Yhi the Sun-Woman

Yhi (Yuwaalaraay yaay, 'sun') is the sun-woman of the Kamilaroi and Euahlayi peoples, recorded by K. Langloh Parker in 1896 as the being who 'looks down on the earth by day' as Bahloo the moon does by night. In knowledge recorded from Kamilaroi and Euahlayi elders, Yhi continually pursues Bahloo, whose rejection of her keeps the two luminaries apart. Popular retellings of a fuller Yhi creation narrative derive from later literary elaboration; only the sun-woman and her pursuit of Bahloo are securely attested in the early ethnographic record.

Domains

• sun

Powers

• to pursue the moon across the sky, driving the alternation of sun and moon

Relations

• rival: Bahloo the MoonYhi endlessly chases Bahloo the moon, who spurns her; their pursuit explains the relative motions of sun and moon.R.S. Fuller et al., 'The Astronomy of the Kamilaroi and Euahlayi Peoples and Their Neighbours', Australian Aboriginal Studies 2014/2 (secondary)

Sources

• Yhi is the female sun of Kamilaroi/Euahlayi tradition, who watches the earth by day and pursues the moon-man Bahloo.: K. Langloh Parker, Australian Legendary Tales, David Nutt, London, 1896 (secondary); 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 (secondary)