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The Rainbow Serpent legend is common to many Australian Aboriginal groups but varies according to the locality. In far western New South Wales the Rainbow Serpent is known as Ngatyi. There were two, a male and female.
Deep waterholes in creeks and rivers are said to be the entry and exit points of the Ngatyi.
The two Ngatyi travelled across the landscape creating physical landforms, such as the waterholes and sand hills.
Opal is said to the excrement of the Ngatyi.
Traditionally, moiety is a system of identifying kinship that aligns with either the mother or the father in their kinship. Bloodlines cannot be intermixed through marriages of the same moieties.
Within each moiety Aboriginal culture also refer to Meat, or totems. These are animals and represent a strong spiritual connection between the person and the environment. One cannot eat their own Meat.
Aboriginal groups in Tibooburra area have many strong cultural and social ties including language and connections to moieties and meats. This enabled nations to communicate and come together for ceremonies, trade and marriage.
Some of the Meats or totems are:
Gnaamba – Boney Bream Fish
Kali – Dingo
Makwara – Eagle
Thalta – Kangaroo
Kulthi – Emu
Kilparra – Crow
Reference Mark Sutton, Gail Hunt
