The Giant Devil-Dingo

The Giant Devil-Dingo by Dick Roughsey, 1973.

In the Dreamtime, Eelgin the grasshopper woman has Gaiya, a giant devil dingo in her thrall, and when the butcher-bird brothers, or Chooku-chooku, run into Eelgin while they are out hunting, they know that soon they will be the hunted. They are on the run, armed only with spears. Gaiya is huge, hungry and willing to chase them for days. This legend explains the origins of regular dingos and describes them as friends and helpers of people.

Dick Roughsey (1920-1985) was an Australian Aborginal author and artist of the Lardil people of Mornington Island. (To learn more about their history and culture click here .)  In information after the story, he says that this tale comes from several tribes in the lower Cape York peninsula. He  also says that unlike other creatures in the Dreamtime, the dingo was always a dog, not a human.

Roughsey's art shows the Dreamtime animal/people as dark, thin. long and featureless, making them seem at once alien and from the earth. Everything is painted in brown, terra cotta and shades of green. The Devil-Dingo is larger than an elephant and has ruddy eyes, a lolling tongue and vicious looking teeth and claws and is a fearsome foe indeed.

Rainbow Bird

Rainbow Bird: An Aboriginal Folktale from Northern Australia by Eric Madden, Illus. by Adrienne Kennaway, 1993.

This pourquoi story tells of Rainbow Bird, who, during the Dreamtime, took fire from the selfish Crocodile Man and shared it with the people. Crocodile Man kept the all fire to himself, until watchful Bird Woman changed things and banned him from the land, telling him to make his home in the water. Then Bird Woman put some firesticks into her tail and became the beautiful Rainbow Bird.

Adrienne Kennaway has provided bright watercolor illustrations for the story. Orange is the predominant color, from the sand and rocks of Crocodile Man's original home to the flames he can shoot from his mouth to the fur of fleeing kangaroos. Humble grey Bird Woman transforms into tropical colored Rainbow Bird, flipping rainbow stripes from her tail as she flies. Crocodile Man is  large and toothy, making an impressive villain for brave Bird Woman/Rainbow Bird to defeat.

Moving on to Australian myths and folktales: Sun Mother Wakes the World

As you know, I am interested in learning about folktales and myths from all over the world, and for the purposes of this blog, especially illustrated ones for children. I am quite familiar with many English, French and German tales and have looked here at picture books about folktales from Russia, Africa and Japan. I would now like to look into the mythology and folk tales of Australia, particularly the Aboriginal stories of the Dreamtime. I am eagerly looking forward to reading up on them to assuage my ignorance.

Sun Mother Wakes the World: an Australian Creation Story adapted by Diane Wolkstein, Illus. by Bronwyn Bancroft, 2004.

From the information preceding this story, we learn that The Dreamtime is a continual process of  the creation of the world. Indigenous Australian people believe that each person's birthplace is sacred and their own Dreaming, and they go on walkabouts to look after their birthplaces and keep the earth alive.

Author Ramsay Smith attributed the original tale of the Sun Mother to a Karraru woman of the West Coast of South Australia. His collection, Myths and Legends of the Australian Aboriginals, was published in the early 1930s. Diane Wolkstein considered this, and also visited Australia three times to research the story of Sun Mother while she was creating this book.

In this story, the Sun Mother is awakened by a quiet voice, and then she wakes the sleeping earth, bringing to life vegetation and animals. After time passes, the animals begin to quarrel, so Sun Mother allows them to choose the shape that they desire. She then births her children Moon and Morning Star, so that the creatures will be comforted by their light. Together, they birth the first woman and man. Sun Mother instructs them to always return to their birthplace to look after it, and to walk the land as she does, to keep it alive.

 Indigenous Australian artist Bronwyn Bancroft provides bold visual accompaniment suitable to this tale. She uses vivid colors that provide strong contrast on each page such as yellow and orange that pop against deep blue and purple. Her abstract Sun Mother variously suggests a fetus, golden  Madonna in a stained glass window, snake woman, tree woman and pregnant bellied, radiant sun.The bright goddess contrasts the black silhouetted animals and people around and inside her. The borders that Bancroft uses on some pages teem with fish, snakes, lizards and butterflies. The lively art matches this story of the creation of all life.