mindi
/ˈmɪndʌɪ
/noun Australian
(In Aboriginal mythology) a creature in the form of a huge snake that brings disease: they believed the hostile tribes had unleashed the power of mindi on them...
- He would move the creator spirit to release mindi, a great snake who hissed poison.
- The plague was a reference to smallpox, known locally as <i>mono-la-mindi</i> ('dust of mindi').
- More ominous was the calling of the serpent mindi using a ritual in which men and women danced single-file with tufts of feathers.
Origin
Mid 19th century: from Wemba-wemba (an extinct Aboriginal language) mirnday.