34 chapters
3 hour read
Selected Chapters
34 chapters
PREFACE
PREFACE
A neighbour of mine exclaimed, when I mentioned that I proposed making a small collection of the folk-lore legends of the tribe of blacks I knew so well living on this station, "But have the blacks any legends?"—thus showing that people may live in a country and yet know little of the aboriginal inhabitants; and though there are probably many who do know these particular legends, yet I think that this is the first attempt that has been made to collect the tales of any particular tribe, and publi
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Australia makes an appeal to the fancy which is all its own. When Cortes entered Mexico, in the most romantic moment of history, it was as if men had found their way to a new planet, so strange, so long hidden from Europe was all that they beheld. Still they found kings, nobles, peasants, palaces, temples, a great organised society, fauna and flora not so very different from what they had left behind in Spain. In Australia all was novel, and, while seeming fresh, was inestimably old. The vegetat
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
1. DINEWAN THE EMU, AND GOOMBLEGUBBON THE BUSTARD
1. DINEWAN THE EMU, AND GOOMBLEGUBBON THE BUSTARD
Dinewan the emu, being the largest bird, was acknowledged as king by the other birds. The Goomblegubbons, the bustards, were jealous of the Dinewans. Particularly was Goomblegubbon, the mother, jealous of the Diriewan mother. She would watch with envy the high flight of the Dinewans, and their swift running. And she always fancied that the Dinewan mother flaunted her superiority in her face, for whenever Dinewan alighted near Goomblegubbon, after a long, high flight, she would flap her big wings
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
2. THE GALAH, AND OOLAH THE LIZARD
2. THE GALAH, AND OOLAH THE LIZARD
Oolah the lizard was tired of lying in the sun, doing nothing. So he said, "I will go and play." He took his boomerangs out, and began to practise throwing them. While he was doing so a Galah came up, and stood near, watching the boomerangs come flying back, for the kind of boomerangs Oolah was throwing were the bubberahs. They are smaller than others, and more curved, and when they are properly thrown they return to the thrower, which other boomerangs do not. Oolah was proud of having the gay G
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
3. BAHLOO THE MOON AND THE DAENS
3. BAHLOO THE MOON AND THE DAENS
Bahloo the moon looked down at the earth one night, when his light was shining quite brightly, to see if any one was moving. When the earth people were all asleep was the time he chose for playing with his three dogs. He called them dogs, but the earth people called them snakes, the death adder, the black snake, and the tiger snake. As he looked down on to the earth, with his three dogs beside him, Bahloo saw about a dozen daens, or black fellows, crossing a Creek. He called to them saying, "Sto
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
4. THE ORIGIN OF THE NARRAN LAKE
4. THE ORIGIN OF THE NARRAN LAKE
Old Byamee said to his two young wives, Birrahgnooloo and Cunnunbeillee, "I have stuck a white feather between the hind legs of a bee, and am going to let it go and then follow it to its nest, that I may get honey. While I go for the honey, go you two out and get frogs and yams, then meet me at Coorigel Spring, where we will camp, for sweet and clear is the water there." The wives, taking their goolays and yam sticks, went out as he told them. Having gone far, and dug out many yams and frogs, th
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
5. GOOLOO THE MAGPIE, AND THE WAHROOGAH
5. GOOLOO THE MAGPIE, AND THE WAHROOGAH
Gooloo was a very old woman, and a very wicked old woman too, as this story will tell. During all the past season, when the grass was thick with seed, she had gathered much doonburr, which she crushed into meal as she wanted it for food. She used to crush it on a big flat stone with small flat stones—the big stone was called a dayoorl. Gooloo ground a great deal of the doonburr seed to put away for immediate use, the rest she kept whole, to be ground as required. Soon after she had finished her
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
6. THE WEEOONIBEENS AND THE PIGGIEBILLAH
6. THE WEEOONIBEENS AND THE PIGGIEBILLAH
Two Weeoombeen brothers went out hunting. One brother was much younger than the other and smaller, so when they sighted an emu, the elder one said to the younger: "You stay quietly here and do not make a noise, or Piggiebillah, whose camp we passed just now, will hear you and steal the emu if I kill it. He is so strong. I'll go on and try to kill the emu with this stone." The little Weeoombeen watched his big brother sneak up to the emu, crawling along, almost flat, on the ground. He saw him get
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
