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{{Short description|Creator deity, culture hero and ancestral being in Australian Aboriginal mythology}}
{{for|the town in Australia|Bunjil, Western Australia}}
{{EngvarB|date=November 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}}
[[File:20120705 Bunjil Shelter.JPG|thumb|Bunjil's Shelter]]
[[File:Wedge Tailed Eagle.jpg|thumb|The wedge-tailed eagle is the largest bird of prey in Australia]]
[[File:Closeup of Bunjil statue in Docklands.jpg|thumb|''Eagle'' is a 23-metre tall sculpture by [[Bruce Armstrong (sculptor)|Bruce Armstrong]], inspired by Bunjil.]]

'''Bunjil''', also spelt '''Bundjil''', is a [[creator deity]], [[culture hero]] and ancestral being, often depicted as a [[wedge-tailed eagle]] in [[Australian Aboriginal mythology]] of some of the [[Aboriginal Victorians|Aboriginal peoples of Victoria]].

==Creation stories==
In the [[Kulin nation]] in central [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] he was regarded as one of two [[Australian Aboriginal kinship|moiety ancestors]], the other being  [[Crow (Australian Aboriginal mythology)|Waang]] the crow. Bunjil (or Bundjil<ref name="Law 2020">{{cite web | last=Law | first=Benjamin| author-link= Benjamin Law (writer) | title=Benjamin Law's Dicey Topics with Uncle Jack Charles | website=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] | date=24 January 2020 | url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/jack-charles-australia-is-particularly-oddly-still-racist-against-its-first-nations-people-20191128-p53f0o.html | access-date=15 September 2022}}</ref>) has two wives and a son, [[Binbeal]] the [[rainbow]]. His brother is [[Balayang|Palian]] the [[bat]]. He is assisted by six ''wirmums'' or [[shaman]]s who represent the clans of the Eaglehawk moiety: Djart-djart the [[nankeen kestrel]], Thara the quail hawk, Yukope the parakeet, Lar-guk the parrot, Walert the [[brushtail possum]] and Yurran the [[gliding possum]].{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

A [[Boonwurrung]] story tells of a time of conflict among the Kulin nations, when people argued and fought with one another, neglecting their families and the land. The mounting chaos and disunity angered the sea, which began to rise until it had covered the plains and threatened to flood the entire country. The people went to Bunjil and asked him to help them stop the sea from rising; Bunjil agreed to do so, but only if the people would change their ways and respect the laws and each other. He then walked out to the sea, raised his spear and ordered the water to stop rising.<ref>{{cite web |author=Briggs|first=Carolyn|author-link=Carolyn Briggs|date=31 May 2000|title=Boon Wurrung Story| url=http://www.yarrahealing.catholic.edu.au/stories-voices/index.cfm?loadref=87|url-status= live| work=Yarra Healing|access-date=15 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091014201207/http://www.yarrahealing.catholic.edu.au/stories-voices/index.cfm?loadref=87 |archive-date=14 October 2009 }}</ref>

According to one legend, after creating the mountains, rivers, flora, fauna, and laws for humans to live by, Bunjil gathered his wives and sons then asked Waang, who had charge of the winds, to open his bags and let out some wind. Waang opened a bag in which he kept his whirlwinds, creating a cyclone which uprooted trees. Bunjil asked for a stronger wind. Waang complied, and Bunjil and his people were blown upwards into the sky. Bunjil himself became the star [[Altair]] and his two wives, the [[black swan]]s, became stars on either side.<ref>{{cite book | author=[[Mudrooroo]]  | title =Aboriginal mythology: An A-Z spanning the history of the Australian Aboriginal people from the earliest legends to the present day  | publisher = Thorsons  | year = 1994  | location = London  | pages = 23–24  | isbn = 978-1-85538-306-7}}</ref> Bunjil was said to have left this world via the island of [[Deen Maar]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Deen Maar IPA | website=[[National Indigenous Australians Agency]] | date=10 December 2015 | url=https://www.niaa.gov.au/indigenous-affairs/environment/deen-maar-ipa | access-date=2 September 2023}}</ref>

==Bunjil's Shelter==
{{further|Bunjil's Shelter}}
It is believed by the Kulin and other Aboriginal peoples that, in the [[Dreamtime]], Bunjil took shelter in a cave located in the part of [[Gariwerd]] that is now known as the [[Black Range Scenic Reserve]], not far from [[Stawell, Victoria|Stawell]]. Bunjil's Shelter is today a popular tourist attraction and one of the most important [[Indigenous Australian art|Aboriginal rock art]] sites in the region.<ref>{{cite book | author=Richard Everist | title =Traveller's Guide to the Goldfields: history and natural heritage trails through Central and Western Victoria  | publisher = Best Shot  | year = 2009  | location = Australia  | pages = 95  | isbn = 978-0-9756023-3-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Parks Victoria|author-link=Parks Victoria|url=http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/314484/Park-note-Black-Range-SP-Bunjil-Shelter.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120501221333/http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/314484/Park-note-Black-Range-SP-Bunjil-Shelter.pdf |archive-date=2012-05-01 |url-status=live|title='Bunjil Shelter' - Black Range Scenic Reserve, Stawell - Visitor Guide|work=Park Notes|year=2009|accessdate=30 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Bunjil Shelter - Stawell, Attraction, Grampians, Victoria, Australia | website=Visit Victoria | date=30 March 2020 | url=https://www.visitmelbourne.com/regions/Grampians/Things-to-do/Outdoor-activities/Walking-and-hiking/Bunjil-Shelter-Stawell | access-date=8 July 2020}}</ref>

==Alternative spellings==
Early European colonists such as Daniel Bunce recorded the name as "Winjeel" or "Wingeel",<ref>[Language of the Aborigines of the Colony of Victoria and other Australian Districts, Daniel Bunce 1856]</ref> possibly from dialectal differences between the closely related [[Woiwurrung language|Woiwurrung]], [[Bunurong language|Boonwurrung]] and [[Wathaurong language|Wathaurong]] languages. These spellings have persisted in the name of the farming area of [[Wingeel, Victoria|Wingeel]] near [[Geelong]],<ref>{{cite web|author=National Library of Australia|author-link=National Library of Australia|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/129950170|title=Geelong Advertiser 14 Dec 1918 VICTORIAN TOWN NAMES|newspaper=Geelong Advertiser |date=14 December 1918 |accessdate=20 June 2018}}</ref> and in that of the [[CAC Winjeel]] aircraft.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/centralvic/stories/s835628.htm|title=Historic flypast for Ballarat on Anzac Day|publisher=ABC Central Victoria|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050527002038/http://www.abc.net.au/centralvic/stories/s835628.htm|accessdate=12 March 2007|archivedate=27 May 2005}}</ref>

In other sources, the name may be recorded as Pundjel, Bunjel, Pundjil, Punjel, Pun-Gel, Bun-Gil, or Pundgel.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mythologydictionary.com/pundjel-mythology.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=8 July 2018 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235939/http://www.mythologydictionary.com/pundjel-mythology.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==References==
{{commons category|Bunjil (deity)}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Victorian Aborigines}}
{{Indigenous Australians}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Australian Aboriginal gods]]
[[Category:Creator gods]]
[[Category:Sky and weather gods]]
[[Category:Wurundjeri]]
[[Category:Aboriginal peoples of Victoria (state)]]