Australia | Dreamtime Legend

Sky Fire — How the Sun was Made

GiaB prompt #2–6: the sun

Long, long ago, in Dreamtime legend, when land was domain of massive beasts, birds of enormous breadth ruled skies lit by moon and stars only. Man was nowhere.

Waters of Murrumbidgee ran fast and deep through vast open plains, home to emu Dinewan and birdfriend Brolga. One day, Dinewan and Brolga squabbled most savage. Brolga, hot with rage, nabbed one of Dinewan’s giant eggs from her ground nest, and hurled it with all her might to dark skies above.

Dinewan’s egg smashed on firewood piled high across sky. Yolk spilled all over, igniting firewood. Dinewan and Brolga, all beasts and birds, watched in wonder as sky burned bright and light lit up beauty of land and all living creatures.

Goodwill sky spirit liked what he saw. Every night he and other sky spirits gathered firewood and piled it high in dark sky. He then sent morning star out across sky to rouse beasts and birds from their slumber. He wanted them all to be witness to spectacular sky fire. But morning star was waning and its light too jaded, too small to wake all from their sleep. Many rolled over, kept napping in trees, hollows, creek beds unknowing as sky spirit set forth and sparked firewood into blazing glory.

Sky spirit was sad. He didn’t know what to do. How to fix dawn problem?

Time passed and one night sky spirit heard laughter of kookaburra, Goo-goor-gaga. Laughing sound had sky spirit thinking. He decided to ask Goo-goor-gaga to laugh long and loud when morning star started to fade. And too, if Goo-goor-gaga did not agree, then sky spirit would stop lighting sky fire every day. Sky, land, beasts and birds would all forever be dim. Goo-goor-gaga listened to sky spirit and agreed to do as his bidding.

Sky spirit’s plan worked! Beasts and birds woke to Goo-goor-gaga’s loud laugh in dim dark. All gathered and gazed, watched sky fire burst into flames of every color.

Sky spirit was thrilled. He told Goo-goor-gaga that he must laugh every morn to wake beasts and birds in time for sky fire.

Sky fire at dawn was splendid for eyes, cool on skin. Once lit, sky fire burned longer, harder and hotter. It rose high in sky, grew brighter. Much heat given off, not so much to bake beasts, birds and land to cinder.

Firewood burned down to warm glow of red embers. Sky spirit damped embers in cloud, gathered more firewood for next fire. Light of moon and stars lit night sky.

Dinewan, Brolga, beasts and birds took to trees, hollows, creek beds. They rested. Goo-goor-gaga waited silent until his time again to laugh.

© Carolyn Hastings 2021

Thank you for reading my retell of an Australian Dreamtime legend. 🙏 💕

This story, generically known as, How the sun was made, was first transcribed by K Langloh Parker in 1896 in her book, Australian Legendary Tales. The story was told to her by the Ualarai people of north-western New South Wales.

The cultural oral histories of Australian Aborigines, including their Dreamtime stories, have been passed from generation to generation for millennia. Some cave drawings depicted aspects of these stories, but there was no written record of them until well after British settlement began in Australia in the late 18th century. It was only then that Aboriginal languages were transcribed into an orthographic code, albeit an English one.

Of the estimated 250 Aboriginal languages spoken in 1788, less than half are spoken today, with many of them facing extinction. Orthographic mapping of these languages is a huge linguistic undertaking, but one that needs to be done to preserve our nation’s cultural and natural history.

Declaration

I am fourth generation Australian of British and Irish heritage. To my knowledge, I have no Aboriginal blood.

In writing my own version of an Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime legend, I decided to adopt a stylized syntax in deference to the linguistic diversity within Aboriginal languages and dialects, and more broadly with English. I have a professional and personal interest in linguistics. Being a speech pathologist, makes me an adjunct linguist of sorts.

As a writer, constrained writing is a literary technique that provides a creative and functional purpose. In stylizing the syntax for this piece, I elected to exclude definite and indefinite articles (the, a, an) from the text. While there is evidence that Aboriginal languages use demonstratives (this, that, these, those) and possessive adjectives (his, her, my, their, our etc.), there is less evidence for the use of articles.

I acknowledge that my version of the Aboriginal Dreamtime legend may offend some readers. I therefore unreservedly apologize in advance for any offense taken. I wrote it purely as a literary exercise, and my response to Genius in a Bottle’s writing prompt: the Sun.

Here is a link to K. Langloh Parker’s transcript of the legend –

Thank you to Victor Sarkin and the editorial team at Genius in a Bottle for this latest prompt. I would like to invite these sunny writers to participate in the prompt if they have the time and inclination — Jenine Bsharah Baines | Suma Narayan | Viraji Ogodapola | Kris Bedenian | Denise Darby 🙏 ✨

Learn more about the prompt here -

Thank you all for reading. 🙏 💕

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