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Dolphin and Whale Myths and Legends of Oceania, Rapa Nui Journal: Journal of the Easter Island Foundation Volume 12 Article 4 Issue 3 September 1998 1998 Making a Splash in the Pacific: olD phin and Whale Myths and Legends of Oceania Jason Cressey Follow this and additional works at: https://kahualike.manoa.hawaii.edu/rnj Part of the History of the Pacific slI ands Commons, and the Pacific slI ands Languages and Societies Commons Recommended Citation Cressey, Jason (1998) "Making a Splash in the Pacific: Dolphin and Whale Myths and Legends of Oceania," Rapa Nui Journal: Journal of the Easter Island Foundation: Vol. 12 : Iss. 3 , Article 4. Available at: https://kahualike.manoa.hawaii.edu/rnj/vol12/iss3/4 This Research Report is brought to you for free and open access by the University of Hawai`i Press at Kahualike. It has been accepted for inclusion in Rapa Nui Journal: Journal of the Easter Island Foundation by an authorized editor of Kahualike. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Cressey: Making a Splash in the Pacific Making a Splash in the Pacific: Dolphin and Whale Myths and Legends of Oceania Jason Cressey, Ph.D. The POD-People, Oceans, Dolphins (Vancouver, Canada) Dolphins, whales and porpoise collectively known as nia), the Noonuccal tribe of Minjerribah (Stradbroke Island, cetaceans, cau e excitement wherever they are seen. This ex­ Queensland) traditionally fished for mullet with the help of a citement may stem from the impressive size of the large whales, local pod of dolphins. The members of this tribe believed that or the playful exertions of the acrobatic dolphins, not to men­ they shared a common ancestor with the dolphins-the cultural tion the many stories of cetaceans coming to the aid of ship­ hero Gowonda who, along with his hunting dogs, was trans­ wrecked ailors and stranded fishermen. Whatever the origin of formed into a dolphin and thereafter helped the local people to their appeal, cetaceans have featured prominently in mythology catch fish. According to the legend, Gowonda could be in­ from ancient times. It comes as little surprise, then, that Oce­ stantly recognized by his white fin, and this characteristic was ania, 0 dominated by the waters of the vast Pacific, is rich in passed down to his descendants, always making it easy to rec­ cetacean legends and mythology. From Australia and New Zea­ ognize the leader of any dolphin pod. land to Hawai'i and Easter Island, dolphins and whales fre­ When fishing, the tribesmen would first sit on the sand quently appear in Pacific Island folklore. The majority of dis­ dunes, concentrating on the ocean (many observers believed cussions about cetaceans in the past, however, have concen­ they were telepathically communicating with the dolphins, trated on the dolphin's role in Greek mythology, with scant re­ much as the Wurunjeri people did), mentally calling each indi­ gard for the beliefs of the sea-faring peoples of the Pacific. vidual dolphin by name. On the first sight of a dorsal fin the It is interesting to note that one of the first British sh.ips to men would rush down into the waves and start hitting the wa­ explore the Pacific was, in fact, called The Dolphin, under the ter's surface with their spears. It is also said that the locals com­ command of Captain John Byron (grandfather of the famous municated with the dolphins through certain sounds and whis­ poet) in 1765. The following year, under the command of the tles, which the dolphins themselves used in 'reply' to the men, more inquisitive Captain Samuel Wallis, The Dolphin landed in and thus a 'spoken' language existed between the two species. Matavai Bay, Tahiti, to a friendly welcome, three years prior to The dolphins would drive the fish towards the awaiting Captain Cook's arrival in 1769 to observe the transit of Venus. nets of the men, who would show their gratitude by offering The myths and legend recounted below, however, originate some of the mullet to their willing helpers. Some witnesses from long before the first European settlers arrived in the South even reported seeing the dolphins accept mullet off the end of Seas, and some even speak of the creation and settlement of spears, showing no signs of fear or apprehension. Moreover, Oceania itself. some dolphins were known to have waited in the area until they received their due reward, and would patiently swim up and AUSTRALIA down the beach until they were fed with some of the men's The late Bumum Burnum, Australian Aboriginal writer catch! When European settlers first came to this area, they and activist, pointed out that the four extreme points of the Aus­ would secretly watch this co-operative fishing, and slowly tralian mainland have always been significant 'Dolphin Dream­ learned the whistles and sounds that the