7. BOOTOOLGAH THE CRANE AND GOONUR THE KANGAROO RAT, THE FIRE MAKERS
7. BOOTOOLGAH THE CRANE AND GOONUR THE KANGAROO RAT, THE FIRE MAKERS
In the days when Bootoolgah, the crane, married Goonur, the kangaroo rat, there was no fire in their country. They had to eat their food raw or just dry it in the sun. One day when Bootoolgah was rubbing two pieces of wood together, he saw a faint spark sent forth and then a slight smoke. "Look," he said to Goonur, "see what comes when I rub these pieces of wood together—smoke! Would it not be good if we could make fire for ourselves with which to cook our food, so as not to have to wait for the
7 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
8. WEEDAH THE MOCKING BIRD
8. WEEDAH THE MOCKING BIRD
Weedah was playing a great trick on the black fellows who lived near him. He had built himself a number of grass nyunnoos, more than twenty. He made fires before each, to make it look as if some one lived in the nyunnoos. First he would go into one nyunnoo, or humpy, and cry like a baby, then to another and laugh like a child, then in turn, as he went the round of the humpies he would sing like a maiden, corrobboree like a man, call out in a quavering voice like an old man, and in a shrill voice
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
9. THE GWINEEBOOS THE REDBREASTS
9. THE GWINEEBOOS THE REDBREASTS
Gwineeboo and Goomai, the water rat, were down at the creek one day, getting mussels for food, when, to their astonishment, a kangaroo hopped right into the water beside them. Well they knew that he must be escaping from hunters, who were probably pressing him close. So Gwineeboo quickly seized her yam stick, and knocked the kangaroo on the head; he was caught fast in the weeds in the creek, so could not escape. When the two old women had killed the kangaroo they hid its body under the weeds in
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
10. MEAMEI THE SEVEN SISTERS
10. MEAMEI THE SEVEN SISTERS
Wurrunnah had had a long day's hunting, and he came back to the camp tired and hungry. He asked his old mother for durrie, but she said there was none left. Then he asked some of the other blacks to give him some doonburr seeds that he might make durrie for himself, But no one would give him anything. He flew into a rage and he said, "I will go to a far country and live with strangers; my own people would starve me." And while he was yet hot and angry, he went. Gathering up his weapons, he strod
9 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
11. THE COOKOOBURRAHS AND THE GOOLAHGOOL
11. THE COOKOOBURRAHS AND THE GOOLAHGOOL
Googarh, the iguana, was married to Moodai, the opossum and Cookooburrah, the laughing jackass. Cookooburrah was the mother of three sons, one grown up and living away from her, the other two only little boys. They had their camps near a goolahgool, whence they obtained water. A goolahgool is a water-holding tree, of the iron bark or box species. It is a tree with a split in the fork of it, and hollow below the fork. After heavy rain, this hollow trunk would be full of water, which water would h
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
12. THE MAYAMAH
12. THE MAYAMAH
The blacks had all left their camp and gone away to attend a borah. Nothing was left in the camp but one very old dog, too old to travel. After the blacks had been gone about three days, one night came their enemies, the Gooeeays, intending to surprise them and kill them. Painted in all the glory of their war-paint came the Gooeeays, their hair tied in top-knots and ornamented with feathers and kangaroos' teeth. Their waywahs of paddy, melon, and kangaroo rat skins cut in strips, round their wai
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
13. THE BUNBUNDOOLOOEYS
13. THE BUNBUNDOOLOOEYS
The mother Bunbundoolooey put her child, a little boy Bunbundoolooey, who could only just crawl, into her goolay. Goolay is a sort of small netted hammock, slung by black women on their backs, in which they carry their babies and goods in general. Bunbundoolooey, the pigeon, put her goolay across her back, and started out hunting. When she had gone some distance she came to a clump of bunnia or wattle trees. At the foot of one of these she saw some large euloomarah or grubs, which were good to c
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
14. OONGNAIRWAH AND GUINAREY
14. OONGNAIRWAH AND GUINAREY
Oongnairwah, the diver, and Guinarey, the eagle hawk, told all the pelicans, black swans, cranes, and many others, that they would take their net to the creek and catch fish, if some of them would go and beat the fish down towards the net. Gladly went the pelicans, black swans, and the rest to the creek. In they jumped, and splashed the water about to scare the fish down towards where Oongnairwah and Guinarey were stationed with their net. Presently little Deereeree, the wagtail, and Burreenjin,
