Spirits of the Bush

 

The insular Kurnai of Gippsland, one of great language groups of the First People, divided their mythological world into three groups of beings. 

The first are the evil Narguns: stone females that can detach themselves from the sides of mountains or emerge from holes in the ground (eg. the Den of the Nargun, Snowy or Devils Hole, Lake Tyers). They drag travelers to their deaths underground. 

The second are the friendly Yabungs that live in trees and give friendly warning of things to come by the crack of a dry branch. 

Finally, there are the Mraats, pale colored (like the palm of a first person's hand - the color of death), who were thought to be spirits of the dead. When the Kurnai first saw pale colored Europeans (mainly Scottish colonialists) they  took fright thinking that they were Mraats.

You may never see a Nargun, Yabung or Mraat, but when alone in the bush you can feel their presence. Don’t go into the bush without preparation: be prepared.