Tjapara, the Moon-man

Tjapara, the Moon-man, is the younger maternal brother of Purukupali and, like him, a child of the creator Mudungkala. It was Tjapara who seduced his brother's wife Bima and led her into the bush, leaving the infant Jinani to die in the sun and so setting in motion the coming of death. When Purukupali found the dead child, Tjapara offered to restore him to life in three days, but the grieving father refused and attacked him with club and spears. Wounded, Tjapara fled upward into the sky and became the Moon; the dark patches on the lunar disc are his bruises and the scar above his eye. The regeneration he had vainly offered the dead child he keeps for himself alone, for the Moon dies and is reborn month after month, the chief Tiwi emblem of the cyclical renewal that mortals were denied.

Parentage

• parent: Mudungkala

Domains

• the moon
• regeneration and revival

Powers

• to offer to bring the dead child back to life after three days
• to die and return to life each month as the waxing and waning Moon

Epithets

• JaparraHamacher, D.W. & Banks, K. (2018). Twin Suns in Australian Aboriginal Traditions. Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 21(2&3), 107-114. (secondary)

Relations

• sibling: PurukupaliTjapara is the younger maternal brother of the culture hero Purukupali.Venbrux, E. (2010). Death and regeneration: The moon in Australian Aboriginal myths of the origin of death. In W. van Binsbergen & E. Venbrux (eds.), New Perspectives on Myth. Haarlem: Shikanda. (secondary)
• enemy: PurukupaliPurukupali fought and wounded Tjapara after the death of Jinani, driving him into the sky.Mountford, C.P. (1958). The Tiwi: Their Art, Myth and Ceremony. London: Phoenix House. (secondary)
• lover: BimaTjapara seduced his brother's wife Bima, the act that set the death of Jinani in motion.Venbrux, E. (2010). Death and regeneration: The moon in Australian Aboriginal myths of the origin of death. In W. van Binsbergen & E. Venbrux (eds.), New Perspectives on Myth. Haarlem: Shikanda. (secondary)
• sibling: Wuriupranala, the Sun-womanAs a child of Mudungkala, Tjapara the Moon is brother to the Sun-woman Wuriupranala.Hamacher, D.W. & Banks, K. (2018). Twin Suns in Australian Aboriginal Traditions. Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 21(2&3), 107-114. (secondary)
• sibling: Murupiangkala, the second Sun-womanAs a child of Mudungkala, Tjapara the Moon is brother to the second Sun-woman Murupiangkala.Hamacher, D.W. & Banks, K. (2018). Twin Suns in Australian Aboriginal Traditions. Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 21(2&3), 107-114. (secondary)

Sources

• Tjapara is the Tiwi Moon-man, younger maternal brother of Purukupali, whose seduction of Bima caused the first death; refused permission to revive the child, he was wounded and ascended to become the Moon, whose dark markings are his bruises and whose monthly waning and renewal embody the regeneration he had offered.: Mountford, C.P. (1958). The Tiwi: Their Art, Myth and Ceremony. London: Phoenix House. (secondary); Venbrux, E. (2010). Death and regeneration: The moon in Australian Aboriginal myths of the origin of death. In W. van Binsbergen & E. Venbrux (eds.), New Perspectives on Myth. Haarlem: Shikanda. (secondary); Hamacher, D.W. & Banks, K. (2018). Twin Suns in Australian Aboriginal Traditions. Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 21(2&3), 107-114. (secondary)