"Once upon a time, in a land far, far away..." "No, not like that." "I'm only joking." "But I am going to tell you a story." "It's not your story..." "it's my story  a story like you've never seen before." "But you want a proper story, eh?" "Then I must tell you some things of my people, and my land." "Then you can see this story, and know it." "This land began in the beginning." "Yurlunggur, that Great Water Goanna, he travelled here." "Yurlunggur made all this land then." "He made this water  and he made this swamp, that stretches long and gives us life." "I come from a waterhole in this land Yurlunggur made." "I looked like a little fish in my waterhole." "Then my father came near my waterhole." "I asked him for my mother." "I wanted to be born." "My father pointed out one of his wives." "That's your mother, he told me." "I waited until the right time  and I went just like that, into her vagina." "Then my father had a dream." "That dream let him know she had a little one inside her." "That little one was me." "When I die, I will go back to my waterhole." "I'll be waiting there, like a little fish  waiting to be born again." "You didn't know all that, did you?" "But it's a true thing." "It's always like that for my people." "Now we have to find where this story is, this story I'm going to tell you." "We have to go back longtime  back to the time of my ancestors." "Ssshhhhhh..." "listen now  I can hear them coming, my ancestors." "This wise looking one is Minygululu." "Then his younger brother Dayindi, and then the other ones." "Too many names to remember." "Everyone stop!" "That one is Djigirr." "Djigirr talks too much, but maybe he heard something." "I refuse to walk at the end." "Someone ahead keeps farting." " Not me!" "Not me!" " It's you again!" " Not me!" "Not me!" " You're always so silent!" " Silent but deadly!" " You're always so silent!" " Admit it!" " All right... it's me." " You're rotten inside!" " I'm rotten inside." " You're rotten inside!" "You get to the end of the line." "C'mon let's go." "The ancestors are making canoes for goose egg hunting." "They cut the barks off the trees and they talk about women, like always." "Mow did he go with her?" "Did they do it?" " She doesn't want him!" " You must be blind!" " She doesn't want him!" "They make fun of Dayindi." "They know Dayindi likes the young wife of his brother Minygululu." "This is first time Dayindi hunts the magpie geese." "There are many things Dayindi hasn't seen before  and there is much for him to learn on this hunt." " Let me show you." " I can manage." " Let me show you." " Sure." " Who was that man?" "Never mind him some sort of sorcerer." "I hear you're keen on my wife?" "The young one?" "Roll it this way carefully." "Minygululu knows it's true about his young brother's wrong feelings." "I'm going to tell you a story from long ago and I want you to listen very carefully." "The men will carry the barks to the swamp." "Minygululu will tell Dayindi that story  to help him live the proper way." "It is Minygululu's story for Dayindi back then." "And it is my story for you now." "It is a good story." "Maybe this story will help you live the proper way, eh?" "And here is that story." "It is a long, long time ago." "Dayindi is still a little fish in his waterhole." "All the ancestors, that Minygululu, and Djigirr and even the old sorcerer, all of them, little fish in their waterholes." "All their fathers, and their fathers before that, are still little fish in their waterholes, all over this land, waiting to be born." "That's how long ago this time is that we are in now." "You can see how old it is." "The time that we see now is after the beginning." "It is after the big flood came that covered the whole land." "Look at that flood!" "It is after Yurlunggur, Great Water Goanna, named the water and named the trees and named the birds and named the plants and named the people." "It is after Yurlunggur gave the old ancestors the ceremony of the Djunggan, which gives us the law we all learn." "It is after the people learnt to live to that law  after then, but a long, long time ago." "And in that ancient time, there lived an ancient ancestor." "This ancient ancestor was called Ridjimiraril." "Ridjimiraril was a warrior, a proud one." "He had wives, and children, just like we have now." "And he followed the law, which is same law as the law now." "The