"To many Aboriginal language groups across Australia, the Coalsack (a dark nebula next to the Southern Cross) represents the head of the Emu in the Sky, an Aboriginal “constellation” which stretches from the head to the body and legs, through the dark lanes in the Milky Way, to the constellation Scorpius... The word “constellation” is in quotes, because for many Aboriginal peoples, the dark patches in the sky, particularly the dark dust lanes in the Milky Way, are more important than the patterns of bright stars that form Western constellations.
The first mention of the Emu in literature was in 1873... gao-ergi “emu in the dark space under the tree” (we have taken this to mean that the “tree” is the Southern Cross, and the “dark space” is the Coalsack). Parker and Lang [in 1905 relate] the story of Gowargay, the featherless emu, who is the “devil” of waterholes, but goes to sky camp at night in the Coalsack. Gawarrgay is the ceremonial name for the Emu in the Sky, and dhinawan is the name for the “real” emu bird on the Earth.
There are two aspects of the Emu in the Sky [here], the first being stories connected to the Emu, and the second the significance of the Emu in ceremony and keeping of seasons.
A woman’s story tells children to:
"Look in the space between the stars, what do you see? What you’re looking at is an emu running, and when it runs, it sticks its neck out. When the old people saw this shape in the sky they knew that the emus were laying their eggs, so the old people would go out into the bush to find the eggs for food."
When the eggs are visible in the body of the Emu in the Sky, that’s the time (April) for hunting the eggs. When the eggs push down to the legs (end of June), the chicks are forming... The Emu in the Sky usually appears in April and May. This story corresponds with the rock engraving of the emu at Kuringai Chase National Park, which aligns with the Emu in the Sky at this time of year." [x]
