Gidegal, the Moon Man

Gidegal the Moon Man is a Lardil ancestral being associated with the moon, initiation and death. In the Dreaming he served as the principal authority over the first male initiation ceremony, and Lardil tradition holds that initiation has continued since his time. He is further said to stand watch over the path that the spirits of the dead must travel, guarding the passage to the afterlife. His stories were recorded and illustrated by the Lardil artist Goobalathaldin (Dick Roughsey).

Domains

• initiation ritual
• the moon
• afterlife

Powers

• to preside over the first initiation ceremony
• to guard the passage to the afterlife

Sources

• Roughsey, Dick (Goobalathaldin). Moon and Rainbow: The Autobiography of an Aboriginal. Sydney: Reed, 1971.
• McKnight, David. People, Countries, and the Rainbow Serpent: Systems of Classification among the Lardil of Mornington Island. Oxford University Press, 1999.