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    Some Myths and Legends of the Australian Aborigines
    Some Myths and Legends of the Australian Aborigines
    Some Myths and Legends of the Australian Aborigines
    Ebook70 pages1 hour

    Some Myths and Legends of the Australian Aborigines

    By W. J. Thomas

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    About this ebook

    This volume contains an illustrated collection of Australian Aborigine folklore, rewritten for a general audience. "Some Myths and Legends of the Australian Aborigines" is highly recommended for those with an interest in mythology and Australian Aboriginal culture, and it would make for a worthy addition to collections of allied literature. Contents include: "Why the Crow is Black", "How the Stars Were Made", "Rolla-Mano and the Evening Star.", "The Story of the Seven Sisters and the Faithful Lovers", "A Legend of the Sacred Bullroarer", "The Great Fight.", "The Flying Chip.", "Why Blackfellows Never Travel Alone - A Legend of the Wallaroo and Willy-Wagtail", etc. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly rare and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new introduction. First published in 1923.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWhite Press
    Release dateJun 8, 2016
    ISBN9781473364622
    Some Myths and Legends of the Australian Aborigines

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      Book preview

      Some Myths and Legends of the Australian Aborigines - W. J. Thomas

      1.png

      SOME MYTHS AND LEGENDS

      OF THE AUSTRALIAN

      ABORIGINES

      BY

      W. J. THOMAS

      Copyright © 2016 Read Books Ltd.

      This book is copyright and may not be

      reproduced or copied in any way without

      the express permission of the publisher in writing

      British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

      A catalogue record for this book is available from

      the British Library

      CONTENTS

      Introduction

      The Story of the Seven Sisters and the Faithful Lovers

      A Legend of the Sacred Bullroarer

      A Legend of the Great Flood

      How the Stars Were Made

      Why the Crow is Black

      Why Flying Foxes Hang from Trees

      Why Blackfellows Never Travel Alone

      How the Kangaroo Got a Long Tail, and the Wombat a Flat Forehead

      Why the Emu has Short Wings and the Native Companion a Harsh Voice

      How the Sun was Made

      Thugine, the Rainbow and the Wandering Boys

      Mirragan, the Fisherman

      How Fire was Stolen from the Red-Crested Cockatoo

      Why the Fish-Hawk was Driven to the Sea

      How the Native Bear Lost His Tail

      Tatkanna seized a fire-stick and made off.

      Introduction

      When the white man first carried the burden and blessing of civilization to the shores of Australia, he found the land inhabited by a very primitive race of people. They lived simple lives, and their activities were confined to hunting, fishing and the procuring of vegetable food. Their dwelling place or gunyah was a rude shelter formed by the boughs and bark of trees, which afforded them little protection from the elements. The weapons of war and the chase used by the men were the boomerang, spear and club. They also used a stone axe, which consisted of a piece of hard brittle stone chipped or ground to a suitable shape and fixed securely in a forked piece of wood by means of bark, string and gum, or animal tendons. The women used a stick hardened by fire and pointed at one end. It was called a digging stick, and was used both as a weapon and a domestic implement for digging edible roots.

      Fish were either speared or caught in nets woven of grass and bark. The nets were set in shallow portions of the river course, and the fish were usually trapped as they travelled with the tides. Extraordinary skill was developed by the natives in the use of the fish spear. The native fisherman would wade in the river and secure his meal by throwing the spear at a ripple in the water which experience had taught him was an indication of the presence of fish. The kangaroo and other animals were stalked by the blackfellow and killed for food, and the skins and furs were used for sleeping rugs. Certain species of grubs and snakes were included in the somewhat extensive menu of the natives, and, when a lizard was seen basking in the sun, it was promptly caught, cooked and eaten. As the natives had but little knowledge of the methods for preserving animal food, their existence alternated between a feast and a famine. When a big haul of fish was secured, it was customary for them to camp on the riverside until the food supply was exhausted.

      The natives lived together in tribes. Each tribe was distinguished by a common language, peculiar tribal customs, burial ceremonies, initiation rites (man-making), and magical beliefs. The ceremonies connected with the making of men were very elaborate and surrounded with religious secrecy. The secrets of initiation were held exclusively by the men of the tribe, and, if a woman was caught within sight of the ceremonies, she was immediately killed. Attached to each tribe were primitive doctors or medicine men. These men were supposed to possess methods of magic whereby they could cure disease, heal wounds, bring secret death to members of hostile tribes, make rain in time of drought, and perform other miracles. The natives believed in the power of these men to a degree that is almost incredible to us.

      To-day, the living descendants of this primitive native race are the tribes of blackfellows who roam across the northern and central portions of Australia. They live in the same wild state as their forefathers did many centuries before the boom of the white man’s gun broke the stillness of their hunting grounds. At one time scientists were agreed in placing the Australian aborigines among the lowest surviving representatives of the human family. They regarded them as the bottom rung in the ladder of civilization.

      More recent investigators, however, concur in the opinion that this view is not quite correct; for, though our aborigines are

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