stories of our people are very old and sometimes they take days to tell." "Minygululu is telling Dayindi some of the story as they carry the barks." "Proper trees for canoes grow far away from the swamp." "In the water at last." "Nice and cool on my feet." "The storytelling must stop for a while." "There is more work to do before the men hunt the geese." "They must put the barks in the water, to soak." "One bark already soaked is put on the fire, to make it hot and soft." "The story of Ridjimiraril can go on." "All right now..." "That ancestor back then had three wives." " Just like you do." " Yes." "Ridjimiraril's first wife was called Banalandju." "Banalandju was wise and she was important." "She was a good wife." "Okay, bring it here." "The bark is almost ready." "They must cool it down to make it easy to bend." "Dayindi learns by watching." "That is the way we do it with our people." "But we better keep this story going..." "Number two wife of Ridjimiraril was called Nowalingu." "Nowalingu was a bit of a jealous one, but she had eyes that sometimes flew at other men." "What about his other wife the young one?" "Why do you ask?" "Are you interested in her?" "Ah, that number three wife, she was a young one." "She was called Munandjarra." "Munandjarra was a beautiful one." "She was quiet as a sleeping baby." "Ridjimiraril also had a young brother." "That brother was called Yeeralparil." "Yeeralparil had no wives yet, and none promised." "He thought he should have one, and the wife he thought he should have, was Munandjarra." "It was not right to him that his brother had three wives, but he himself had none." "Just like nowadays, the old men get all the wives." "And you you'll get a wife when you get older." "When I get older, my prick will go limp." "You're laughing at me because you think... my prick has gone limp!" "The young men lived in the single men's camp." "They lived there to learn the law, and the ways of men, and to live apart from their sisters." "Yeeralparil too lived in the single men's camp." "Even though it was a long walk to Ridjimiraril's camp," "Yeeralparil's eyes could already see that young Munandjarra." "His mind would wander off to be with her." "Sometimes his legs would make his body follow." "Me's off to see his girl." "He thought about how to really see Munandjarra." "Maybe he would just walk into the camp and pretend another reason." "Anything to eat?" "But maybe Banalandju's eye would be too sharp." "That day, near the camp, was haircut day." "All off, take it all off." " You sure?" " Everything..." " You sure?" "...I want to look like a young warrior, so the girls don't run away." "Mow are you boys?" "Yeeralparil thought maybe he could see Munandjarra from the distance." "Do you want a haircut?" "Not right now." "Maybe he's looking for my mother!" "The one who said that, is Birrinbirrin, who lived in the same camp as Ridjimiraril." "Birrinbirrin had two wives, and a belly as big as a mountain." "He was always eating too much, but his favourite thing of all was honey." "He would search for it  beg for it  sometimes even steal it." "Make sure you burn all the hair" "It could be bad for me, if the sorcerer finds any." "Ah yes, I nearly forgot that sorcerer..." "The sorcerer was old and very powerful." "He had good magic and bad magic." "He lived by himself to keep his magic secret." "Now watch carefully, because on this day I'm talking about, something happened..." "Someone's coming!" "There was a stranger..." "Maybe that stranger had a right to visit these lands." "Maybe he had a sacred waterhole there." "I don't know anymore, the story is too old." "But that stranger had not signalled that he was coming." "He had the smell of someone very dangerous." "See how his prick is covered?" "Maybe it's a small one." "Never trust a man with a small prick." "The stranger spoke language Ridjimiraril could not understand very well." "Me says he came from the stone country to trade objects," "objects of sorcery!" "When they knew this stranger was part of magic, the bones of the men were shaking." "They did not trust the stranger with the covered prick." "He was not carrying anything to trade." "Now you can see the canoes are nearly done." "Only one bark is left to do." "Now Dayindi can learn what happened with his ancestors." "Some of the ancients wanted to kill this stranger but Ridjimiraril didn't want to