Wagyl
| Wagyl | |
|---|---|
Giver of life, or sustenance for life, to the people who are the custodians of its land | |
A track marker from the Bibbulmun Track featuring a symbol of the Wagyl | |
| Other names |
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| Gender |
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| Region | Southwest Western Australia |
| Ethnic group | Noongar |
| Equivalents | |
| Australian Aboriginal | Rainbow Serpent |
The Wagyl (also written Waugal, Waagal, and variants) is the Noongar manifestation of the Rainbow Serpent in Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology, from the culture based around the south-west of Western Australia. The Noongar describe the Wagyl as a snakelike Dreaming creature responsible for the creation of the Swan and Canning rivers and other waterways and landforms around present day Perth and the south-west of Western Australia.
The Wagyl stories may represent the survival in oral tradition of extinct Australian megafauna, as there was a python-like snake, Wonambi naracoortensis, with a length of five to six metres (16 to 20 ft).