(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
Example sentencesExamples
More ominous was the calling of the serpent mindi using a ritual in which men and women danced single-file with tufts of feathers.
Mindi, who was associated with introduced epidemic diseases, was said to be going to destroy all whites in southeastern Victoria.
He would move the creator spirit to release mindi, a great snake who hissed poison.
Mythologically speaking, waterholes appear to be extremely dangerous places as they're plagued by a hairy snake called the mindi.
Aborigines near Melbourne called the European-introduced smallpox the 'scale of mindi'.
The plague was a reference to smallpox, known locally as mono-la-mindi ('dust of mindi').
It is believed to be in the power of the large serpent mindi to send this plague forth in answer to the appeals of those who seek the destruction of their foes.
It was believed that mindi was coming, and not even friendly settlers would be spared the horrors of the plague.
Australia has the great evil snake, mindi, who sends disease.
'Mindi' is a name for the Rainbow Snake, as the cause of disease.
Origin
Mid 19th century: from Wemba-wemba (an extinct Aboriginal language) mirnday.