ORIGIN: Australian Aboriginal - Yolngu
TYPE: Creator Goddess
INFORMATION: Also knwon as Kunapipi, she is extensively revered by aborigines in northern Australia, including the Yolngu people. Her cult bears some similarity to that of the Greek mother goddess Demeter and to Tantric cults in India. For this reason the cult is thought to have been introduced from Asia to Arnhem Land and then to other parts of the Australian continent as early as the sixth century. Mythology indicates that Gunabibi has been perceived as a deity who came from the sea or the rivers during the Dreamtime but who reigns now over dry land. Among modern aborigines she is the subject of esoteric rituals which also involve the great serpient Yulunggul with whom Gunabibi has been closely involved.