Bahloo the Moon
Kamilaroi · deity · dreaming creator era · deity
Bahloo is the moon-man of the Kamilaroi (Gamilaraay) and closely related Euahlayi (Yuwaalaraay) peoples of northern New South Wales. In the tale recorded by K. Langloh Parker, Bahloo asks men to carry his snakes across a river; when they refuse out of fear, he declares that they will die forever while he himself dies and returns each month, an aetiology of both human mortality and the lunar cycle. Contemporary Kamilaroi and Euahlayi elders interviewed by Fuller and colleagues confirm Bahloo as a male moon figure pursued across the sky by Yhi the sun-woman.
Domains
- moon
- death and rebirth
Powers
- to command and carry serpents, which are his companions
- to decree that human beings die and do not return
Relations
- subordinate to: Baiame
- rival: Yhi the Sun-Woman