Papinijuawari is a one-eyed god born from Balayang's eye, which in one of his battles with Bunjil fell down unto the Earth and was planted in the soil as a seed. He is said to crawl unto beds and lairs, drinking the life essence of all creatures, thus causing them to wither over time. Eventually he amassed so much power that the concepts of "yesterday", "today" and "tomorrow" meant nothing to him, thus he became able to drain all life at the same time and at a constant, yet just rate. Papinijuawari is understood to be a deity of both time and the natural decay of all things.
He is the patron of the long-lived, who are said to be favoured, and those who seek to be in this group.