batch.motif.indigenous-australian-australian-legendary-tales-parker-gutenberg-l1551-l1654
---
record_id: batch.motif.indigenous-australian-australian-legendary-tales-parker-gutenberg-l1551-l1654
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
passage_locator:
label: CONTENTS / PREFACE / INTRODUCTION / ANDREW LANG.; lines 1551-1654
start: '1551'
end: '1654'
translation: 'Australian Legendary Tales: folk-lore of the Noongahburrahs as told
to the Piccaninnies'
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: A mother forgets her baby in a goolay and later returns to find that he
has grown into a man; he rejects her and kills her with a stone. In a separate
tale, Oongnairwah and Guinarey organize a net-fishing party, but an alligator
kills all the fishers and leaves a creek bank and stump red with blood, giving
the place its name. In the beginning of another tale, Narahdarn the bat tracks
a bee to find honey, sends his wives to retrieve it from a tree, and one wife
dies after her trapped arm is cut off.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The mother forgets the goolay containing her baby and wanders away to a far
country.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The child crawls out of the goolay, grows stronger, stands by a tree, learns
to walk and run, and grows into a man without seeing his mother.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The mother later remembers the child and returns to the Dunnia clump.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The mother follows tracks that increase from crawling marks to the tracks
of a man and reaches a camp with a fire, weapons, and painted opossum rugs.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The mother identifies herself to the grown son and approaches with outstretched
arms as if to embrace him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The son does not answer, picks up a large stone, throws it at his mother,
and kills her.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: Oongnairwah and Guinarey propose catching fish with a net while pelicans,
black swans, cranes, and others drive fish toward it.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Deereeree and Burreenjin see an alligator and warn the fishing party, but
they do not follow the instruction to move away.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The alligator smells them, lashes the water with its tail, and drowns all
the fishers; the creek bank and stump become red with the blood of the slain.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: Narahdarn catches a bee, attaches a white feather to it, releases it, and
follows it to locate honey.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: Narahdarn imprisons the bee overnight under bark, then follows it to a nest
in a gunnyanny tree and marks the tree with his comebo.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: One wife puts her arm into a split in the tree, cannot free it, and dies after
Narahdarn cuts off her arm; he then commands her sister to retrieve the arm and
honey.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Bunbundoolooey, the mother
description: A mother who forgets her baby, later remembers him, returns to the
Dunnia clump, and seeks reunion.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Bunbundoolooey, the son
description: The abandoned baby who grows into a man and kills his returning mother
with a stone.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Oongnairwah, the diver
description: One of the organizers of the net-fishing expedition.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Guinarey, the eagle hawk
description: One of the organizers of the net-fishing expedition.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Pelicans, black swans, cranes, and others
description: Birds who enter the creek and splash the water to drive fish toward
the net.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Deereeree, the wagtail
description: A small bird sitting on a stump who warns of an alligator and is later
killed.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Burreenjin, the peewee
description: A small bird sitting on a stump who warns of an alligator and is later
killed.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Alligator
description: A water creature that smells the birds, lashes its tail, and drowns
the fishing party.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Narahdarn, the bat
description: A bat who wants honey, tracks a bee, and directs his wives to retrieve
honey from a tree.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Wurranunnah, the bee
description: A bee used by Narahdarn as a guide to the honey nest.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: First wife of Narahdarn
description: One of Narahdarn's Bilber-tribe wives; she climbs the marked tree,
traps her arm, and dies after it is cut off.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:9
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Second wife of Narahdarn
description: The sister of the dead wife; Narahdarn commands her to climb and retrieve
the arm and honey, and she protests.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:9
roles:
- id: role:1
label: forgetful returning mother
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: She leaves the baby in the goolay, later remembers him, returns, and identifies
herself as his mother.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: abandoned child grown to adult avenger
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: He grows from baby to man without the mother and kills her when she returns.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: fishing organizers
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:4
basis: They tell the other birds they will take a net to the creek if others drive
fish toward it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: fish drivers and drowned fishers
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: They jump into the creek to scare fish toward the net and are included among
those drowned.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: warners who remain in danger
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:7
basis: They warn of the alligator but stay watching and are killed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: lethal water creature
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The alligator smells the birds, lashes its tail, and drowns everyone.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: honey seeker and commander of wives
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Narahdarn seeks honey, tracks the bee, marks the tree, and orders his wives
to retrieve the honey.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:8
label: tracked guide to hidden honey
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: The bee is marked with a white feather and followed to its nest.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:9
label: trapped climber and fatal victim
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: She climbs the tree, traps her arm, and dies after Narahdarn cuts it off.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:10
label: protesting second wife
assigned_to:
- fig:12
basis: After her sister dies, she is ordered to climb and retrieve the arm and honey,
but protests.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: goolay containing child
literal_form: goolay with the baby in it
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: tree beside the growing child
literal_form: tree
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: tracks of growth
literal_form: tracks progressing from crawling to standing, walking, running, and
adult man tracks
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: camp fire
literal_form: fire in the grown son's camp
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:5
label: weapons and painted opossum rugs
literal_form: many weapons and opossum rugs painted gaily inside
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:6
label: creek water
literal_form: creek and water where the fishing and drowning occur
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: sym:7
label: red bank and red stump
literal_form: creek bank and stump red with blood, with the place called Goomade
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:8
label: white feather marker
literal_form: white feather stuck between the bee's hind legs
associated_figures:
- fig:9
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:9
label: gunnyanny honey tree
literal_form: gunnyanny tree containing the bee nest and honey
associated_figures:
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: sym:10
label: honey
literal_form: honey sought in the bee's nest inside the tree
associated_figures:
- fig:9
- fig:11
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Forgotten child grows alone
summary: The mother forgets the baby in the goolay and wanders away; the child emerges
and grows from baby to man without her.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Return, tracking, and fatal reunion
summary: The mother returns, follows the child's increasingly large tracks to his
camp, identifies herself, and is killed by the son with a stone.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Fishing party destroyed by alligator
summary: Oongnairwah and Guinarey organize net fishing with other birds driving
fish; despite a warning, an alligator lashes the water and drowns all, leaving
Goomade red with blood.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: Bee tracked to honey tree
summary: Narahdarn marks a bee with a white feather, follows it, imprisons it overnight,
then follows it to a honey nest in a gunnyanny tree and marks the tree.
