View source for Kunapipi

{{Short description|Goddess in Australian Aboriginal mythology}}
{{use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{about||the academic journal|Kunapipi (journal)}}
'''Kunapipi''', also spelt '''Gunabibi''',  ('womb'){{sfn|Swain|1991|p=240}} is a [[mother goddess]] and the [[patron deity]] of many heroes in [[Australian Aboriginal mythology]].

==Story==
Kunapipi  gave birth to human beings as well as to most animals and plants. Now a vague, [[Deus otiosus|otiose]], spiritual being, "the old woman" (''Kadjeri''){{sfn|Swain|1991|p=240}} once emerged from the waters and travelled across the land with a band of heroes and heroines,{{sfn|Swain|1991|pp=238ff}} and during [[the Dreaming]] she gave birth to men and women as well as creating the natural species. She could transform herself either into a male or female version of the [[Rainbow Serpent]].{{cn|date=September 2022}}

==Origins and diffusion==
The Kunapipi cult seems to have arisen among tribes in the [[Roper River|Roper]] and Rose River areas. In the [[Alawa people|Alawa]] version, she is said to have emerged from the waters.{{sfn|Swain|1991|p=240}} From there, it is thought to have gradually spread north-east into [[Arnhem Land]], where it existed as a complementary masculine form with [[Djanggawul]], a female figure.{{sfn|Berndt|1974|p=4}} According to Tony  Swain, Kunapipi traditions, especially regarding her northern origins, reflect the impact of Sulawesi/Macassar influences, via contacts with [[trepanging|trepang]] traders, and possibly the pre-Islamic rice mother cult, which survived down to modern times among the [[Torajan people|Toraja]] and [[Buginese people|Bugis]].{{sfn|Swain|1991|pp=241-244}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin|35em}}
*{{Cite book| title = Australian Aboriginal Religion
 | last = Berndt | first = R. M.
 | author-link = Ronald Murray Berndt
 | year = 1974
 | volume = 3
 | publisher = [[Brill Publishers|Brill]]
 | isbn = 9004037276 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Z9E3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA4
 }}
*{{Cite book| title = The Earth Mother from Northern Waters
 | last =  Swain| first = Tony
 | date = February 1991
 | volume = 30
 | issue =3
 | pages =223–260 
 | publisher = [[History of Religions]]
 | jstor =106295  
 }}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Australian Aboriginal goddesses]]
[[Category:Creator goddesses]]
[[Category:Fertility goddesses]]
[[Category:Mother goddesses]]


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