#bahloo

Bahloo, aboriginal god of the moon among the eastern indigenous Australians, particularly the Gamilaroi. Sometimes called “the moon man”, Bahloo can be presumed to have been created by the ancient god Baiame during the beginning of the Dreamtime. Bahloo’s counterpart, the sun goddess Yhi, is incredibly infatuated with him. Because of her rampant obsession, Yhi chases Bahloo across the sky, and when they finally meet up they cause a solar eclipse. In order to sneak away from Yhi’s constant chase Bahloo takes the form of the sky emu in order to resume his earthly duties. One of Bahloo’s main duties is the distribution of children among women, one day the crow god Wahn asked him that along with the creation of infants if he could also resurrect the dead, Bahloo staunchly refused infuriating Wahn who tricked Bahloo into climbing into the sky, where his home lays to this day. While on earth sneaking away from Yhi, Bahloo was walking his three pet snakes when he came across a river in his path. Calling over two nearby men Bahloo asked them to help him carry his snakes across the river, the two men refused however as they were scared that his snakes would bite them. Bahloo reassured them promising that his snakes wouldn’t hurt them if they did as he asked, despite this the men still refused out of fear. Frustrated, Bahloo had his snakes wrap around his wrists and neck and proceeded to carry them across himself. Reaching the other side, Bahloo grabbed driftwood and threw it into the lake, he explained that like the driftwood resurfacing he may die but because he is a god he’ll always come back, unlike him the men are like rocks that sink meaning that when they die they can’t come back, thus is how Bahloo ushered death into the world and how man’s fury for snakes was born. According to some beliefs when a man dies their soul travels up a rope of light casted down by Bahloo to meet with Baiame in the spirit world.

The sky emu is a stellar constellation that Aboriginal Australians have connected to several different gods including Bahloo and Duramulum and his wife. The emu in the sky is formed from space dust clouds called nebulae, only visible due to the light from the Milky Way.