Strange Illuminations: 'Min Min Lights'--Australian 'Ghost Light' Stories: Indigenous Accounts Settler Accounts Motifs Interpretations and Beliefs Natural Phenomena Supernatural Phenomena A Model of Belief Folklore Forms and Motifs Social Context Conclusion Acknowledgements References Abstract Résumé Zusammenfassung

Mark Moravec, Ballarat

Strange Illuminations: 'Min Min Lights' -

Australian 'Ghost Light' Stories"

History is littered with reports of strange lights in the sky. One type of mys- tery light is internationally known as the 'ghost light' or 'spook light': a small, close to ground-level, ball of light said to haunt a particular locality. In Aus- tralia, such strange illuminations are commonly known as 'Min Min Lights'. Australian dictionaries define the 'min min' as "a will-o'-the-wisp, allegedly seen in outback areas" (Delbridge et al. 1997, 1370). The origin of the term is variously given as Aboriginal (western Queensland language?) (Delbridge et al. 1997, 1370) or as "Aust.", "20th c. origin unknown" (Moore 1999, 861). Early white settlers knew it as the 'will-o'-the wisp' or 'jack-o'-lantern'. Indigenous inhabitants called it the 'Dead Men's Camp-Fire' or the 'Debil-Debil'. The Min Min Light reportedly frequents the Boulia district in the western part of the state of Queensland. This region has become identified with the light. One theory is that: "The light gets its name from the old Min-Min 'pub' and mail- change (so-called), which used to stand at the Warenda-Lucknow boundary' located in the Boulia area" (Cusack 1975, 76).

The Australian 'Outback' is in turn defined as the "remote, sparsely inhab- ited back country" (Delbridge et al. 1997, 1527). Whilst Boulia and outback Queensland are the most well-known geographical sources of Min Min Light sightings, there have been similar ghost light reports from many other areas of Australia. I will therefore include discussion of comparable accounts from the outback or rural regions of other Australian states.

Min Min Light narratives describe small, airborne, glowing balls of light. Typically, the light moves at a slow pace a metre or two above the ground, and appears to recede when approached. The lights are usually associated with a particular locality, and sometimes with a local lore of tragic death. In this paper, Min Min light narratives are examined with regard to motifs and nar- rative forms; the interpretations and beliefs engendered by the accounts; and the social context of a regional lore now utilised in tourism promotion.

: Paper presented at the 13th conference of the International Society for Folk Narrative

Research, July 16-20, 2001, Melbourne, Australia.

Indigenous Accounts

The Min...