The Fethafoot Chronicles: The Contest

9781483551012

Prologue

It was around the time of 2020BP [before the present] when far to the northwest of Heart-rock, the early sunburnt colonisers of the arid semi-desert lands around the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, began to form into the various Jewish and Arab nations. Throughout their vast territory, the many opposing nations were beginning to hear rumours of a new spiritual leader in their eastern world – an enigmatic leader, visionary and miracle worker.

He was yet a boy: a brave and perceptive youth whose father it was said - was afraid to stay at his birthplace of Bethlehem. Thus, he led his small family away, walking thirty kilometres through hard, demanding terrain to begin their lives again in Nazareth: a small village with a similar population to a full Aboriginal tribe in Heart-rock land in the same era. The old city of Nazareth of that era was set in a valley, yet still equidistant to the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Galilee as is the modern city today – more importantly, its original position fulfilled their own ancient prophecy of where their land’s liberator would be born and grow to maturity.

This rumoured, divinely-appointed prophet was whispered by many to be the Messiah – the long awaited anointed one - who would finally end the tribal wars’ among all the tribes of the region. The old prophecy foretold that his life would bring the long-awaited peace and prosperity to the bloody history and carnage that had prevailed ever since they had ended their nomadic way of life and begun to claim lands and build their colonising, powerful and often land-hungry societies…

They carried the Lore and kept walking

Over an epoch of human time, these now widespread nations had forgotten that yet another branch of their original populace had continued travelling on, when they stopped and put down roots all those many, many generations earlier. And, as they built up their various empires – often with deadly force and the enslavement of any group smaller than their own – by turn, they discarded many of their previous long-held, ancient moral principles – man literally began to rule in place of – in the vacuum of - the laws of balance.

However, the eventual Heart-rock people carried the Law from their mutual earliest beginnings - and it was these same laws that held the peace and empathy that the present day Heart-rock people held close to their hearts. Those early continental travellers, moved even further away from the known world of those left behind, in a trek of such distance time and growth that language itself began to change in context with the new lands new ideas and new experiences. The old language, formed from out of a familiar predictable existence, slowly became obsolete with their constant movement into mystery, danger, new climates and diverse, unique foods and animals: with pristine and much more wet and lush environments’ - a whole new world of constant change to adapt language and lifestyle toward. However, the Law they carried stayed constant: repeatedly proving itself practically in very successful, long-term, affluent survival.

Moreover, these successful journeymen’s spiritual beliefs stayed constant through all the transforming generations: locked deeply, solidly into the Earth Mother and Great Spirit’s ancient and successful instructions; for their mutual continued existence.

Generation after generation of these hardy nomads had proved exceptionally resilient and while moving further into new lands with strange new creatures and new, untested foods, they’d earned their livelihood through practical long-standing perseverance and fortitude. Their long generational experience also equipped them to become the best of successful hunters and gatherers and now, this group of nomads -that had crossed deserts, rivers seas and generations - could live capably, where others might falter and perish…

Stopped by an ocean

Soon forgotten by their distant warring relations, only the great rolling oceans themselves had suspended this curious, hardy nomadic nation’s wide-ranging trek. They had been living and growing in population and knowledge for many generations in a huge ancient, frequently brutal and almost unknown, large southern land mass. For these generational wanderers, the island continent with the great red rock reposing like some massive red heart in its centre had become their home: Heart-rock land.

There was no further they could go and, the expanding rising seas between lands to the north and south – as the Earth warmed again and polar ice caps melted and sea levels rose – closed off the Heart-rock land from further land-wandering peoples – creating a unique, finely-balanced eco-system. Through generation after generation, every part of the massive island became occupied, even the arid desert-lands, which were so similar to where their ancient relatives had stopped. And Heart-rock land became beloved of the resilient, untamed and gratified people: so says the modern archaeologist and historical scientist…

Aboriginal legend

Ancient Heart-rock legends however, speak of a much more supernatural quickening of the land, of the creation of the Heart-rock people and of the sculpting of The Mother’s skin that they were to live on and nurture. These stories - it is said among the Clan - were handed down from the Heart-rock people’s earliest memories. They inform that the Dreamtime Spirits – who were always here in various forms – roamed freely across a flat, dry Heart-rock - in the time before - in Dreamtime.

It was their actions and utterances to each other that sculpted the flat bare terrain and brought it to life. Their meeting places became hills and mountains. Their joys and sorrows became rivers and billabongs, lakes and creeks. Their frolics over the land made caves and sand-deserts and as they played, their powerful Dreamtime vitality was sprayed over the land and became the seeds that grew to tall trees and long grasses, bright flowers and sweet fruits.

