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The Wagyl (also written Waugal, Waagal, and variants) is the Noongar manifestation of the Rainbow Serpent in Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology, from the culture based around the south-west of Western Australia. The Noongar describe the Wagyl as a snakelike the Dreaming creature responsible for the creation of the Swan and Canning rivers and other waterways and landforms around present day Perth and the south-west of Western Australia.
The Wagyl stories may represent the survival in oral tradition of extinct Australian megafauna, as there was a Pythonidae-like snake, Wonambi naracoortensis, with a length of .
The Wagyl is said to be responsible for shaping and creating the Swan River, creating the sharp bends at Belmont and Maylands, as well as the Canning River. When it reached the area around Fremantle, it fought with a crocodile and used its tail to separate the salt and fresh water of the ocean and river from each other. The Wagyl is also said to have rested at the base of Mount Eliza in Perth, which is seen as a sacred site. Furthermore, the Wagyl has significant connection to the Busselton wetlands.
Many local landscape features between the Porongarups and off the coast of Fremantle are said to have been created by the Wagyl. Indeed, porongarup means , from , and . The Wagyl was delegated to protect the rivers, lakes, springs and the wildlife, and Wagyl tend to be natural , located beside bodies of water. In turn, the Noongar people were appointed by the Wagyl as the guardians of the land, and the Wagyl was seen by certain tribal elders who spoke to the dreamtime being.
The Darling Scarp is said to represent the body of the Wagyl, which meandered over the land creating the curves and contours of the hills and gullies. The being is strongly associated with rivers, lakes like Galup, and is supposed still to reside deep beneath springs. As the Wagyl slithered over the land, his track shaped the sand dunes, his body scoured out the course of the rivers; where he occasionally stopped for a rest, he created bays and lakes. Piles of rocks are said to be his droppings, and such sites are considered sacred. As he moved, his scales scraped off and became the forests and woodlands of the region.
During a serious drought, Noongar elders ventured to the coast of the Indian Ocean to pray to the Wagyl to end the drought. The Wagyl then came out of the ocean and created the Peel inlet where she gave birth to her young. After they matured, they went east from the inlet and formed the Serpentine, Murray and Harvey River. However the Wagyl went out to look for her young and created Lake Clifton and Lake Preston. Thinking they went south, it ventured south and created the flat land around the Leschenault Estuary at Australind. Meanwhile, the young eventually starved and eventually dissolved into water and resupplied underground water reservoirs. This then ended the drought.
Due to its deep association with the water, it is said that when the water is murky and dark the Wagyl was swimming and that one shouldn't swim in that water.
In the Charnok Woman myth, the Charnok Woman collects spirit children following the path created by the Wagyl across a valley created by the Wagyl and is known as the Swan River. The path led her north to where the Wagyl was creating lakes.
In the Mooro myth of two lost boys, two boys were brought to Mindarrie by two tribal elders to learn the law. After the elders went out to hunt, the boys ventured off to discover what had caused a loud noise, only to find the Indian Ocean. Thirsty, they drank from the water to find it was salty. Figuring the water further out was sweeter, they ventured out into the water only to be swallowed up by the Wagyl. The Wagyl then ventured back to the coast where it spat the boys out as two tuart trees.
When the Government of Western Australia wanted to redevelop land around the Swan Brewery in the 1980s, conflicting attitudes around the Wagyl arose. The area is known as Goonininup in Noongar, and is seen in some stories as a resting point of the Wagyl.
The France one-man band Waagal takes its name from the serpent. Erwann Texier-Harth, the individual behind Waagal, incorporates the Aboriginal didgeridoo into many of his pieces.
On 13 November 2020, a mural in Guildford depicting the Wagyl was unveiled by Western Australian Minister for Water Dave Kelly as part of the Splash of Colour program launched in 2017.
On 20 July 2023, a mural depicting the Wagyl was unveiled at a water pump station in Gosnells by the Minister for Water Simone McGurk. The project was led by Nerolie Bynder in partnership with the Water Corporation, and local schools and artists. The mural is also part of the Splash of Colour program launched in 2017. The murals were praised by Chris Tallentire.
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