Junkgowa Sisters

The Junkgowa Sisters are marine goddesses of the Australian Aborigines who live in the Dreamtime. Like other sister trios around the world, the Junkgowa Sisters represent the triple aspect of the Great Goddess: maiden, mother and crone.

The Junkgowa Sisters created all the creatures of the oceans and rivers, as well as the first people. To explore the ocean waters, the sisters built a canoe and set out, singing as they paddled. Everywhere they dipped their oars, the creatures of the sea appeared.

When the Junkgowa Sisters reached land, they began a walkabout. Every place they touched their staffs to the ground, a water hole appeared, releasing the waters of a sacred spring. These openings are seen as portals into the world of the spirits.

The sisters are still imagined as traveling together in a canoe above their watery domain. They appeared in this way on a postage stamp in the Sea Goddesses of the Pacific series.