Wati Nyiru (Yurla)
Also known as: Yurla (Martu), Nyiru
Mythological Narrative
The man who pursues the Seven Sisters across the deserts, using magic and changing his shape to trick them; called Wati Nyiru by Aṉangu and Yurla by the Martu.
Scholarly Commentary & Evolution
## The pursuer
In the Seven Sisters songlines shared publicly by Martu, Ngaanyatjarra, and Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara custodians, the sisters are pursued by a man, Yurla to the Martu and Wati Nyiru to Aṉangu. He is a sorcerer who uses magic and changes his shape to get close to them, taking the form of things in the landscape to trick them, and he never gives up.
## A story about conduct
As the custodians have presented it, the story of Wati Nyiru is also a lesson about proper and improper behaviour, and about the strength of sisters and women who look after one another. The sisters escape him again and again, helped by their own powers and by each other.
## In the sky
When the sisters rise into the sky as the Pleiades, the man follows, and is seen in stars of the constellation known in Western astronomy as Orion, still pursuing them across the night sky.
## Limits
This entry summarises only what was shared publicly through the National Museum of Australia's *Songlines* exhibition and its catalogue. Other parts of the story are restricted and are not described.
Academic Discussion & Critique
Exchange peer-reviewed hypotheses, comparative Indo-European etymologies, and archaeological field interpretations regarding Wati Nyiru (Yurla).
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