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TRADITIONS
The Rev. C.C. Greenway, who lived some year at Collemungood, in the district of the Kamilaroi-speaking tribes, and made himself conversant with their language and traditions, says, in a letter to the author - "Bhaia-mi is regarded as the Maker of all things, the name signifying maker, cutter our. He is regarded as the rewarder and punisher of men, according to their conduct. He is said to have been on the earth. He sees all ; he knows all, if not directly, through TarramUlan, a subordinate deity. Turramūlan is mediator for all the operation of Bhaia-mi to man, and from man to Bhaia-mi."
For my own part, before seeing what Mr. Günther and Mr. Greenway had written, I heard of Baia-me from the Aborigines on the Namoi and Barwan. Many of them, when asked concerning any object, such as the river, trees, sun, stars &c., - who made these? uniformly and readily replied "Baiame." And many of them have said to me in answer to questions about him, - as old King Rory of Gingi did in 1871, - "Kamil ηaia ηummi Baiame ; ηaia winuηulda (I have not seen Baiame ; I hear him)."
In Pikumbul, Baiame is called Anambū, and by some Minumbū.
The Wailwun black, according to Mr. Thomas Honery, of the Upper Hunter, who was brought up on the Barwan, and was familiarly acquainted with the tribe, relate the following ancient traditions :–
Baiame first made man at Murula, a mountain between the Barwan and the Narran Rivers. He formerly lived among men. And in the stony ridges between those two rivers there is a hole in the rock, shaped like a man, two or three times as large as a common man. In this, it is said, Baiame used to rest himself. He had a large tribe round him, whom he fed at a place called Mīdūl. Suddenly he vanished from them, and went up to heaven. Still, though unseen, he provided them food, making the grass to grow for them. And they believe he will come back at a future time.
There was formerly an evil spirit called "Mullion" (eagle) who lived in a very high tree, at Girra on the Barwan, and used to come down and seize men and devour them. The people often tried to drive away Mullion, by piling wood at the foot of he tree and setting fire to it. But the wood was always pushed away by an invisible hand ; and the fire was of no avail. Baiame, seeing their trouble, told a blackfellow to get a "murruwunda" (red mouse) and put a lighted straw in its mouth, and let it run up the tree. This set fire to the tree : and as it blazed up, they saw Mullion fly away in the smoke. He never returned. The smoke from the burning of that tree was so dense that for some days they could see nothing.
Similar traditions have been found in widely distant parts of Australia. In Illawarra from 30 to 100 miles south of Sydney, the supreme Ruler is called "Mirirul."