‘Karlu Karlu’ – Spectacular Sacred Stones Of Aboriginal People In Australia

A. Sutherlands – MessageToEagle.com – Mother Nature’s artistry is quite remarkable.

Among the most famous rocks one can find in the Northern Territory of Australia, we can find Devils Marbles, truly amazing formations that Mother Nature left in legacy and placed them in the middle of nowhere.

The Devils Marbles are called ‘Karlu Karlu’ in Alyawarre a local Aboriginal language, and this name was given for both, the rock features and the surrounding area, which is sacred to the Aborigines.

The origin of the English name for Karlu Karlu boulders is the following quote:

“This is the Devil’s country; he’s even emptied his bag of marbles around the place! – John Ross, Australian Overland Telegraph Line expedition, 1870.

The Devils Marbles are of great cultural and spiritual significance not only to Alyawarre people. It’s the meeting place of four different language groups: Alyawarre, Kayteye, Warumunga and Warlpiri people.

The Alyawarre people tell the story of how the Marbles were made:

“Arrange, the Devil Man came from Ayleparrarntenhe and traveled through the area. During his journey, he was making a hair belt (as worn by initiated men). Twirling the hair into strings, Arrange dropped clusters of hair on the ground.

These turned into the Karlu Karlu boulders that can be seen today. On his way back, Arrange spat on the ground. His spit also turned into the granite boulders which dot the central part of the reserve. Arrange finally returned to his place of origin, Ayleparrarntenhe.

 Ayleparrarntenhe is not only the correct name for this area, but it is also the name of the twin-peaked hill to the east of the reserve where Arrange the Devil Man came from and returned to once he finished making the Marbles. He remains in these hills today.”

Varying in size, the Devils Marbles are strewn across a large area of a wide, shallow valley.

Geological data indicates that they started out at least 1700 million years ago, and during this very long time, Mother Nature had shaped their look, giving them the most unbelievable colors, forms, and sizes.

The most spectacular of them are rounded granite boulders, smaller or huge; some of the boulders are naturally but hazardously balanced one of top of the other. Others have been split in half, due to very deep cracks caused by weathering.

You can find the Devils Marbles about 104 kilometers south of Tennant Creek, a small mining town in the Northern Territory of Australia.

Written by – A. Sutherland  – MessageToEagle.com Senior Staff Writer

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