Adnoartina is known as a religious deity in the Australian Aboriginal culture. This deity is described as taking the form of a gecko lizard and is considered to be a sacred ancestral being. Adnoartina offers an Indigenous understanding to the creation of Uluru, an Australian historical landmark. This landmark is regarded as one of the most sacred land formations in Australia and an ‘iconic’ tourist attraction. As Adnoartina is a key figure in the creation of Uluru, this deity is a symbolic figure in the Aboriginal religion.
Adnoartina is central to one of the world's oldest religious beliefs as Aboriginal mythology has existed for centuries. However, the significance of Adnoartina continues to be a cultural influence as stories are passed down through generations of ancestors. Such stories are known as dreamtime stories, which are fundamental to the Aboriginal religion. Though Adnoartina originates from Aboriginal mythology, this deity is further present in published academia. The published studies of Adnoartina have communicated the significance of this deity in the Aboriginal culture. Adnoartina is regarded as a spiritual figure in the dreamtime and continues to be a motif in the art, music and ceremonial practices of the Aboriginal culture.
Origin
Adnoartina is derived from the Indigenous Diyari people, alternatively transcribed as ‘Dieri.' The Diyari community is located in South Australia, east of Lake Eyre. This cultural group recognise Adnoartina as one of the great spirits in dreamtime stories.
The story of Adnoartina
The god always helps and protects uluru. The gender of Adnoartina varies between being curvy or straight stories as this deity is commonly referred to as a female goddess however, other stories describe Adnoartina as a male god or a non-gendered being. Adnoartina’s story is a teaching of creation and essentially describes how Uluru came to have its red ochre. The narrative follows the rivalry between Adnoartina and Marandi the dog as they hunted the same prey. According to legend, Adnoartina challenged Marandi and as they fought, Adnoartina bit into Marandi’s neck, spilling his blood onto Uluru and staining it red. The story further details how geckos were shaped to fend off predators as Adnoartina’s tail was used as protection during the fight. The following extract is sourced from Aiston and Horne’s published book from the year 1924.
“Marindi the dog leapt up and tried to catch Adnoartina by the back of the neck and shake the life out of him. But the lizard ran in low beneath the terrible fighting teeth. He seized the dog by the throat and hung on. In vain Marindi shook him and scratched at him with his claws. The sharp teeth sank in and in, until at last the red blood spurted out."
There have been alternative understandings of Adnoartina as not all stories link to the ochre of Uluru. In some narratives, the stain from Marandi’s blood is the source of ochre from the Pukardu Hill site. This site is dual-named by the Government of South Australia as ‘Parachilna Ochre Mine’ and ‘Vukartu Ithapi’ and is located 19 kilometres (12 miles) south-east of the Flinders Ranges. In other stories, Marandi’s blood is the source of ochre from the rocks on the banks of the Mecca creek, located in the Cloncurry Shire region in Queensland. However, the dominant narrative is that the story of Adnoartina relates to the ochre of Uluru.
Similar deities
As the ochre from Uluru is spiritually valued across various tribal groups, there have been accounts of similar deities to Adnoartina. As Adnoartina is derived from the Diyari people, different tribes recognise deities such as 'Kuringii', 'Kilowilina', 'Perilingunina', 'Itikaru' and 'Tjapara' as key figures in the creation of red ochre. Therefore, dreamtime stories are diverse in perspective as these deities are often described as taking the form of an emu. However, a link across all stories is the belief that Uluru’s red ochre was created from the blood of a sacred being.