Sunday, May 22, 2011

Was that a Bunyip that I heard?












Did I mention I love my new park? With all the big trees it is so shady and cool and makes it perfect for a big old fluffy-butt like myself to take a walk. Although I have to wonder what some of the strange noises I hear are. Mom was telling me about the "Bunyip" a strange creature that lives in Australia. Have you ever heard of a bunyip? Well it sounds a little scary to me and I am sure there was one just on the other side of that fence. The was an awful lot of rustling and splashing going on. Mom says you very rarely see bunyips - just hear them. When we got home I got on my computer and did a bit of research. Here is what I found.

The bunyip or kianpraty is a large mythical creature from Aboriginal mythology. The Aborigines Dreamtime stories of creation were full of fantastic and magical beasts; the Bunyip was one of the beasts. In Dreamtime the Bunyip was a spirit, which inhabited river, lakes, swamps, and billabongs - (former parts of rivers that were left behind when the course of the river was altered - like a pond). Like other beasts in Dreamtime, the Bunyip was malevolent towards human beings. The Bunyip would defend it's watery home from all who invaded it, normally devouring the invader. At night the Bunyip was said to go and prey upon women and children. Because the Bunyip was such a threat to the Aborigines of the time whenever its terrifying bellowing cry was heard Aborigines steered clear of any water sources.

Here is a fun site that gives you more information
http://www.nla.gov.au/exhibitions/bunyips/flash-site/index-flash.html

Photobucket.

14 comments:

  1. How cool Reilly! Your very own Bunyip at your favorite park! That WAS a fun site! Thanks for telling us all about them! Don't tell Katie though, she's something of a wimp where strange noises are concerned.

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  2. The park looks really cool and shady too!
    Thanks for sharing the story of bunyip, it's really interesting but sounds scary too!

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  3. I learned something new today...I learned what a bunyip is :)

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  4. We would love to be close to a nice shady park, it gets so warm here in the summer. We have never heard of a bunyip, very interesting creature. Thanks for telling us about it, and we hope we never find one:)

    Woos ~ Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara

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  5. Mom googled it after reading your title, and says she is now glad we live in a desert! Make sure the Bunyip doesn't get you!

    Sam

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  6. At first we thought it was bunny that barked like a dog.

    We think a billabong is the same as an oxbow lake.

    Essex & Deacon

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  7. Reilly! He's totally scary!! We're so glad you managed to avoid him! We hope you slept near your momma so he didn't come to steal her in the night!!

    Sending some Rottie bravery!!

    -Gizmo, Bart and Ruby

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  8. Beautiful park! That wooden bridge kinda looks like the one we walked on when we went to look at the white tiger at a zoo. The Bunyip sounds like a creepy mythical creature. I would stay very FAR away from it.

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  9. That bunny-yippy thing is *really cute* thanks for sharing him!

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  10. That looks like an awesome park! I've never heard of a bunyip! I'll have to pass this info to Nala so she can learn too. :)

    Happy Sunday woofs & hugs,

    ~Bailey

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  11. I love your new park Reilly but I would NOT like to see a bunyip!

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  12. We have been hearing a lot of sounds in the night from down by the pond...hope it's not a bunyip!

    Wyatt

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  13. What a fun site to discover what a bunyip is! We're not sure that we want to run into one though.

    Love ya lots
    Maggie and Mitch

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  14. I got my pressies. Thank you so much, they are wonderful. Plus we needed a refill on cards because momma sends them out a lot. Now I just have to keep MY stuffie away from you know who.

    Kisses,
    Dexter

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Thank you for woofing at us - we read each and every one of them