batch.motif.indigenous-australian-australian-legendary-tales-parker-gutenberg-l1966-l2090
---
record_id: batch.motif.indigenous-australian-australian-legendary-tales-parker-gutenberg-l1966-l2090
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
passage_locator:
label: CONTENTS / PREFACE / INTRODUCTION / ANDREW LANG.; lines 1966-2090
start: '1966'
end: '2090'
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: The passage contains the end of an Ouyan tale, in which Ouyan is beaten,
cursed with red fleshless legs, disappears, and is associated with a night-calling
bird. It then gives tales of Dinewan the emu tricking his Wahn wives with a bark
shelter and being burned with hot coals in retaliation; Goolahwilleel deceiving
his mother and sisters with a gum model of a kangaroo and thereafter the Goolahwilleels
going in flocks; and the beginning of a Goonur tale in which two abused wives
prepare a hidden water-filled pit and plan to lure their husband to it with a
false report of bandicoots.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Three women seize Ouyan and beat him, leaving his legs bleeding.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Beeargah declares that Ouyan will have no more flesh on his legs and that
they will be red, long, and fleshless forever.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Ouyan crawls away, hides, and is not seen again by his mother.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: A bird with long thin legs, red under the feathers, is seen and heard crying
at night with the same cry attributed to Ouyan.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Dinewan repeatedly knocks down parts of a bark humpy so that his Wahn wives
must repair it in the rain while he remains dry inside.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The Wahn wives discover Dinewan's trick and decide to teach him a lesson.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The Wahn wives throw hot coals over Dinewan, causing him pain and burns, while
they stay inside and laugh.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Goolahwilleel regularly goes out but returns without meat, though his mother
and sisters expect kangaroo or emu.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Goolahwilleel makes a complete kangaroo model from wattle-gum and presents
it as the promised kangaroo.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: Goolahwilleel's mother and sisters beat him for deceiving them and say he
will not go out alone again.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: The passage explains that the Goolahwilleels thereafter go in flocks when
seeking food.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: Goonur, a clever old woman-doctor, lives with her son Goonur and his two wives,
Guddah and Beereeun.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:13
text: After Goonur beats both wives, they decide there is no escape unless they
kill him by cunning.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:14
text: Guddah and Beereeun dig a big hole near the creek, fill it with water, cover
it with vegetation, and plan to tell their husband it is a bandicoot nest.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Ouyan
description: A man beaten by three women, cursed with red fleshless legs, and later
associated with a bird bearing his name and cry.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Beeargah
description: One of the women who speaks the curse over Ouyan's legs after the beating.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Other women who beat Ouyan
description: Two women accompanying Beeargah in seizing and beating Ouyan.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Bird called Ouyan
description: A bird with long thin legs red under the feathers, heard crying at
night with Ouyan's cry.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Dinewan
description: An emu husband who tricks his two Wahn wives by repeatedly damaging
the bark humpy.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: The Wahn wives
description: Dinewan's two wives, identified as the Wahn, who repair the humpy and
then burn Dinewan with hot coals.
role_refs:
- role:7
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Goolahwilleel
description: A young figure who makes a kangaroo model out of wattle-gum instead
of bringing home meat.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Goolahwilleel's mother and sisters
description: Family members who expect meat from Goolahwilleel, discover the gum
model, beat him, and require future group foraging.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Goonur the woman-doctor
description: A clever old woman-doctor who lives with her son and his two wives.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Goonur the husband
description: The son of the woman-doctor and husband of Guddah and Beereeun; he
beats both wives.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Guddah
description: The red lizard wife of Goonur, who joins the plan to trap him.
role_refs:
- role:7
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Beereeun
description: The small prickly lizard wife of Goonur, who joins the plan to trap
him.
role_refs:
- role:7
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
roles:
- id: role:1
label: injured victim
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Ouyan is beaten and cries out in agony from wounds to his legs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: etiological source figure
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: After Ouyan disappears, a bird bearing his name, leg coloring, and cry is
described.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: punishing women
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
basis: The women seize and beat Ouyan; Beeargah pronounces the lasting condition
of his legs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: animal manifestation or named successor
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The bird is named Ouyan and shares the cry and red leg features connected
with Ouyan.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: deceiver or trickster-like actor
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:7
basis: Dinewan secretly causes repeated repairs; Goolahwilleel misleads his family
with a gum kangaroo.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: husband who harms wives
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:10
basis: Dinewan causes his wives to suffer in cold rain; Goonur beats both wives.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: role:7
label: wives who retaliate or plot
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:11
- fig:12
basis: The Wahn wives burn Dinewan; Guddah and Beereeun plan to kill Goonur by cunning.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:8
- id: role:8
label: retaliatory punishers
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: They throw hot coals over Dinewan after discovering his trick.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:9
label: failed provider
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: He returns without meat and brings only a gum model of a kangaroo.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:10
label: deceived kin and disciplinarians
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: They believe meat is being brought, then beat Goolahwilleel for deception.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:11
label: clever woman-doctor
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The passage identifies Goonur as a clever old woman-doctor.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:12
label: trap-makers
assigned_to:
- fig:11
- fig:12
basis: They dig, fill, and conceal the hole and plan the lure.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: red fleshless legs
literal_form: Ouyan's legs made red, long, and without flesh
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: night cry
literal_form: The repeated cry attributed first to Ouyan and then to the bird named
Ouyan
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: bark humpy
literal_form: A bark shelter made during rain
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: hot coals
literal_form: Pieces of bark filled with hot coals thrown over Dinewan
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: rain and cold wetness
literal_form: Rain outside the humpy causing the Wahn wives to become cold and wet
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:6
label: gum kangaroo
literal_form: A complete kangaroo model made from wattle-gum
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:7
label: hidden water-filled pit
literal_form: A large hole in sand near the creek, filled with water and covered
with boughs, leaves, and grass
associated_figures:
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:8
label: false bandicoot nest
literal_form: A reported bandicoot nest used as a lure in the wives' plan
associated_figures:
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Ouyan beaten and marked
summary: Three women beat Ouyan; Beeargah declares that his legs will remain red,
long, and fleshless.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Ouyan as night-calling bird
summary: After Ouyan vanishes, a bird appears with red thin legs and a night cry
matching Ouyan's lament, and it bears his name.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Dinewan's shelter trick
summary: Dinewan secretly knocks down bark from the humpy so that his wives repeatedly
go into the rain to repair it.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Wahn wives' hot-coal retaliation
summary: The wives return with hot coals and throw them over Dinewan, burning him
and reversing his comfort in the shelter.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Goolahwilleel's gum kangaroo deception
summary: Goolahwilleel makes a kangaroo from wattle-gum and lets his mother and
sisters believe he has brought real meat.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:6
label: Goolahwilleel punished and flocking explained
summary: His mother and sisters beat him for deception and require that he no longer
go alone; the passage explains this as the reason Goolahwilleels go in flocks.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:7
label: Guddah and Beereeun plan a trap
summary: After being beaten by Goonur, the two wives decide to kill him by cunning
and prepare a concealed water-filled pit with a false bandicoot lure.
