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Alex Ortega
Ms. Plummer
English 10 honors
4-3-16
Different Archetypes of Australian and Oceanic Mythology
During ancient times in Australia and Oceania, there were several myths that emerged to one day
become part of several archetypes. Several of these myths indeed come from real life things but were
ought to be seen as more than they actually were. In Australian and Oceanic mythology, there is a great
mother, an end of time, and there is haven and wilderness. Australian mythology really depicts how being
graphically isolated from others will affect the types of myths created in Australia and Oceania.
Character archetypes are basically people, deities, or animals personified with human
characteristics who demonstrate actions that seem to represent universal patterns of human nature. The
great mother is ideally portrayed as Mother Nature, an earth goddess, or the queen of gods. The Great
mother is seen as an important factor in the relation of individual consciousness, which is symbolized by
the child. There is a myth about a great mother called Eingana. Initially Eingana had a lot of trouble
giving birth. To put it delicately, she didnt possess the requisite aperture. This was rectified by another
deity, who obliged with a sharp spear in the appropriate place. Creatures great and small immediately
emerged throughout the world and different countries. (Godchecker, web) There are other myths that
focus on the great mother. In one myth it said that The myths center on the great mother who arrived
from the sea and moving from place to place, gave birth to groups of human beings all over the planet.
Situational archetypes are a given experience that a hero or character must endure to move form
on place in life to the next. The end of time can be described as how the world will end. Depending on the
situation, there are many factors that may lead to the end of the world like mankind becoming corrupted

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or even natural disasters. There is no quite end in humanity in Australian Aboriginal mythology but there
is indeed an end in human life. No human is eternal. But the aborigines have tried to come to terms with
the contingencies which face all human beings death and disease. The aged must die and wait resignedly
to finish. The person wounded in a fight might die. The failure of many infants and young children to
survive is accepted: they will be born again. (Cavendish, Richard. Page 170) Other myths say that
Dreamtime did not end at the times of creation because the ancestral beings and the child-spirits are
eternal. When a life ends, the child spirit returns to the earth and remains there until it comes back again
in another human form. Moreover by participating in certain rituals, individuals can reenact the journeys
of their ancestors. Ancestral beings and human beings are this closely and forever linked (advamegilnc,
web) There is no doubt that these explain how humanity never ended but humans eventually died but
came back to life.
Symbolic Archetypes serve as a representation of a specific person, act, deed, place or conflict.
They are easily recognizable but not as common as situational archetypes. In Haven vs Wilderness
Sometimes heroes have to return to their safe haven in order to regain health. Haven is seen as a safe
place while the wilderness is seen as dangerous. Haven can be symbolized as a place of safety and
recovery. Aboriginal mythology includes monstrous creatures, many of which have a very close
resemblance to some of the actual monsters that once roamed Australia's land. Yowie is said to be a
mythical hominid that lived in the Australian wilderness. It is described as long and narrow with
humanlike features. The Yowie were said to be territorial and primitive in nature. Sometimes the Yowie
were cannibals, hunting and feasting on human victims that were caught in their trap. This would make
the Australian aboriginals fearful of the wilderness and also portray the wilderness, as mentioned
previously. In Melanesian mythology, there is a great hero called Tagaro who would find himself peace
and tranquility in the bank islands. This is self-explanatory considering that the islands were remote and
others knew very little about them.

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In conclusion, although there are several types international myths, Australian and Oceanic myths
are seen differently because of their separation from others due to their geographic location. The great
mother, end of time, and haven against wilderness really reflects how different Australia and Oceania are
different from the world.