Moon Man

Before the moon was a moon in the sky, the moon was a man. He had two wives and 2 sons. He built a big round paperbark house with four doors for his family. It was moon-like, as if the moon had sunk into the ground. His wives used to go out and gather bush tucker. They gathered yams and berries and plums. This was their staple diet and everyone was happy. When the sons were teenagers they approached their father and announced, ‘Dad, we are going to go out hunting for you!’ Moonman felt so happy. What a wonderful thing for his sons to offer. He felt so good in his heart: ‘My beautiful grown up sons. What a wonderful thing for them to do.’ He felt he had raised them the right way, raised them so well.

So off they go hunting and they get to a big billabong. And they catch all kinds of fish from that billabong. They light a fire in the traditional way (no matches back then) and they wait until it turns to coals and then they cook a huge pile of fish. But, instead of taking the fish back to their father and their mothers, they have a big ol’ feed! They took back only the bony bits … no flesh at all! Dad, who was feeling so good about the boys going hunting, is in dismay and says to the kids, ‘Hey what’s this? You’ve brought me back just the bones!! What am I supposed to do with these?’ The boys quickly say, ‘Hey, don’t worry dad, we will go back, only this time we will make it right. We will not fail you this time!’ So off they go again to the billabong and get a big mob of fish. They have a great time but they do exactly the same thing. In their greed and disrespect they forget about their oath to their father and cook and eat all the fish for a second time! They bring back just the bones yet again to their dad! They say, ‘Father! Here’s your feed’. Moonman looks at his sons. He is dark. He is furious for they have brought him back only the bones yet again! This time he says nothing, but Moonman devises a plan.

Moonman makes a big traditional style fishing trap, with but-but (Kurrajong) bark. He tells the boys that next time they go fishing they should use this fish net. So, they go down with their father to the great billabong, and take the fishing trap with them. The trap is big enough for a huge catch. While his sons are not watching, Moonman gets a big old stick and beats the boys – they get a huge hiding! The beating kills the two boys dead! Moonman stuffs his sons’ bones into the fishing trap and throws them in the billabong. The next day, the women come back from collecting bush tucker and realize their boys are not back from fishing so they ask Moonman where they are. Moonman says, ‘Aah, yes, they went hunting at the billabong and took a big fishing trap with them. I don’t know why they are not back. They are gone! I don’t know where they are!’ So, the women go out to the billabong. It’s turning dark now but they see the fish trap in the water, and they see blood. They pull the trap out of the water and see their two dead sons in there! They cry and cry. They hit and cut themselves with a rock and stick to express their grief and anger, traditional-way. They know the Moonman has done this to their sons.

The women bust open the fish-net and each takes their son out. They carry their broken bodies back to the camp, back to the paper-bark hut and lay them down outside the hut where the Moonman cannot see them. Later, Moonman comes back to the hut. It is night time and he goes into the hut to sleep. The women stay up and watch him. The women wait until he is in a deep sleep and then they set fire to the hut at each of the four doors. The hut lights up and glows like a burning moon! Moonman wakes up. It’s like a furnace in there. But its too late and he too catches fire. He tries to climb up a tree to escape, but he falls down! Moonman cannot climb up the ghost gum either, and so, eventually, he finds a pandanus. He stands on top of the pandanus tree and screams out to his wives, ‘When you die, you die forever – when I die, I am going to come back immortal every month!’ Then, Moonman transforms into the moon and rises above the pandanus tree and this is why the moon rises in full every month above the pandanus trees.

the mimis

There is a boy sitting at the camp while everybody else goes hunting. He is sitting and thinking, ‘I’ve gotta get out and do some hunting! I’ve gotta try it!’. But then he remembers the fact that he is a bad hunter – hopeless – he just doesn’t possess the skills or talent for hunting. He can hardly throw a spear and he definitely can’t track an animal, even if his life counted on it! In the late afternoon, the cool-time, everyone comes back with heaps of fish and kangaroo, and the boy looks at them and feels shamed and embarrassed because he doesn’t have the same hunting abilities. So, inspired, the boy gets up and leaves the camp to go hunting. He takes with him a sharpened stick because he wants to catch an echidna.

He walks and walks and looks and searches all the way up to the hills, but can’t find a single echidna! But as the sun sets, a magical thing happens. The hills begin to move and change shape. All around him the hills begin to part as the shadows stretch and slide. This is the time of day when the mimis come out of the underworld, from out of the earth and hills to prepare the land for the next day. They are the ones who keep the country tidy. They groom the bushes, feed the fish and fix broken branches. They look after the land! The mimis are very tall and thin. They are human-like stick people. The mimis are spirit creatures, who leave no tracks! They are also fun, playful, and magical.

The boy looks on in amazement as the small group of mimis tend to the land. At first the boy is scared of the mimi spirits. The mimis entice and enchant him with their magic and carry him into their home in the hill. Then the hills close over and return to their original position and shape. The mimis take the boy into their underworld, where there is dancing, eating, fun and frivolity. They play and tease. They are good spirits, happy spirits! The boy forgets about his world. The mimis give him wives and make him part of their family! They keep him in their underworld and the memory of his own family and his own camp fades. In the meantime, his father is waiting all night. ‘Where is my son?’ he thinks. ‘I’ve been waiting all night. Where could he be?’ So the boy’s father walks out of the camp at the crack of dawn and follows his sons tracks. He is skilled at the art of tracking. Even if someone jumped on a rock, he could tell because of the marks left under the stone!

