Baiame

Wiradjuri painting of Baiame, near Singleton, NSW. Note that his arms extend to the two trees either side.

Baiame (Baayami or Baayama) is a creational ancestral hero in the dreaming of several language groups (e.g. Kamilaroi, Eora, Darkinjung, and Wiradjuri), of Indigenous Australians of South-East Australia.

Baiame came down from the sky to the land, and created rivers, mountains, and forests. He then gave the people their laws of life, their traditions, their songs, and their culture. He also created the first initiatian site (called a bora).This is where boys were initiated to become men. When he had finished, he returned to the sky, and people called him the Sky Hero or the All Father.

He is said to be married to Birrahgnooloo (Birran-gnulu), who is often identified as an emu, and with whom he has a son Daramulum (Dharramalan). In other stories, Daramulum is said to be the brother of Baiame.

It was forbidden to mention or talk about the name of Baiame in public. Women were not allowed to see drawings of Baiame, or approach Baiame sites, which are often male initiation sites (boras)

When Baiame is seen in rock paintings he is often represented as a human figure with a large head-dress or hair-style, and lines of footsteps are often nearby. He is always painted in front view, whilst Daramulum is drawn in profile. Baiame is often shown with internal decorations such as waistbands, vertical lines running down the body, bands, and dots. The dots are said to have given him power over smallpox.

In a famous Wiradjuri rock painting near Singleton, he is depicted with large staring eyes and enormously long arms.

The missionary William Ridley adopted the name of Baiame for the Christian God when translating into Gamilaraay (the language of the Kamilaroi).

See also

• Aboriginal mythology

References

• "Footprints on Rock", 1997, Sydney: Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council. ISBN 0 7313 1002 0

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