In Aboriginal mythology (specifically: Arrernte), the Inapertwa are the simple, ancestral creatures with which the Numakulla modelled all life (plant, animals, birds) on Earth. From these they formed human beings. The "totems" of the Arrernte are named after individual Inapertwa formed into animals, then into humans.

References

• Leach, Maria, ed. (1984). Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend. New York: HarperCollins.

• Roberts, Ainslie and Charles P. Mountford. (1973). The Dreamtime Book: Australian Aboriginal Myths. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, p.48.\Spencer, Sir Baldwin. (1904). Northern Tribes of Central Australia. London: Macmillan, p.749.