After another while, they saw that the Mother’s skin had become so fecund that tiny inanimate forms had spontaneously begun life in it and now She herself wanted to share it; with living creatures like her…

The language creatures

Together, the ancient Dreamtime creation spirits made the many unique animals to fill the lands and waters, and to enjoy her living transformed skin. Then, after another while a great discussion arose among them about making another type of creature, to care for and look after their interests on The Mother, and thus the concept of the language creatures came into being. After long consideration, they agreed among themselves to create these creatures, although they would only form them from the four elements as they had done with the other animals. The Dreamtime spirits were far too knowledgeable to give such creatures the same powers they themselves held.

Thus were the sons and daughters of Heart-rock formed and the Dreamtime creation beings were said to be very happy with all their creations. After more time passed, and witnessing the hidden power that common language afforded these creatures, they decided to bequeath all their creations to these frail beings.

Now, finally able to rest for the first time since they’d begun their work many eons ago, some of the Dreamtime spirits, unable or unwilling to leave altogether, went into the land and became solid tactile landforms. Others left The Mother’s embrace altogether and became the established heavenly forms across the sky: both of which would lead their intimates through this world and on into the next Dreaming cycle, after their quickened form returned to the elements and the cycle went around…

A warped Darwinism

Looking back now through Australia’s historical dealings with the Heart-rock peoples and their so-called heathen religions – which also held such ancient tenets that indeed, replicated those same teachings just beginning in the Middle East – we know that their beliefs regarding their Law were trampled on and classed as primitively savage by most of the ignorant colonial invaders. Most of these people were truly arrogant, Darwinian, White-is-right civilised savages themselves, who couldn’t see the forest for the trees nor understand any of the 600 or so languages spoken here, to observe the deep spirituality residing here…

Chapter 1

A Fethafoot and fisherman

Into this notable cycle of time – about the time when the apprentice carpenter, Jesus of Nazareth had matured and begun his own spiritual journey, and as Christianity began to unfold its message through tragedy and his death – humbly steps this chronicle’s Fethafoot warrior, Jundabara: a strong and proud Heart-rock man, who simply lived his religion daily through his Dreaming, or Tjukurrpa - an Arrente Aboriginal word that means The Dreaming, but also means: to See and understand the Law.

The Yidinjdji warrior of our story was not concerned about Jesus of Nazareth, of whom he’d never heard, or whose God was right or wars, or fights or arguing about anything at all. Jundabara was happily practising for the soon to be held annual inter-tribal fishing contest, usually run just prior to the legendary Bunya nut Gathering of Tribes in Southern Queensland…

Bunya Dreaming

The Bunya nut celebration was a massive gathering of many tribes from the local inland and coastal clans of eastern Australia. This celebrated ‘sharing-of-bounty’ involved tribes from the Kabi Kabi lands in the south [just north of the present day city of Brisbane], the Carer Tribes’ of the area where the gathering was held - who allowed free passage into their lands every few years when the Bunya nuts were prolific - and north to the Darumbal peoples Dreaming [just north of the present day City of Rockhampton]. The fishing contest heralded the start of the celebrations for the Bunya nut harvest and tribe and clan members came from all over the east coast to meet old friends and extended family and to share stories and new dances. They also came to see the unique fish and to see their favourite warriors in action.

Each time the great Bunya trees provided such bounty there was considerable movement right along the east coast, with many small clans moving between the various contests that were held in conjunction with the major event. There was so much movement in fact that outsiders looking on, might believe that the whole population was constantly mobile, although this constant movement lasted only for the duration of late summer, and all events and contests culminated at the Bunya nut gathering and feast. All Champions from the various events were awarded their titles at this great meeting, and Jundabara, son of Maarkuu, son of Jundabari, son of Maarddurdja and honoured Fethafoot warrior, wanted to win the major fishing contest for the first time. A win at this prestigious event would bring great honour to his local family and clan – already famed locally as a great saltwater and fisher family – and would cause his wife’s family’s good name to become more honoured also…

Life’s a battle

We find Jundabara on the shores of the Bayrengah - known today as the Calliope – River, on the northeastern tip of the Gureng Gureng and southern border of Bayali lands, close to where the modern city of Gladstone stands today. As he practice-casts his brand-new homemade lures, his toned black body reflects his hard physical lifestyle – a life of living in and with nature – and though only practising with his newly invented gear, like every born-optimist fisherman, he’s still hoping for a strike to test it properly.

He made his thick, coarse fishing line from fibres of the Verbena plant that he’d carefully stripped and dried. The useful vine was plentiful in swampy grounds in the area and Jundabara had painstakingly woven human hair and spider-web into it, to make it sturdier for the large and powerful fish that he hoped to catch. His unusual fake baits are decorated with the small red flowers