The old man follows his son’s footsteps until, for some magical reason, there are no more tracks! If some wild animal ate him there would at least be some sign of a struggle. But there is nothing – not a trace! The boy’s father is confused and perplexed by the sudden disappearance of his son. So he sits on the ground, and begins to chant, and eventually goes into a trance. With his magic he can hear the mimis dancing and singing and making merry. So, he continues to sing and chant. He wants to reach this underworld. The old man’s hair grows and grows. It seeps into the ground and creeps deep into the earth in search of his son. His chanting follows his hair and the son begins to hear the chanting of his father as his hair grows closer and closer! ‘What’s that sound?’ he thinks. ‘Do I know that sound?’ The old man’s hair grows until it coils itself right around the boy, and the father pulls up his son out of the earth, as if he had just caught a large fish out of the river! The boy snaps back into reality, and his father takes him back to the camp. The boy then realizes that the camp needs all kinds of people with all kinds of skill and he is no longer envious of his fellow hunters.

the curse

It is evening time and a family is camping by the banks of the Matjalambu waterfall. It’s a safe place: plenty of water and fresh barramundi. It’s a sandy place, encircled by the tall cliffs of the waterfall. The old man is sick. He is lying close to the small campfire, lit by his wife. He has been sung. Another man, an evil witchdoctor is singing up there in the caves. He is singing and chanting curses, throwing different coloured ochres in the fire, performing dark magic. The witchdoctor man wants revenge and this is why the old man is sick and feverish in the camp. He sings to summon the star of Namorrodor in the night sky.

Suddenly, there is a bright explosion as Namorrodor materializes. It looks like a shooting star has landed and exploded near the camp. The woman is making medicines to rid her husband of this evil that has befallen him. The old woman feels a strong wind blowing through the camp. She knows that an evil force is very close to the camp. The beast, Namorrodor, senses that he cannot enter into the camp because the woman has prepared medicines to protect the camp. So the spirit of Namorrodor enters the heart of her baby. The little baby is now Namorrodor. The witchdoctor man is still controlling Namorrodor with his dark magic and ochres. The baby begins to move towards the sick old man. The old woman sees this horror and seeks to find a way to heal the child without harming him.

She takes a large mouthful of water from her dilly bag and sprays it on her baby. It’s like Holy water. The spirit of Namorrodor is repelled by the water. Namorrodor’s spirit leaves the baby and flies into the trees and into the cave where the witchdoctor is. The medicine woman feels uneasy because the old man is still dying, and the child is now screaming. She is angry. She is furious. She must protect her family and fix this evil once and for all. She moves over to the water’s edge, with dilly bag in hand and begins to dance and chant until she transforms into a crow! The crow takes off into the night sky in search of the evil that has taken hold of her family. She sees a burning fire inside a distant cave and flies toward it. ‘Ah, there it is’, she thinks. The crow then perches inside the entrance of the cave. The witchdoctor doesn’t realize that this is no ordinary crow. He throws things at it to get rid of it, but the crow taunts the witchdoctor man. The crow stares at the witchdoctor and unsettles him. He throws a stone at the crow, who dodges it easily. As soon as the witchdoctor realizes who the crow is, the crow materializes into the medicine woman! The witchdoctor is horrified because he knows the power of the medicine woman and her dilly bag. He tries to kill her by throwing a spear at her but she catches it. Traditionally, this is the ultimate insult

She takes her dilly bag and pours the water on the fire. The dust, smoke, curses and ochres used to poison her husband fly into the witchdoctor’s open mouth and destroy him. The witchdoctor man turns to dust and crumbles. The medicine woman flies back to the waterfall campsite to be with her husband who is now healthy and holding the baby. They are safe and happy again.

the spear

A man makes a spear. Like all spears, it has a woomera used to throw it. The woomera itself can also be used as a weapon. This spear is no ordinary spear. It is made from the magic of the trees. The magical trees provide wood to carve the spear and sap to bind the spear to the spear head. The man uses the spear both to protect his family and to hunt. When he throws the magic spear, it has the power of seven spears. It can travel through the air and kill seven fish in a single throw. The spear casts seven shadows … It takes a man with sharp eyes to detect which is the real spear. This man becomes the keeper of the sacred spear, and he is respected for it. A witchdoctor-man becomes jealous of the magic spear keeper. He wants the magic spear for himself and is envious of spearman’s power and influence! The witchdoctor-man tries to steal the magic spear so he can gain popularity and power.

One day our spear-man goes out on a hunting journey with his magic spear. The witchdoctor-man uses the spear-man’s absence to his advantage by seizing the opportunity to steal the dilly bag of one of the elder women. In this dilly bag is great power! The witchdoctor-man reaches into the dilly bag and gains great power. He swiftly becomes high and mighty and threatens the people with his new powers. He becomes dictatorial and demanding.

Eventually, the spear returns to see the camp transformed by the witchdoctor-man. Witchdoctor-man confronts the spear-man and his magic spear. He believes his stolen powers are far stronger than spear-man’s magic spear because witchdoctor-man has the elements in his control. Witchdoctor-man conjures lightning-bolt spears of his own and throws them at the spear-man. To witchdoctor-man’s horror, the bolts of lightning are deflected one by one by the magic spear-man’s woomera. Witchdoctor-man loses confidence because the spear-man is getting closer with each step. Finally, the spear-man catches the lightningbolt spear – the ultimate sign of defeat. The spear-man threatens the witchdoctor with his magic spear, which casts seven shadows. Witchdoctor-man pleads for mercy and forgiveness. He is granted mercy on one condition – that he receive seven spear wounds to the leg with the magic spear. If he accepts this punishment, the camp must by law forgive him completely as if he had never done anything wrong. Witchdoctor-man accepts the punishment which releases the powers he stole and sends them back to the dilly bag. The people celebrate the return of peace to the camp and witchdoctor’s show of humility with a corroboree.