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
15. NARAHDARN THE BAT
15. NARAHDARN THE BAT
Narahdarn, the bat, wanted honey. He watched until he saw a Wurranunnah, or bee, alight. He caught it, stuck a white feather between its hind legs, let it go and followed it. He knew he could see the white feather, and so follow the bee to its nest. He ordered his two wives, of the Bilber tribe, to follow him with wirrees to carry home the honey in. Night came on and Wurranunnah the bee had not reached home. Narahdarn caught him, imprisoned him under bark, and kept him safely there until next mo
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
16. MULLYANGAH THE MORNING STAR
16. MULLYANGAH THE MORNING STAR
Mullyan, the eagle hawk, built himself a home high in a yaraan tree. There he lived apart from his tribe, with Moodai the opossum, his wife, and Moodai the opossum, his mother-in-law. With them too was Buttergah, a daughter of the Buggoo or flying squirrel tribe. Buttergah was a friend of Moodai, the wife of Mullyan, and a distant cousin to the Moodai tribe. Mullyan the eagle hawk was a cannibal. That was the reason of his living apart from the other blacks. In order to satisfy his cannibal crav
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
17. GOOMBLEGUBBON, BEEARGAH, AND OUYAN
17. GOOMBLEGUBBON, BEEARGAH, AND OUYAN
Goomblegubbon the bustard, his two wives, Beeargah the hawk, and Ouyan the curlew, with the two children of Beeargah, had their camps right away in the bush; their only water supply was a small dungle, or gilguy hole. The wives and children camped in one camp, and Goomblegubbon a short distance off in another. One day the wives asked their husband to lend them the dayoorl stone, that they might grind some doonburr to make durrie. But he would not lend it to them, though they asked him several ti
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
18. MOOREGOO THE MOPOKE, AND BAHLOO THE MOON
18. MOOREGOO THE MOPOKE, AND BAHLOO THE MOON
Mooregoo the Mopoke had been camped away by himself for a long time. While alone he had made a great number of boomerangs, nullah-nullahs, spears, neilahmans, and opossum rugs. Well had he carved the weapons with the teeth of opossums, and brightly had he painted the inside of the rugs with coloured designs, and strongly had he sewn them with the sinews of opossums, threaded in the needle made of the little bone taken from the leg of an emu. As Mooregoo looked at his work he was proud of all he
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
19. OUYAN THE CURLEW
19. OUYAN THE CURLEW
Bleargah the hawk, mother of Ouyan the curlew, said one day to her son: "Go, Ouyan, out, take your spears and kill an emu. The women and I are hungry. You are a man, go out and kill, that we may eat. You must not stay always in the camp like an old woman; you must go and hunt as other men do, lest the women laugh at you." Ouyan took his spears and went out hunting, but though he went far, he could not get an emu, yet he dare not return to the camp and face the jeers of the women. Well could they
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
20. DINEWAN THE EMU, AND WAHN THE CROWS
20. DINEWAN THE EMU, AND WAHN THE CROWS
Dinewan and his two wives, the Wahn, were camping out. Seeing some clouds gathering, they made a bark humpy. It came on to rain, and they all took shelter under it. Dinewan, when his wives were not looking, gave a kick against a piece of bark at one side of the humpy, knocked it down, then told his wives to go and put it up again. When they were outside putting it up, he gave a kick, and knocked down a piece on the other side; so no sooner were they in again than out they had to go. This he did
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
21. GOOLAHWILLEEL THE TOPKNOT PIGEONS
21. GOOLAHWILLEEL THE TOPKNOT PIGEONS
Young Goolahwilleeel used to go out hunting every day. His mother and sisters always expected that he would bring home kangaroo and emu for them. But each day he came home without any meat at all. They asked him what he did in the bush, as he evidently did not hunt. He said that he did hunt. "Then why," said they, "do you bring us nothing home?" "I cannot catch and kill what I follow," he said. "You hear me cry out when I find kangaroo or emu; is it not so?" "Yes; each day we hear you call when
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
22. GOONUR, THE WOMAN-DOCTOR
22. GOONUR, THE WOMAN-DOCTOR
Goonur was a clever old woman-doctor, who lived with her son, Goonur, and his two wives. The wives were Guddah the red lizard, and Beereeun the small, prickly lizard. One day the two wives had done something to anger Goonur, their husband, and he gave them both a great beating. After their beating they went away by themselves. They said to each other that they could stand their present life no longer, and yet there was no escape unless they killed their husband. They decided they would do that.