start a war." "The stranger was given food, to show respect." "Soon he would be gone, but the bad feelings about him stayed behind." "Far away, the sorcerer was listening in his mind." "He heard the men talking about that stranger." "The sorcerer came through the bush to the men." "He made them listen to him." "He warned them about the magic." "I hope he doesn't find your shit." "It's not wise to leave shit just lying there  a sorcerer can do things with it." "When the branches rub in the wind, it makes a sore throat." "Soon you'll feel like you're being choked to death." "Do you feel pain in your throat?" "I don't." "Mow about you?" "Be careful that stranger doesn't burn your shit." "What'd happen if he cooked my turd?" "Whoever laid the turd will get a bloated belly, blow up, and eventually die." "Sick and dying." "Morrible stomach aches." "This is not good." "We'll have to watch out." "Worse than dying that stranger could try to steal your soul." "And worst of all, your soul could be stolen, without you knowing about it." "Me's probably lurking out there now!" "Waiting for a soul." "We better look after one another." "It could be too late." "One of your souls might already be stolen." "Then that sorcerer got himself ready." "He looked all round the camp." "He looked everywhere for any magic that stranger left behind." "After a long time he was finished." "All is well the camp is safe." "Safe." "The men are happy to go on the swamp." "It's hard for Dayindi... it's his first time to pole the canoe." "Come on!" "To the geese!" "Listen to the men honking like geese..." "Dayindi, scared of crocodiles..." "At first, nothing bad happened to Ridjimiraril and his people after the stranger left." "Life for the ancient ancestors passed as it always did." "Ridjimiraril's wives behaved like wives always do." "Who are you making that for?" "For you." "Don't lie, you're making it for yourself." "What's wrong with that?" "I hate those things." "So what?" "Your tongue is very cruel you know." "Yes..." "Mow are you my darling husband?" "Good." "Birrinbirrin behaved like himself." "Poor thing, collecting wood." "Darling wife," "I've run out of honey." "Get lost you lazy slob!" "Get your own!" "Who's going to get honey for me?" "Can you please, dear wife, get some honey for me?" "Enough of your grovelling!" "You fat bellied frog!" "Go and get some yourself!" "I'm sick of all the humbugging round here!" "Ridjimiraril went hunting..." "I'll be late!" "Where are you all?" "Where have you all disappeared to?" "... and the women went to get food, chattering like magpie geese." "The single men suddenly went bush." "They saw Birrinbirrin coming." "Moy!" "If anyone gets me some honey I'll be waiting right here." "Where did the women go?" "They're off digging for swamp nuts." "Bring me some honey, some honey!" "Ridjimiraril's wives were still behaving like wives always do." "Nowalingu went with her friends to be away from Banalandju." "It's hard to know what you were even fighting about." "They just don't get along." "You should be friends." "They can't." "When those two are together, one stares and the other gets jealous." "Imagine what it would be like if your husband had many wives instead of only a few." "And Birrinbirrin was making spearheads, singing a happy honey song." "Yeeralparil was trying to be tricky." "Listen." "Whenever we dig for swamp nuts she has to go and piss." "We've got some honey!" "Over here boys!" "You've made my day a good one." "Where did you get this?" " Back there." " Where?" " Back there." "Waterhole." "Mmm..." "I'm wetting myself." "This is lovely." "Can I have some..." "Grandpa?" "You should have got your own." "Go!" "Go!" "Go!" "You'll get me into trouble." "With all his family behaving like they always do, now we know why Ridjimiraril went hunting." "I got one." "But that Ridjimiraril was still a hard worker for his three wives." "I'll cook it." "We'll eat it." "A wallaby." "He was always trying to be fair and nice to all of them..." "Mmm... this meat is very tasty." "Nice and fatty." "... even sometimes to the younger one." "Can you hear all the gumang, those magpie geese?" "The men have poled a long way into the swamp." "Soon they will go their own way, to hunt geese and collect the eggs." "Dayindi will go with Minygululu, to learn the swamp and hear more story." "And this story is now growing like a young tree that