Gawarrgay is the named spirit emu of the Kamilaroi (Gamilaraay) and Euahlayi peoples, perceived not in the stars but in the dark dust lanes of the Milky Way, with its head in the Coalsack beneath the Southern Cross and its body stretching through Scorpius. Knowledge recorded from Kamilaroi and Euahlayi elders describes Gawarrgay as a featherless spirit being that travels down to care for waterholes; its changing orientation through the year told people when emus were breeding, when eggs could be collected, and when the bora initiation ceremonies should be held.
Domains
milky way dark constellations
seasonal calendar
Powers
to signal, by its orientation in the night sky, the times for gathering emu eggs and holding ceremonies
to travel to earth and care for the waterholes of the country
Sources
R.S. Fuller, M.G. Anderson, R.P. Norris & M. Trudgett, 'The Emu Sky Knowledge of the Kamilaroi and Euahlayi Peoples', Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage 17(2), 2014, pp. 171-179
R.S. Fuller, M.G. Anderson, R.P. Norris & M. Trudgett, 'The Astronomy of the Kamilaroi and Euahlayi Peoples and Their Neighbours', Australian Aboriginal Studies 2014/2, pp. 3-27