figure_refs:
- fig:9
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
- sym:9
- sym:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:5
label: Trapped arm in the honey tree
summary: One wife climbs the marked tree to get honey, traps her arm in a split,
and dies after Narahdarn cuts off the arm; he then orders her sister to retrieve
the arm and honey.
figure_refs:
- fig:9
- fig:11
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:9
- sym:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: abandoned child grows alone to adulthood
taxonomy_refs:
- miraculous_child
basis: The baby is left in a goolay, crawls out, and grows into a man without seeing
his mother.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not explicitly state supernatural growth; the taxonomy
link is tentative because the sequence is compressed narratively.
- id: motif:2
label: delayed maternal return rejected by violent son
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The mother returns after abandoning the child and identifies herself, but
the grown son kills her rather than embracing her.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: No motive is explicitly stated for the son's act.
- id: motif:3
label: ignored warning before collective water death
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Deereeree and Burreenjin warn of an alligator, but the situation continues
and the alligator drowns all the fishers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not frame the event as punishment; it only narrates the
warning and deaths.
- id: motif:4
label: blood permanently colors a place and explains its name
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The creek bank and stump are red with the blood of the slain, and the place
is called Goomade and remains red forever.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: No provided taxonomy family directly matches an etiological landscape-coloring
motif.
- id: motif:5
label: marked animal guide to hidden food
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Narahdarn attaches a white feather to the bee so that he can follow it to
the honey nest.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The tale segment is incomplete within the supplied line range.
- id: motif:6
label: trapped limb in tree during food extraction
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The wife reaches into the split containing honey, cannot withdraw her arm,
and dies after Narahdarn cuts it off.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The supplied passage ends before the Narahdarn tale concludes.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1551-1562
quote_or_summary: The mother forgets the goolay with the child, wanders away, and
the child crawls out, grows stronger, stands by a tree, walks, runs, and becomes
a man without seeing her.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 1563-1578
quote_or_summary: The mother remembers the baby, returns to the Dunnia clump, follows
tracks that grow larger, and reaches a camp with a fire, weapons, and painted
opossum rugs.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 1579-1595
quote_or_summary: The mother calls herself Bunbundoolooey's mother and approaches
to embrace him; the son silently picks up a stone, strikes her, and she falls
dead.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 1598-1606
quote_or_summary: Oongnairwah and Guinarey invite pelicans, black swans, cranes,
and others to drive fish toward their net in the creek.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 1607-1613
quote_or_summary: Deereeree and Burreenjin warn that they saw an alligator's back;
Oongnairwah and Guinarey tell them to go away so the alligator will not smell
them, but they keep watching.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 1614-1619
quote_or_summary: The alligator smells them, lashes the water with its tail, drowns
all the fishers, and the bank and stump become red with blood; the place is called
Goomade and is red forever.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 1622-1628
quote_or_summary: Narahdarn wants honey, catches a bee, sticks a white feather between
its hind legs, releases and follows it, and orders his two Bilber-tribe wives
to follow with wirrees.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 1628-1637
quote_or_summary: Because the bee has not reached home by night, Narahdarn imprisons
it under bark, releases it next morning, follows it to a nest in a gunnyanny tree,
marks the tree with his comebo, and returns to hurry his wives.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 1638-1654
quote_or_summary: One wife climbs the marked tree, reports honey in a split, traps
her arm, and Narahdarn cuts off the arm to free her; she dies instantly, and he
orders her sister to climb for the arm and honey despite her protest.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Extraction is based directly on the supplied passage. Motif labels are descriptive;
only one taxonomy link is tentative. No comparison claims were added because the
passage itself does not supply comparative evidence.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
The line range contains the end of one tale, the complete short tale 'Oongnairwah and Guinarey,' and the beginning of 'Narahdarn the Bat'; the final Narahdarn narrative is incomplete in the supplied passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:indigenous-australian-australian-legendary-tales-parker-gutenberg__l1551-l1654
passage_sha256=76154864b31e4f858530e32776b0a36f82e92d5c575ac3d158c39f9f9c5098db