is flowering for the first time." "Let's go." "Back in that long ago time, maybe someone had done the wrong thing." "Or maybe the spirits were angry for no reason." "Whichever way it was, the lives of the ancients were about to change..." "Nowalingu!" "Nowalingu is gone." "That second wife of Ridjimiraril just disappeared like she flew away with the geese." "The men sat down to talk about what might have happened to her." "I wonder what happened to Nowalingu?" "Don't expect me to know..." "Maybe that cross-river mob took her." "Maybe a crocodile ate her." "I think she ran away." "She didn't run away." "She wouldn't do that." "That stranger took her." "I think she ran away." "Yeah, I think she took off she took off." "She took off." "Many moons passed through the night after the day that Ridjimiraril's second wife Nowalingu, disappeared." "Me did not forget her, but was now more watchful of Banalandju and Munandjarra's whereabouts." "Life without Nowalingu became normal, even to Ridjimiraril." "Time passed..." "But then everything changed again." "An old uncle came to visit." "I came from far away over the hills past the stone country." "Malfway I burnt the grass and cooked a bandicoot and killed a goanna." "I thought I saw Nowalingu at a camp there in a bark shelter with a stranger." "I don't know who that other person is." "I left Nowalingu there and walked away." "I came here." "That's all." "Ridjimiraril was right!" "Nowalingu was with that stranger, the uncle's eyes had seen it themselves." "The men decided to get Nowalingu back." "This story is a proper tall tree now." "You like that business the ancestors are getting into?" "I like them to go fighting." "You want them to go to war?" "To fight and spear them?" "I see." "They'll attack them." "Yes, attack them and spear them." "You young people like that." "Always the same." "Nothing changes." "So the ancients made everything ready to send out a war party." "Everybody was ready for war." "The men talked about the planning." "We should just walk in and take her!" "No!" "That's no good!" "That's a terrible idea!" "There are better ways!" "We'll sneak in during the night!" "It's safer to grab her when the women are alone." "We should take one of their women as well." "We should take ALL their women!" "Who's going to look after them?" "You?" "Why didn't they think of getting a wife for Yeeralparil?" "Mang on... wait." "Me'll probably get a wife sometime or other." "When?" "As soon as the story... is ready for it." "Maybe." "And what was Yeeralparil thinking about?" "Let me see..." "Me wasn't thinking about a woman." "Me wanted to go to war to wear white clay." "Yeeralparil wanted to throw spears." "I'm coming too." "You can't." "You could get killed." "We could both get killed." "One of us has to stay alive." "I have to tell you something more about my people." "If a man gets killed, or dies, his wives become the wives of his younger brother." "That's why Yeeralparil could not go." "Only the young boys were left in the single men's camp." "Yeeralparil's mind began to wander." "Pretty soon, his body followed." "There he goes, to see his girl." "He was thinking, with all the men gone, maybe he could get closer to Munandjarra." "But he didn't reckon with Banalandju." "Go away!" "Go away!" "Why do you always come around?" "Go play with a female crocodile." "Get lost!" "Dayindi thinks about Yeeralparil and Munandjarra." "Their destinies were like butterflies in the air  they could go here, they could go there." "Even a soft wind could change their direction forever." "woman waited for woman man looked for woman for man" "woman waited for man to get married" "Ya, beloved woman man disappointed for woman" "man waited for woman" "The men must sleep on the swamp while they're hunting." "It's too far to go back all the time." "But normal camp is not possible." "There are too many crocodiles and not enough dry land." "The men must cook and eat and sleep in the trees, on platforms they are building." "Up there in the branches they will be safe." "Dayindi will soon find out what happened to the war party..." "Everyone came back safe  not one angry spear was thrown." "Nowalingu wasn't at that camp." "Someone different must have taken her." "That's right." "This uncle must have mistaken her for someone who looked like her." "I did." "Maybe Uncle just got confused." " I must have." " Maybe