Bila (sun)

Bila is the personification of the sun among the Adnyamathanha people. She is a solar goddess, as befitting the general trends among Australian aboriginal peoples, which largely perceive the sun as female.

Bila is said to be a cannibal, roasting her victims over a fire, the origin of sunlight. In a myth the Lizard Man was appalled by these acts and attacked, prompting her to flee and cast the world in darkness. He then used a boomerang, catching her and making her move in a slow arc across the sky as it returned, this illuminating the world. For this act of heroism lizards like goannas and geckos are respected by the Adnyamathanha.