tribe used to communi­ ing' ites for local tribes. In the west is Monkey Mia, in the east cate with the dolphins. They then imitated the sounds, and when Byron Bay, in the south is Wilson's Promontory and in the far the dolphins approached the settlers would kill and eat them. north Bamaga, though he pointed out that the entire Australian Not surprisingly, the surviving dolphins stopped coming to the coastline is in fact blessed with the presence of dolphins and beach soon afterwards. whales. According to Burnum, the sight of a dolphin or whale The tribes along Australia's south-eastern coastline tell of alway brought joy to Aboriginal tribes, particularly in times of a great battle that occurred between the ancestors of the water, difficulty or distress, and in hi own tribe, the Wurunjeri of air and earth at the mouth of Logan River, New South Wales. south-eastern Australia, the dolphin was regarded as a sacred The land creatures were led by Goanna, the air creatures by symbol or totem. In common with other tribes, the Wurunjeri Sparrow Hawk, and the water creatures were led by Dolphin. In engaged in co-operative fishing with the help of the local dol­ the midst of the battle, Sparrow Hawk swooped down and phins. The tribe would also consult the dolphins for answers snatched Goanna's spear, driving it deep into the back of Dol­ and insights on important tribal matters (apparently by use of phin. However, Dolphin was strong; he blew the spear out of telepathy), and the tribe believed that the spirits of their dead his body in a mighty breath, and a torrent of blood and water would transform into dolphin bodies and remain offshore, help­ rushed towards the shore and flooded the land. To this day, ing and guiding the familiar members of the human tribe on swamps and tiny islands dot the vast· estuary of the Logan land. It was always forbidden among the Wurunjeri people to River-standing as a memorial to the strength and resilience of hunt or kill dolphins; to do so would invoke the wrath of the Dolphin. 'feather footed man,' Gornge (the Executioner). The 'Dolphin Tribe' of Momington Island, in the Gulf of The Wurunjeri people are one of several tribes in Australia Carpentaria, shares a very special bond with the dolphin to this that share a special relationship with cetaceans. As still happens day. The tribe has a shaman, who apparently has the ability ,to in some parts of the world today (such as Brazil and Maurita­ communicate telepathically with the local dolphins, and the Rapa Nui Journal 75 Vol. 12 (3) September 1998 Published by Kahualike, 1998 1 Rapa Nui Journal: Journal of the Easter Island Foundation, Vol. 12 [1998], Iss. 3, Art. 4 people believe that the shaman is a dolphin spirit that has cho­ ocean, just as the dolphin remember to this day the special af­ sen to reincarnate in a human body. Having the 'soul' of a dol­ finity they share with their human cousins. phin, the shaman always understands the clicks and whistles of As well as the dolphin, the whale is also a revered ancestor the dolphins, and will always begin communicating with the of many Aboriginal tribes in Australia, particularly those living dolphins using these sounds until, having built up to a cres­ near the ocean. The sacred 'Rainbow Serpent', associated with cendo of dolphin chatter, both he and the dolphins suddenly fall all the life-gIving elements of the earth (including the sun, wa­ silent. According to the shaman, it is at this point that the con­ ter, fire and wind), was often symbolized as a whale and wa versation becomes telepathic. said to originate in the very center of the galaxy-the cloudy Also in Northern Australia, the native people of Groote stellar nebulae we now call the Milky Way. On his voyage to Eylandt tell a story about their origins which accounts for the earth, many other creatures accompanied the Whale/Rainbow special relationship they share with dolphins to this day. Millen­ Serpent, and his influence thus spread beyond the waters onto nia ago, in the early days of Dreamtime, lived the Indjbena, or the parched landscape of the Australian continent. Indeed, the dolphins. Although smaller than their present-day relatives, the rock formations where the ocean meets the land (cliff, caves dolphins still spent much of their time riding the waves and and blowholes) are believed by some tribes to be the work of playing in the shallows. Dinginjabana was the strong, coura­ the sacred Whale ancestor, and in these places his energy i smd geous leader of the dolphins, and took great delight in teasing to be felt most strongly. Indeed, as the whale ancestor moved and taunting the helpless Yakuna, the shell-fish that lived from site to site, it is believed that he left a trail of energy that peacefully on the ocean's sandy bottom.
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