A song man goes wandering one day and later finds himself living with mermaids under a waterfall. As time passes he misses his family terribly and must make a choice. The freshwater and saltwater people of Arnhem Land battle over a freshwater woman. A chase ensues, and in a sacred section of river the freshwater people know that they must be silent and respectful - but the saltwater people do not. The saltwater people's disrespect conjures giant serpent.
A song man goes wandering one day and later finds himself living with mermaids under a waterfall. As time passes he misses his family terribly and must make a choice. This is about belonging and the pull of family and country. A man may want to explore the land or country but he has responsibilities to his people also. It is only when those people are missing from his life that he realises that he is loved and appreciated and must go home to be with them.
Old Victor, a song man, is searching for his dreaming body so that he can finally feel complete. He asks all the animals until he finds who is carrying the spirit of his fathers. In 'Brolga' we explore the importance and meaning of a 'dreaming-body' to Indigenous Australians. The belief of the Aboriginal people is that there was a time where supernatural beings roamed the face of the earth. Many were like the animals we see around us today, like the kangaroo, emu, goanna and the king brown snake, to name a few. But back then, thousands of years ago, they were human-like. Some were even huge giant people. These beings travelled across the land with their songs, laws, ceremonies, stories and beliefs and eventually they changed into the native animals we see today. This is why all the native animals are sacred to Indigenous Australians, and this is why preservation of life and land is so important. The kangaroo, the snake, the emu or the barramundi may be one of our brothers, fathers, sisters or mothers because the spirit of our ancestors lives and communicates through these creatures. Everyone has a dreaming-body. These dreaming-bodies are the beings that lived many thousands of years ago. Everyone has knowledge of who their dreaming-body is. A dreaming-body can be described as having dreaming 'parents'.
The camp has experienced its first death. The ceremony of birth, life and death must begin.
A shooting star crosses the night sky. In the blink of an eye Namorrodor is awake.
The spirit of Namorrodor is summoned by the witchdoctor man and terrorises the camp. While her baby grandson sleeps, an old woman nurses her sick son, who has been cursed by a witchdoctor. The witchdoctor summons the spirit of Namorrodor to spread the curse - via the baby. Using magic, the old woman exorcises the baby and then defeats the witchdoctor.
Before the moon was in the sky, he was a man who was very proud of his sons, until they disrespected him. 'Moon Man' explains the origins of the moon and why it rises full each month. The moon is a reminder of the anger felt by the father at his sons disrespect, but also the anger of the women at the way moon-man dealt with their sons. This is a cycle of violence which is represented by the cycles of the moon and teaches people to listen and respect the wishes of others.
Something mysterious has been scaring the camp. Two special brothers set off to find out what it is.
A man makes a magic spear which causes the witchdoctor to be jealous of him. This causes trouble for the whole camp. This is about the destructive nature of envy and jealousy. The witchdoctor man is so full of envy of the magic spear keeper that he forgets to respect the rest of the community. This is a particularly important philosophy when living in a communal society and decisions must be made by the group rather than the individual in order to take into account everyone’s needs and strengths.
The Wagalak sisters once created the landscape, then they lost it all.
A brave and skilled man performs a cowardly act by kidnapping a young girl and taking her away from the camp. This behaviour has consequences for himself and the clan. In a misguided search for affection, a ruthless hunter abducts a caring young woman from her tribe. After several days, the young woman finally escapes by transforming into a butterfly. In pursuit, the hunter turns into a bat and is forced to retreat to the eternal darkness of the cave.
This is the time of the day when the Mimis come out of their underworld, out from under the earth and the hills to prepare the land for the next day. A young boy, eager to go hunting leaves his camp but his expedition is cut short when he comes across the Mimi spirits and begins following them. Does the boy realise that he has left behind a family that desperately wishes to find him?
There is a sacred part of the Limmen Byte River where the fresh-water people never make a sound. This is the legend that tells us why.