that's what Uncle's problem is." " Uncle can't see one thing from another." " Where?" " Uncle can't see one thing from another." " Uncle's probably going blind." " I am." " Uncle's probably going blind." "That old uncle was right, he has good eyes!" "But no." "What happened to her?" "Maybe they killed her." "Maybe he saw her spirit." "It wasn't someone else." "What have they done to her?" "Who took his wife?" "Nowalingu, where did she go?" "She was his wife." "Who was the person who took her?" "There was nothing Ridjimiraril could do." "No one believed him any more." "He became quiet, and angry, and sad..." "He was possessed by a bad spirit, like his proper soul was taken away from him." "The trouble Ridjimiraril had was only just beginning." "The bad spirit that lived in his head, escaped." "That bad spirit made the biggest trouble of all." "I wonder if those kids have found any honey." "Any honey up there?" "Nothing." "You'll have to find some yourself." "What, they expect me to climb a tree?" "That stranger's back Grandpa!" "Near the waterhole." "I'll have to tell Ridjimiraril." "That stranger might steal another wife." "Melp!" "Fearless One!" "The stranger's back!" "Down near the waterhole." "What are you going to do?" "Just talk to him." "Ask him why he's here..." "Do you know where my wife is?" "No I don't, but I'll help you find her." "Thank you so much." "Is that all?" "Trust me." "I'll come with you then." "What's he up to?" "Wait for me!" "Wait!" "Why have you got all those spears if you're just going to talk to him?" "Me's having a shit." "No-o-o-o!" "It's the wrong stranger." "Mis shit still stinks." "Wrong stink from wrong stranger." "What are we going to do?" "I don't know." "We could carry him back to camp." "Take him back to camp?" "Why would we do that?" "Quick, let's hide him." "Mide him where?" "Anywhere, anywhere!" "What happens if they find him?" "We hope they don't." "If they do, deny everything." "They won't." "Any honey up there?" "No." "Did you find him?" "That stranger?" " You?" " No!" "I didn't see anyone!" " You didn't see anyone?" " No one!" " Me neither!" " Nope!" " Me neither!" "Nothing!" "What does all this have to do with" "Munandjarra and Yeeralparil?" "Dayindi is impatient to hear what will happen to the young ones." "But this story is growing into a large tree now, with branches spreading everywhere." "All the parts of the story have to be told for proper understanding." "Minygululu keeps going, on the same branch." "Those two ancestors, Ridjimiraril and Birrinbirrin, did the wrong thing when they tried to hide the body." "They didn't hide that body well enough..." "You killed my brother." "You made this." "That's right." "It's from your spear." "You made this." "And you killed my brother." "When they'd found the body, they pulled out the spearhead." "They said, who owns this stone spearhead?" "They said that?" "That's what they said, whose spearhead?" "Then they recognised it." "They knew whose work it was." "It had been Birrinbirrin's spear." "Me had traded it to his friend for the thing he liked most... honey." "You're the one who speared my brother!" "Say something Fat Man!" "Speak up!" "Me speared him!" "Me speared him!" "I speared him." "Fat Man speared him." "At first that stranger didn't believe Ridjimiraril, but Ridjimiraril would not change his words." "The only thing to do was to follow the law." "We'll settle it with a payback." "With him." "Me's responsible." "Ridjimiraril could not refuse the Makaratta, the payback ceremony, where the stranger and his men could throw spears at him until he got hit." "As the two groups worked out the Makaratta," "Ridjimiraril knew he was in a danger he couldn't get away from." "Night is coming to the tree platforms." "The men sit near their little fires..." "the smoke helps to keep mosquitoes away." "They talk about the hunting... there are lots of gumang eggs this year." "The story can wait." "Now it is morning." "The men go out to do more hunting, of gumang and their eggs." "Minygululu wants to know if Dayindi has learnt anything yet." "Dayindi says, only that it's a long story." "Minygululu answers, that's why it's a good story." "Back then, all that time ago, it was also time of goose egg gathering." "The payback, the makaratta, was to be at this time, far across the other side of the swamp." "Ridjimiraril was heavy in his heart..." "This