot, also known as sasquatch, is an ape-like cryptid that purportedly inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid...
.
The origins of the yowie (also "Yowie-Whowie" and yahoo) may lie in a mythological
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
character in native Australian Aboriginal folklore. This creature's characteristics and legend are sometimes interchangeable with those of the bunyip
Bunyip
The bunyip, or kianpraty, is a large mythical creature from Aboriginal mythology, said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes....
. According to some writers, reports of yowie-type creatures are common in the legends and stories of Australian Aboriginal tribes, particularly those of the eastern states of Australia.
Origins of the term
The origin of the term "yowie" in the context of unidentified hominids is unclear. Some nineteenth century writers suggested that it simply arose through the aforementioned Aboriginal legends. Robert Holden recounts several stories that support this from the nineteenth century, including this European account from 1842;Another story, collected from an Aboriginal source, seems to confirm the creature as a part of the Dreamtime
Dreamtime
In the animist framework of Australian Aboriginal mythology, The Dreaming is a sacred era in which ancestral Totemic Spirit Beings formed The Creation.-The Dreaming of the Aboriginal times:...
.
On the other hand, Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
's yahoos from Gulliver's Travels
Gulliver's Travels
Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships, better known simply as Gulliver's Travels , is a novel by Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift that is both a satire on human nature and a parody of...
, and European traditions of hairy wild men
Wild man
The wild man is a mythical figure that appears in the artwork and literature of medieval Europe, comparable to the satyr or faun type in classical mythology and to Silvanus, the Roman god of the woodlands.The defining characteristic of the figure is its "wildness"; from the 12th century...
, are also cited as a possible source.
Nineteenth Century eyewitness accounts
In the 1870s, accounts of ‘Indigenous Apes’ appeared in the Australian Town and Country Journal. The earliest account in November 1876 asked readers; “Who has not heard, from the earliest settlement of the colony, the blacks speaking of some unearthly animal or inhuman creature…namely the Yahoo-Devil Devil, or hairy man of the wood…”In an article entitled “Australian Apes” appearing six years later, a Mr. H. J. McCooey, claimed to have seen an "indigenous ape" on the south coast of New South Wales;
McCooey offered to capture an ape for the Australian Museum
Australian Museum
The Australian Museum is the oldest museum in Australia, with an international reputation in the fields of natural history and anthropology. It features collections of vertebrate and invertebrate zoology, as well as mineralogy, palaeontology, and anthropology...
for £40. According to Robert Holden, a second outbreak of reported ape sightings appeared in 1912. The yowie appeared in
Donald Friend
Donald Friend
Donald Stuart Leslie Friend was an Australian artist, writer and diarist.- Early life :Born in Sydney, precociously talented both as an artist and a writer, Friend grew up in the artistic circle of his bohemian mother...
's Hillendiana, a collection of writing about the goldfields near Hill End in New South Wales. Friend refers to the yowie as a species of bunyip
Bunyip
The bunyip, or kianpraty, is a large mythical creature from Aboriginal mythology, said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes....
. Robert Holden also cites the appearance of the yowie in a number of Australian tall stories in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
Contemporary accounts
Yowie reports have continued to the present day with the trail of evidence following the pattern familiar to most unidentified hominids around the world – i.e., eyewitness accounts, mysterious footprints of hotly-disputed origin, and a lack of conclusive proof. Some recently reported yowie incidents claim that the death and mutilation of household pets, such as dogs, are the result of yowie attacks. Other people claim that the animals' deaths can be attributed to attacks by wild animals such as dingoes.Rex Gilroy
Since the mid 1970s, paranormal enthusiast Rex GilroyRex Gilroy
Rex Gilroy is an Australian who has published books and articles on cryptids and unexplained or speculative phenomena. His work has focused on yowie reports, 'out of place' animals, UFOs, and propositions regarding a 'lost' Australian civilization...
, a self-employed cryptozoologist, has attempted to popularize the Yowie. He claims to have collected over 3000 reports of them and proposed that they comprise a relict
Relict
A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon.* In biology a relict is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas....
population of extinct ape or Homo
Homo (genus)
Homo is the genus that includes modern humans and species closely related to them. The genus is estimated to be about 2.3 to 2.4 million years old, evolving from australopithecine ancestors with the appearance of Homo habilis....
species.
See also
- BunyipBunyipThe bunyip, or kianpraty, is a large mythical creature from Aboriginal mythology, said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes....
a creature that has its origins in Australian Aboriginal mythology - Cadbury YowieCadbury YowieYowie was a brand of chocolate encased toy line, manufactured by Cadbury Australia and based on the mythology surrounding the Australian Yowie. Invented by Bryce Courtenay and Geoff Pike, they were similar to Kinder Surprises in that they are basically a chocolate shell around a plastic capsule,...
, a line of toys based on the Yowie - Yara-ma-yha-whoYara-ma-yha-whoThe Yara-ma-yha-who is a creature from Australian Aboriginal folklore. This creature resembles a little red man with a very big head and large mouth with no teeth. On the ends of its hands and feet are suckers...
, a creature from Australian Aboriginal mythology