Moon and Rainbow: The Autobiography of an AboriginalAuthor is Lardil man from Mornington Island; comments on conception beliefs, birth, food plants, camp life, Creation myth, myths on origin of death, Thuwathu the Rainbow Serpent, marriage rules, relations with Mission staff, hunting & fishing, stellar myths, dugong hunting, wild bee myth; initiation myth, describes initiation ceremony, subincision, secret Damin language; flood ceremony, 22 lines of rain stopping song (with free translation), story of Warrenby, sorcery and sorcerers, clay as medicine, love magic, moon legend, death & mourning, burial, inquest, spirit beliefs; relations with Bentinck Island (Kaiadilt) people, stories of early settlement of Sweers Island; work on cattle stations & as deckhand, encouragement to work on bark paintings; notes expeditions with P. Trezise to find rock paintings, Cooktown area; short glossary of Lardil words (c.19 terms). |
Contents
FOREWORD | 9 |
FACES OF WHITE PIPECLAY | 13 |
LEGENDS OF THE LARUMBANDA | 16 |
Copyright | |
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Aborigines Ansett Barney beach bêche-de-mer Bentinck Island boat boomerangs Booyul brother Burketown Burrud bush Cairns called camp Cape York ceremony chanted cook corroboree Creek crocodile dance decided Denham Island Dewallewul Dick dinghy dingo dugong dugong and turtle Elsie fight fire fish flood flood-making flying Forsyth Island gathered Gidegal Gin-Gin goanna grass Gully hunting Jacko Kaiadilt Karumba killed knew Langu-Narnji Lardil Larumbanda live look low tide mangroves Marnbil mate meat mission morning Mornington Island mulgri mulgun night nulla-nulla Palm Island Palmer River pandanus pandanus palms paper-bark puri-puri Rainbow Rainbow Serpent Ray Crooke Reverend Hall Reverend McCarthy River running sailed sand sing songs soon spears stick story swags Thursday Island Thuwathu told took tracks trees Trezise wallaby Warrenby wife Willy wind woman women wommera Woolston Yanggarl young