time Yeeralparil could go, to lend his spirit to his older brother." "The wives were afraid they would never see their husband again." "Birrinbirrin could not go... he was too fat to cross the swamp in a canoe." "Come, come." "Mand it to me." "This is yours and this is mine." "We'll share." "It was a bad time." "The men were thinking of what Ridjimiraril had to face as they set out to cross the swamp." "Maybe that stranger's mob could throw their spears good and straight." "Then Ridjimiraril would have a spear right through him pretty soon." "But that was the law." "Ridjimiraril knew that law." "He knew it was the way of his people." "He knew the people needed the law, so they could stay living the right way, with the right land." "And he knew he had broken the law." "Let's go." "Without the makaratta, there would be a bad war between the two tribes." "There was no turning back." " Missed again." " That was the last goose on the swamp." "And you missed it." "What's up?" "Tell the story." "About the payback they went to?" "Minygululu tells Dayindi that Ridjimiraril needed a partner to face the spears with him." "The other tribe was satisfied whichever one got speared." "It was a dangerous thing to be makaratta partner." "He could be the one to get speared." "Yeeralparil knew it and waited his time." "Who's going to be Ridjimiraril's partner?" "For the payback?" "One of us on this platform might!" "Maybe me!" "What about you?" "I've got a boil on my bum!" " What about him?" " No, him over there!" "Somebody has to do it!" "Quiet!" "Quiet!" "Quiet!" "I'll do it!" "You know nothing!" "I know how to avoid spears!" " You've got weak knees!" " Somebody older!" " You're too young!" " You're too inexperienced!" "Yeeralparil argued with the men." "If he couldn't have Munandjarra, he may as well be at the makaratta to be speared, or dead." "Finally Ridjimiraril agreed." "My goose got away." "Got all the eggs though." "The goose egg hunters come together to eat." "Is the fire going yet?" "Almost." "I could eat a whole goose." "When can we cook?" "Mey everybody!" "Are you all here?" "We're about to start cooking." "Is the fire burning?" "Nearly there!" "I'm looking forward to filling my stomach!" "I got a goose!" "Dayindi is proud of his hunting success." "The story will go on when they're eating." "We won't wait, because it is time for the makaratta spears to start flying." "Ridjimiraril and Yeeralparil danced like ghosts between the spears." "They danced so hard they were nearly invisible." "The spears seemed to be passing right through them." "Look at those spears flying!" "The warriors from the other tribe threw their spears until their arms got tired." "That's how hard the two brothers danced." "But Ridjimiraril was not a ghost." "He was a human being." "His legs were human, and one spear too many came flying." "The goose egg hunting is nearly over for now." "The men have plenty of geese and eggs." "But there is still some of this story left for me to tell you." "That one spear too many had hit Ridjimiraril right in his guts." "He was injured all right, but not so bad that he should die." "The other tribe's anger was over." "They could return to their land, satisfied." "The law had been followed." "Justice had been done." "We speared your man." "After we'd speared yours." "It's all over... finished with." "Ridjimiraril still believed it was the stranger who took Nowalingu." "It made him too proud to let the men carry him back." "He wanted to show the stranger, and his own men, he was strong, and angry." "But he was not strong enough to pole all the way across the swamp." "And the blood leaving his body made him too weak to walk by himself." "Banalandju knew the leaves to use to make the wound better." "Get some fresh bark." "She knew what to get to make her husband stronger." "The men are near the end of their journey." "Dayindi is now interested in all the story." "He waits to hear what happened to Ridjimiraril." "Ridjimiraril did not get stronger." "In his weakness, he called out for Nowalingu, to bring him water." "But Nowalingu did not come." "A bad spirit took over Ridjimiraril's body." "He did not have the strength to fight it off." "That stranger's tribe might have used some sorcery." "Maybe on the spear there was some sorcery  or maybe on Ridjimiraril himself." "And there's only one way to fight sorcery." "Go away." "Who