figure_refs:
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: animal feature and cry explained by injured human figure
taxonomy_refs:
- shapeshifter
basis: Ouyan disappears after being beaten and cursed; a bird bearing his name has
matching red legs and night cry.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not explicitly state a transformation; it juxtaposes
Ouyan's disappearance with the appearance and naming of the bird.
- id: motif:2
label: trickster-like husband punished by retaliatory reversal
taxonomy_refs:
- trickster_boundary
basis: Dinewan tricks his wives into suffering cold and wetness; they retaliate
by making him suffer heat from coals.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The term trickster is not used in the passage; the classification rests
on the repeated deception and reversal.
- id: motif:3
label: false substitute for hunted animal
taxonomy_refs:
- trickster_boundary
basis: Goolahwilleel substitutes a crafted gum kangaroo for actual meat and insists
it is a kangaroo.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a deception episode, but its broader motif family is not explicitly
named in the passage.
- id: motif:4
label: social behavior of a species explained by punishment
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: After Goolahwilleel is beaten for deception and told he will not go out alone
again, the passage says Goolahwilleels thereafter go in flocks.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: No available taxonomy reference directly matches this etiological flocking
motif.
- id: motif:5
label: concealed pit trap with false food lure
taxonomy_refs:
- trickster_boundary
basis: Guddah and Beereeun hide a water-filled pit and plan to lure Goonur by claiming
to have found a bandicoot nest.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage segment ends before the trap is sprung; the intended outcome
is stated but not completed here.
- id: motif:6
label: wives' revenge against an abusive husband
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Both the Wahn wives and Goonur's wives respond to harm from a husband with
retaliatory action or a murder plan.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The two episodes are adjacent but separate tales; the repeated pattern
is observable within this passage, but no explicit comparative framing is provided.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1966-1976
quote_or_summary: Three women beat Ouyan; Beeargah says his legs will be red, long,
and fleshless forever; Ouyan crawls away and is not seen by his mother again.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 1977-1982
quote_or_summary: A bird with long thin legs red under the feathers is seen and
heard crying at night like Ouyan, and the bird bears Ouyan's name.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 1984-2003
quote_or_summary: Dinewan and his two Wahn wives shelter in a bark humpy during
rain; Dinewan repeatedly knocks down bark so the wives must repair it outside
while he remains dry and laughs, until one wife observes the trick.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 2003-2012
quote_or_summary: The wives bring bark pieces filled with hot coals, tell Dinewan
he will feel heat as they felt cold, throw the coals over him, and laugh while
he runs into the rain burned.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 2014-2056
quote_or_summary: Goolahwilleel returns daily without meat despite family expectations;
he has been making a complete kangaroo model from wattle-gum and brings it toward
camp as if fulfilling his promise.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 2057-2067
quote_or_summary: Goolahwilleel's mother and sisters reject the gum kangaroo deception,
beat him, forbid him to go out alone again, and the passage states that Goolahwilleels
thereafter go in flocks seeking food.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 2069-2081
quote_or_summary: Goonur is introduced as a clever old woman-doctor living with
her son Goonur and his wives Guddah and Beereeun; after the husband beats the
wives, they decide they must kill him by cunning.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 2082-2090
quote_or_summary: The wives dig a large hole near the creek, fill it with water,
cover it with vegetation, and plan to tell Goonur they have found a large bandicoot
nest so he can surprise the animals.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward from the supplied passage. Motif taxonomy
mapping is cautious because several etiological and deception patterns lack exact
available taxonomy references, and the final Goonur episode is incomplete in this
excerpt.
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: |-
Used only the supplied passage and metadata. No comparison claims were added because the passage itself does not explicitly support cross-text or cross-tradition comparison.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:indigenous-australian-australian-legendary-tales-parker-gutenberg__l1966-l2090
passage_sha256=6a0c8e6025f379abacbab3316d6966e010eb81ce797734752d208df33b2e5913