8 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
23. DEEREEREE THE WAGTAIL, AND THE RAINBOW
23. DEEREEREE THE WAGTAIL, AND THE RAINBOW
Deereeree was a widow and lived in a camp alone with her four little girls. One day Bibbee came and made a camp not far from hers. Deereeree was frightened of him, too frightened to go to sleep. All night she used to watch his camp, and if she heard a sound she would cry aloud: "Deerceree, wyah, wyah, Deereeree," Sometimes she would be calling out nearly all night. In the morning, Bibbee would come over to her camp and ask her what was the matter that she had called out so in the night. She told
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
24. MOOREGOO THE MOPOKE, AND MOONINGUGGAHGUL THE MOSQUITO BIRD
24. MOOREGOO THE MOPOKE, AND MOONINGUGGAHGUL THE MOSQUITO BIRD
An old man lived with his two wives, the Mooninguggahgul sisters, and his two sons. The old man spent all his time making boomerangs, until at last he had four nets full of these weapons. The two boys used to go out hunting opossums and iguanas, which they would cook in the bush, and eat, without thinking of bringing any home to their parents. The old man asked them one day to bring him home some fat to rub his boomerangs with. This the boys did, but they brought only the fat, having eaten the r
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
25. BOUGOODOOGAHDAH THE RAIN BIRD
25. BOUGOODOOGAHDAH THE RAIN BIRD
Bougoodoogahdah was all old woman who lived alone with her four hundred dingoes. From living so long with these dogs she had grown not to care for her fellow creatures except as food. She and the dogs lived on human flesh, and it was her cunning which gained such food for them all. She would sally forth from her camp with her two little dogs; she would be sure to meet some black fellows, probably twenty or thirty, going down to the creek. She would say, "I can tell you where there are lots of pa
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
26. THE BORAH OF BYAMEE
26. THE BORAH OF BYAMEE
Word had been passed from tribe to tribe, telling, how that the season was good, there must be a great gathering of the tribes. And the place fixed for the gathering was Googoorewon. The old men whispered that it should be the occasion for a borah, but this the women must not know. Old Byamee, who was a great Wirreenun, said he would take his two sons, Ghindahindahmoee and Boomahoomahnowee, to the gathering of the tribes, for the time had come when they should be made young men, that they might
15 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
27. BUNNYYARL THE FLIES AND WURRUNNUNNAH THE BEES
27. BUNNYYARL THE FLIES AND WURRUNNUNNAH THE BEES
The Bunnyyarl and Wurrunnunnah were relations, and lived in one camp. The Wurrunnunnah were very hardworking, always trying to gather food in a time of plenty, to lay in a store for a time of famine. The Bunnyyarl used to give no heed to the future, but used to waste their time playing round any rubbish, and never thinking even of laying up any provisions. One day the Wurrunnunnah said, "Come out with us and gather honey from flowers. Soon will the winter winds blow the flowers away, and there w
55 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
28. DEEGEENBOYAH THE SOLDIER-BIRD
28. DEEGEENBOYAH THE SOLDIER-BIRD
Deegeenboyah was an old man, and getting past hunting much for himself; and he found it hard to keep his two wives and his two daughters supplied with food. He camped with his family away from the other tribes, but he used to join the men of the Mullyan tribe when they were going out hunting, and so get a more certain supply of food than if he had gone by himself. One day when the Mullyan went out, he was too late to accompany them. He hid in the scrub and waited for their return, at some little
9 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
29. MAYRAH, THE WIND THAT BLOWS THE WINTER AWAY
29. MAYRAH, THE WIND THAT BLOWS THE WINTER AWAY
At the beginning of winter, the iguanas hide themselves in their homes in the sand; the black eagle hawks go into their nests; the garbarlee or shingle-backs hide themselves in little logs, just big enough to hold them; the iguanas dig a long way into the sand and cover up the passage behind them, as they go along. They all stay in their winter homes until Mayrah blows the winter away. Mayrah first blows up a thunderstorm. When the iguanas hear the thunder, they know the spring is not far off, s
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
30. WAYAMBEH THE TURTLE
30. WAYAMBEH THE TURTLE
Oolah, the lizard, was out getting yams on a Mirrieh flat. She had three of her children with her. Suddenly she thought she heard some one moving behind the big Mirrieh bushes. She listened. All of a sudden out jumped Wayambeh from behind a bush and seized Oolah, telling her not to make a noise and he would not hurt her, but that he meant to take her off to his camp to be his wife. He would take her three children too and look after them. Resistance was useless, for Oolah had only her yam stick,
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
31. WIRREENUN THE RAINMAKER
31. WIRREENUN THE RAINMAKER
The country was stricken with a drought. The rivers were all dry except the deepest holes in them. The grass was dead, and even the trees were dying. The bark dardurr of the blacks were all fallen to the ground and lay there rotting, so long was it since they had been used, for only in wet weather did the blacks use the bark dardurr; at other times they used only whatdooral, or bough shades. The young men of the Noongahburrah murmured among themselves, at first secretly, at last openly, saying:
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
EDITOR and Publisher have gratefully accepted a suggestion made by Dr. E. B. Tylor, that the philologist would be thankful for a specimen of these tales in their native form. Dinewan boorool diggayah gillunnee. Nahmerhneh boorool doorunmai. Goomblegubbon boolwarrunnee. Goomblegubbon numbardee boorool boolwarrunnee Dinewan numbardee. Baiyan noo nurruldundi gunnoonah burraylundi nurreebah burri bunnagullundi. Goomblegubbondoo winnanullunnee dirrah dungah nah gillunnee, Dinewandoo boonoong noo beon
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter