Story Two: Long Ago, in the Dreamtime

Tears slid down the dark skin of Charlie’s face. The day of the funeral had come, and family and friends had gathered to commemorate the life of Charlie’s late wife, whose name they would not speak. She had lived her life well, passing on her culture to her children and grandchildren and keeping close to the land where her ancestors had lived for generations. Her people had seen the sea levels rise and fall along the coast of Australia, but despite the changes in environment, they had always maintained a respect and understanding of the land they inhabited.

Charlie had learned from her. He himself had lost some of his culture when his father was sent to the reserve on Palm Island. He regained cultural knowledge through his wife, and he did his best to raise his children so that they would be proud of their heritage and continue to pass it on.

His wife had died, but Charlie still had other family members to love. He sat, thinking about the years that had passed, though he had never been concerned with the time that flew by him. He watched two of his grandsons running around, laughing and shouting, unaware of the sadness in his heart.

People were milling about, talking in low voices, and filling their plates with the food that was spread across the table. Charlie’s nephews had gone hunting the day before and captured a dugong and two green sea turtles for the occasion. The feast was their gift to Charlie, and he appreciated their efforts. The turtles had been baked over hot coals in the ground, and they were served with fried pumpkin and bean sprouts.

As Charlie watched his two young grandsons heaping food on their plates, he thought about the Dreamtime story his wife had shared with him about the sea turtle, Charlie’s own totem.

In the Dreamtime, Budgial, the sea turtle, represented wisdom and love. He loved Gugu, the fish, and he spent his time with her. He brought her food to eat and watched the sun go down with her, sharing pleasant conversation, and holding her when the night arrived and she became cold.

One day, many of the other animals were making fun of Gugu because she lived in the water and could not come onto the land. She asked Budgial to defend her, but when Budgial went to do so, he became friends with the others, and Gugu was upset. She cried and cried in the water that night, and Gunual, the goanna, asked her what was wrong. She explained to Gunual why she was upset with Budgial, so Gunual went to the others and beat them for making fun of Gugu.

Gunual represented strength, power, and greed. He told Gugu about his strength and power, and he explained what he had done to the others. She was glad that Gunual had defended her, so Gugu spent the night with him. Gunual brought her more food than she needed to show her what a wonderful hunter he was, but he would not love her the way Budgial had.

Gugu began to miss Budgial, and Gunual knew. As Gunual began to prepare a spear, Gugu swam away to find Budgial. She told him that Gunual was going to come kill him, but Budgial was brave. He held Gugu and told her everything would be alright.

When Gunual arrived at the scene and saw Budgial holding Gugu, he became furious. He was prepared to kill Budgial for taking Gugu away from him, but Budgial held up two shields, one against his front and one against his back, and jumped into the water. The shields protected Budgial, no matter how many spears Gunual threw at him.

Gunual couldn’t believe that he didn’t have the power to kill Budgial. He ran away from the water to live in the desert, where he remains. Gugu and Budgial maintained their love for each other, and they still live in the water together.
At a young age, Charlie was given the totem of Budgial, the sea turtle, because he had so much common sense and love for his friends and family. He would not eat the sea turtle at the funeral today, because no person can kill or eat his or her totem animal.

Charlie’s two grandsons were sitting on the floor at his feet, eating their meal of sea turtle meat and vegetables. His grandsons were half-caste; their mother, Charlie’s daughter, was Aboriginal, but their father was white. The two boys had light brown skin and soft, curly hair, and their eyes were wide as they looked down at the food on their plates. Their bellies were full, and they didn’t know how they would finish all of the food they had taken.

Charlie watched them contemplating their food, their hands on their bellies. “Did I ever tell you two the story of the Rainbow Serpent?” Charlie asked.

The two boys looked up and shook their heads. Charlie smiled, knowing that sharing a piece of his culture with his grandsons would make him feel better on this sad day. It is what his wife would have done.

“Long ago, in the Dreamtime, there were two young men who were heading down to the river to go fishing for that evening’s meal,” Charlie began. The two boys put their forks down and pushed their plates forward, looking up at their grandfather in interest.

“On their way to the river, the young men stopped to speak to an old man who was sitting beneath a tree. They noticed that the old man looked very weak. ‘We are going fishing,’ one of the young men said. ‘Would you like any fish for your dinner?’

“‘Yes, please,’ the old man said. ‘If you catch five fish for me, I can feed my whole family.’ The two young men agreed to help the old man and his family, and they continued on their walk to the river.

“When they got to the water, the men threw the bark of the Milky Pine into the river. This bark takes all of the oxygen out of the water, and eventually the fish will come to the surface of the water, searching for more oxygen to breathe. The barramundi, the black fin, and all of the other fish were soon floating at the top of the water.

“The two young men were very excited at the number of fish floating in the river, and they began to collect them in their dilly bags. But the Rainbow Serpent, who guarded the water hole, saw this happening and became very angry. The Rainbow Serpent protects the food chain and certifies that it is balanced. He makes sure that nobody takes more than they need and that nobody goes hungry. When he saw the two young men taking many more fish than they needed to feed themselves, he swam through tunnels beneath the ground and waited below the water.

“As the two young men continued to fill their dilly bags with the dead fish, the Rainbow Serpent sprang up from beneath the water and swallowed them whole. With his protruding belly, the Rainbow Serpent swam back down to the underground tunnels.

“The old man, still sitting beneath the tree, heard a large splash, and ran down to the river. He saw all the dead fish lying about and the dilly bags of the young men lying on the shore. The two young men were nowhere to be seen. The old man knew what had happened. He began to dance and shout, stomping holes in the ground. Eventually, the old man fell into the underground tunnel, where he found the Rainbow Serpent. He stabbed the large serpent in the tail, and the Rainbow Serpent screamed and spat the two young men out.

“The old man cleaned off the two young men and brought them back to the river banks. The young men were embarrassed for taking so much and for needing the old man to come and save them. They learned their lesson, to never take more than they needed.”

Charlie finished the Dreamtime story and watched his grandsons. They looked guiltily at the full plates that they could not finish.

“Sea turtle is a very special food,” Charlie explained. “We only eat it at special occasions. It is not to be wasted.”

The two grandsons nodded. They understood. Charlie looked into their blue eyes and was happy that he had the opportunity to share his knowledge of his culture with them. He hoped that the two boys would retain their culture in their changing world.