The Churinga is an equivalent of the bull-roarer or whirler of other authors. It has such a special significance amongst the Native tribes of Central Australia that the authors chose to use the local name.

Among many other things, the spirit of the dead can enter his Churinga, it can be used to kill, and it can be transformed into from another object such as Lalira.

In the northern tribe of Central Australia, it is said that Atnatu first of all made the Churinga, and swung them up in the sky when he initiated his offspring, and now he is glad when he hears the natives on the earth making the bull-roarer sound as they initiate the boys, but he is angry if they do not.

However, according to the Binbinga tribe the churinga originated from two Dingo men of the Alcheringa, who also first introduced the use of a stone knife at circumcision. In the Anula tribe the whirlwind first made the Churinga which is called murra-murra.

Also, the book mentioned that the natives make the Churinga called murtu-murtu out of the wood of Naiantha and that the Arunta and Kaitish believe that each spirit child has its own Churinga and can enter any woman.

In the Arunta tribe, Churinga are very largely used in connection with sacred ceremonies. When a series of these is going to be performed, the first thing that is done is for one or two of the old men to go to the sacred storehouse and bring thence a large number of Churinga. They place these on a special platform built on the ceremonial ground, the spot being regarded as sacred so long as the Churinga remain there.

According to the work of Baldwin Spencer and F.J. Gillen on the Aboriginal tribes of central Australia, the Engwura—or Urumpilla, as it is called among some groups—is a long series of ceremonies concerned with totems. These ceremonies terminate in ordeals by fire, which serve as the final initiatory rites. After a native has passed through them, he becomes what is called Uriljara—a fully developed member of the tribe.

The authors note that the natives themselves say the ceremony strengthens all who undergo it. It imparts courage and wisdom, makes the men more kindly natured and less apt to quarrel; in short, it makes them ertwa murra oknirra—words meaning “man, good, great,” with “good” being used in the sense understood by the natives.

Evidently, the ceremony’s main objectives are, first, to bring the young men under the control of the old men, whose commands they must obey implicitly; second, to teach them habits of self-restraint and hardihood; and third, to reveal the tribe’s sacred secrets, which are concerned with the Churinga and their associated totems, to the men who have reached maturity.

Spencer and Gillen recorded that in the Northern Arunta tribe, the Engwura began in mid-September and continued until the middle of the following January. During October, November, and most of December, ceremonies were performed daily, with as many as five or six sometimes occurring within a twenty-four-hour period. Within the Arunta, sunrise and sunset were particularly favoured times for these rituals.

Furthermore, “during the Engwura ceremony in the Arunta, the women not only take part in the fire ordeals, but, in addition, during its performance they really see more of the sacred objects than at any other time.”