told you to come here?" "I haven't seen this before, this strange magic." "The sorcerer could do no more." "He was overcome by a great sadness." "Ridjimiraril, you are going to die." "The spirits are waiting." "And the people know  see?" "They know." "They come out of the bush, from everywhere." "They come for Ridjimiraril." "And see how Ridjimiraril makes one very big effort  maybe his last effort." "Slowly he gets up." "Look at him get up while he still has the strength." "Slowly he walks to the middle of the space in the camp." "And there, near the fires so that everyone can see..." "Ridjimiraril begins to dance... his own death dance." "Soon the clapsticks will join in, and the didgeridu, and then singing." "Hear the clapsticks start." "And now the didgeridu ... as Ridjimiraril dances ... his own death dance." "He is becoming weaker." "But see?" "See how he keeps dancing until all his strength is gone." "Now he is getting tired." "Now his strength is finished, and he lies down on the ground." "And now the warriors finish the death dance for Ridjimiraril." "Ridjimiraril is waiting for them to start singing again." "He wants them to sing his death song for him, so that all his fathers will know that he is dying, and come to him." "Hear now." "They are starting to sing." "You think he might be dead, but he's only waiting for this singing." "See?" "See?" "His hand... his hand is moving." "His hand moves like his brown python totem." "See his foot move too?" "That's to show he is listening, to show he's going to die and is telling all his people." "Now he is lying there." "His heart is still beating, but he is already dead." "Look, look..." "The old grandfather has gone into his heart, to help get his soul out of there." "Even his heart is still now, but he wants them to keep singing a bit longer, to help him find his ancestors." "Then they must prepare him for his journey..." "They are painting the design of his waterhole on him." "That means his spirit can find its way back to its waterhole." "It will wait there to be born again." "Now they are chasing his soul away because sometimes it doesn't want to leave." "And there it goes, on its journey." "And that's the end of the story." "Wait, that's not the end of the story." "Dayindi is learning an important thing." "He is learning to be patient." "But you're impatient to see the rest of this story, eh?" "I know that." "So I'll tell you what happened." "Ridjimiraril's soul had just gone to his waterhole..." "Melp!" "I'm here!" "Somebody... where are you?" "Mere I am... anybody!" "Someone!" "Not Ridjimiraril's second wife?" "That's the one." "After all that time missing she walked into the camp just like that!" "She'd run away and come back." "Wait." "Wait." "Wait." "It was not the stranger who took Nowalingu, and she did not run away." "It was the cross-river mob that took her." "They traded her to a desert tribe, far away." "She escaped from them and took nearly a season to walk all the way back." "And now her husband was dead." "The men had to show they were warriors." "They made much noise about going to war against the cross-river mob." "But deep down, their feelings were different." "They were happy when Birrinbirrin came to speak to them." "Forget it." "Don't think about it." "This is where we stop." "We've already lost Ridjimiraril and this is where we stop." "There were days and months of ceremony of the dead." "All the proper things were done." "At last the spirit of the dead man was back where it properly belonged." "The men are getting close to home." "Dayindi knows the story is nearly at its end." "Some of the men go back to their own tribe." "Maybe they'll meet again next ceremony, or maybe next season of goose egg gathering." "Finally Yeeralparil could be with Munandjarra." "Finally, I can be with my girl." "Come with me." "This way to my shelter." "No I'm going..." "I want..." "I'm your first wife." "You're with me." " No way." " Me's my husband." "Mey!" "Stop arguing!" "Me's my husband too!" "Where's the honey?" "And finally Dayindi had the end of the story." "It was not what he expected." "And they all lived happily ever after..." "No, I don't know what happened." "Maybe that Dayindi found a wife." "Maybe he didn't." "It was like that for my people." "But now you've seen my story." "It's a good story." "Not like your story, but a good story all the same."