Aboriginal Australian TraditionsAncestral Beings (Aṉangu)
Liru
Liru(Liru)
Also known as the Liru warriors
- venomous snakes
- the warriors of the Kuniya and Liru story
The venomous snake men of Aṉangu Tjukurpa, a war party who attacked and killed Kuniya's nephew and one of whom Kuniya struck down at Muṯitjulu.
About Liru
The warriors
In the Aṉangu story of Kuniya and Liru, shared publicly at Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park, the Liru are venomous snake men who came as a war party. They attacked Kuniya's nephew and killed him, and the marks of their spears are said to remain on the rock of Uluṟu.
The confrontation
Kuniya, grieving and angry, came to Muṯitjulu and faced one of the Liru warriors. She struck him with her wana, her digging stick, and killed him. Aṉangu point to features of the rock as evidence of this story.
A collective figure
Liru in this story is a group, not a single named individual, and this entry treats them collectively. The story is part of Aṉangu Tjukurpa, and the public telling is the one Aṉangu have chosen to share with visitors; other knowledge connected with it is not public.
Worship and cult
Temples, festivals, and practices recorded for Liru
This site does not describe ceremonies, sacred sites, or practices associated with this figure. Only the publicly shared story is summarised here; custodianship of the story belongs to the people named, and their own tellings take precedence.
In the atlas
Where Liru appears
Sources and further reading
Source notes
These references are recorded in the catalog. Their passage wording and translation have not been checked, so quotations are not displayed here.
- Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park (Parks Australia, with Aṉangu traditional owners), 'The Kuniya & Liru stories'
About this entry
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
Parallels are editorial comparisons across traditions: a shared role does not, by itself, establish a shared origin.
Genealogy
Family tree
Liru's parents, consorts, children and rivals, as recorded in the atlas.