D’harawal DREAMING STORIES Frances Bodkin Gawaian Bodkin Andrews illustrated by Lorraine Robertson The Goanna and the Black Snake BAH’NAGA AND MUN’DAH www.dharawalstories.com The Goanna and the Black Snake BAH’NAGA AND MUN’DAH Frances Bodkin Gawaian Bodkin Andrews illustrated by Lorraine Robertson www.dharawalstories.com Foreword Throughout the past two hundred years, society has come to regard the Koori Dreaming stories as something akin to the fairy stories they were told as children. However, for thousands upon thousands of years, the stories in this book were used as a teaching tool to impart to the youngest members of the clans the laws which governed the cultural behaviour of clan members. The successive attempts to destroy the Koori culture and assimilate The People into the Euro-centric population were unsuccessful, and the Dreaming Stories were able to continue in their dis- guise as charming legends where animals became the heroes and the heroines. Historians and anthropologists have studied the Koori culture since they first arrived on this continent, and have come to the conclusion that the D’harawal culture is dead. Of, course, this has been done without reference to the descendants of that culture, and without even asking the proper questions. The D’harawal culture is not dead, it is a strong, living, vital culture of the Sydney and South Coast re- gions that just had to go underground for a while to be able to survive. Now that the right questions have been asked, we have the key to unlock a vast wealth of knowledge of this part of the country in which we live. It is difficult to explain to a society based on commerce fuelled by the profit motive, that D’harawal cul- ture is not based on the ownership of tangible things like land and dwellings and possessions, but it does have a very strong sense of ownership of information. That information, particularly in story form, was not traded, but could be given, and given freely, but its ownership was respected, those sto- ries were not told or passed on by those to whom they had been given, but the knowledge in them was used by the receiver whilst ever they walked in the Land of the D’harawals, This Land. It is hoped that our present society is now mature enough to be able to accept the Koori Dreaming sto- ries as they were, as they are, and as they were always destined to be; tools to teach the Children of The People about living with Earth, the Mother, in peace and harmony. Each story contains several layers of knowledge, the first of which are the secrets. Which can only be passed on or discussed with persons of the same level of knowledge or higher than the story teller. These secrets are never told within a legend, but are remembered separately from the legend itself. These are very important components of any legend, and it is the knowledge of the secrets which de- termines the level of the person’s worthiness to ownership of that story. 2 The next layer of knowledge within the stories was the law, or laws, to be obeyed. The laws of the sto- ries were told and often repeated after the telling of each story, after which the laws were discussed and their application in life demonstrated in a variety of ways. The third layer of knowledge contained in each story was the lessons which could be learned from the story and the lessons were taught to all members of the group as well as visitors. These lessons intro- duced Peoples to the means to live in harmony with each other, and the land and its resources. In this series of D’harawal Law Legends, there are many lessons to be learned. The D’harawals be- lieved that children learned better and more quickly when they were encouraged to work through a problem, rather than be told the answer. By sharing the stories of our ancestors with you, it is hoped that not only will you recognise and learn the lessons and laws of the Peoples of This Land, but you will also come to understand and respect the culture of The People and our feelings and relationship with the land. The stories do not in themselves act as an instruction manual - rather they point the way and encour- age The People to think, to learn and to live. It is hoped that by sharing our stories, you too may be able to think, to learn and to live in This Land. With understanding and respect for each other we can learn to more easily share This Land and live together in peace and harmony. Frances Bodkin Copyright. 2011 F.Bodkin and G.H.Bodkin-Andrews, Sydney, Australia. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part of this publication may be reproduced by any process whatsoever without the prior written permission of the authors. 3 A very long time ago there lived a man of the Goanna clan, called Bah’naga. Bah’naga was a very bad tempered man, who struck out repeatedly at those who annoyed him, and because he carried a poison bag, they usually died. The People became quite alarmed at the number of clan members who had died because they had done something to annoy Bah’naga, so they called a meeting to see what could be done to get the poison bag from the Goanna. A man of the Magpie clan, Diruwan, was the first offer to try to get the poison bag. He waited patiently on a tree branch until Bah’naga strolled by, and swooped down and tried to grab the bag. Unfortunately, Bah’naga heard him and struck at him with the poison bag, and Diruwan fell to the ground, dead. The next to try was Burran of the Kangaroo clan. He planned to challenge Bah’naga to a race and to snatch the bag when he became tired. But Bah’naga did not want to run the race, and when Burran challenged him a second time, the Goanna man lost his temper and struck at Burran the Kangaroo man, killing him. Gugarra, the Kookaburra thought that he could get Bah’naga laughing by telling him funny stories, and whilst the Goanna was off guard, he would be able to steal the poison bag from him. That didn’t work, either, and Gugarra’s body fell beside that of Burran and Diru- wan. Managa, the Eagle thought that he could pick Bah’naga up and drop him from a great height, but the Goanna man saw Managa’s shadow approaching, and he too, fell dead be- side the others. Wombat thought that he could use his immense strength to knock Bah’naga down and take the poison bag from him, but Bah’naga simply stepped aside and struck poor Wom- bat with the poison bag. The People met again. They were losing too many of their best warriors, and too many women were losing their beloved husbands. 4 It was the shy Mun’dah who came forward. Hardly anyone knew this woman of the Black Snake totem, and few had ever seen her. “If I can get the poison bag from Bah’naga,” she said, “I will ask for only one thing.” The People looked at each other as Mun’dah moved silently forward. “I ask that you grant me a home where I can live in peace with my children.” Now everybody realised how thoughtless they had been. Mun’dah made her home in hol- low logs which were favoured by The People for burning during the great bunyas. And, of course, some of the People doubted that this slender woman would be able to take the poison bag from Bah’naga, when cunning knowledgeholders and great strong warriors had failed. “Anything.” They said quickly. “You can have anything you want.” But others, who were wiser, saw the look of determination in Mun’dah’s eyes. “Where is it you would want to live in peace and safety?” They asked politely. “Several times I have sheltered in the Ganno’kan, the Bird’s Nest Fern.” She said. “I find it comfortable, and the fern does not mind me being there at all. My children and I can care for the fern, and feed it in return for the shelter it provides us. I ask only that I be al- lowed to live there in peace with my children.” The People readily agreed, and Mun’dah set off to find Bah’naga. The Goanna man was sitting by the camp fire when the Black Snake woman arrived. He greeted her with a scowl, but she sat quietly down on the opposite side of the fire. She had brought with her many juicy grubs which she knew was the favourite food of Bah’naga, and began to prepare them. When they were ready, she placed them on a coolamon and laid it in front of Bah’naga. The Goanna man took one, found it was to his liking, and took another and another, until they were all gone. He leaned back against a log and dozed whilst Mun’dah took some more grubs and ber- ries from her dilly bag and prepared them. When they were ready, she once again gave them to Bah’naga, and he ate them with relish. 5 In all this time, hardly a word had passed between them, but this time Bah’naga spoke.