batch.motif.indigenous-australian-australian-legendary-tales-parker-gutenberg-l2776-l2889
---
record_id: batch.motif.indigenous-australian-australian-legendary-tales-parker-gutenberg-l2776-l2889
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
passage_locator:
label: CONTENTS / PREFACE / INTRODUCTION / ANDREW LANG.; lines 2776-2889
start: '2776'
end: '2889'
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 closes an account of Byamee at Noondoo, where his dog gives
birth to dangerous hybrid offspring called earmoonan and where Byamee lives apart
under a fatal sight taboo. It then tells how hardworking Wurrunnunnah store honey
and become wild bees while lazy Bunnyyarl become flies. A further tale begins
with Deegeenboyah, an old man who falsely claims to have found an emu nest after
hearing the Mullyan hunters' song, joins them in setting a net, and participates
as the emu and eggs are taken and cooked.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Byamee travels swiftly to Noondoo with his dog, which later leaves into thick
scrub near the springs and gives birth to a litter.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The pups are described as having dogs' bodies, pigs' heads, and dangerous
fierceness and strength.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: A person who meets an earmoonan in the Noondoo scrub is said to be slain by
it.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: Byamee lives forever in a thick scrub on a Noondoo ridge, and no person may
look upon his face without dying.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The Wurrunnunnah work to gather and store food for famine, while the Bunnyyarl
neglect future provision and spend time around rubbish.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The Wurrunnunnah invite the Bunnyyarl to gather flower honey before winter
winds remove the flowers, but the Bunnyyarl refuse.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The Wurrunnunnah gather and store honey, then stop living with the Bunnyyarl
because they are tired of doing all the work.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The Wurrunnunnah are changed into little wild bees, and the Bunnyyarl are
changed into flies.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: Deegeenboyah is an old man with two wives and two daughters, and he has difficulty
supplying them with food.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: After missing the Mullyan hunters' departure, Deegeenboyah hides in the scrub
and waits for their return.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: Deegeenboyah hears the Song of the Setting Emu and sings it himself as though
he too had found an emu nest.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: Deegeenboyah claims he found the same nest earlier and asks where the Mullyan
nest is located.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:13
text: The Mullyan use an emu-trapping net, camp near the nest, perform a corrobborce,
drive the emu into the net, kill it, take the eggs, and cook the emu with coals,
leaves, feathers, and earth.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Byamee
description: A mighty Wirreenun who lives forever, lives alone in thick scrub on
a Noondoo ridge, and must not be looked upon by people.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Byamee's dog
description: A female dog of Byamee who leaves into thick scrub at Noondoo and gives
birth to a litter.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: earmoonan pups
description: Hybrid offspring with dogs' bodies, pigs' heads, and deadly fierceness
and strength.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Bunnyyarl
description: Relations of the Wurrunnunnah who live in one camp with them, refuse
to gather honey, spend time around rubbish, and are changed into flies.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Wurrunnunnah
description: Hardworking relations of the Bunnyyarl who gather and store honey,
leave the Bunnyyarl, and are changed into little wild bees.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Deegeenboyah
description: An old man who struggles to feed his family, joins Mullyan hunts, and
falsely represents himself as a finder of an emu nest.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Mullyan
description: A hunting group whose members find the first emu nest of the season,
sing the discovery song, and trap the emu.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: emu
description: A bird found setting at the first nest of the season and later driven
into a net, killed, and cooked.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:10
roles:
- id: role:1
label: mighty Wirreenun under fatal sight taboo
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Byamee is called the mightiest of Wirreenun, lives forever, and no man may
look on his face without dying.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: animal mother of dangerous offspring
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Byamee's dog goes into thick scrub at Noondoo and gives birth to the litter
later identified as deadly earmoonan.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: deadly hybrid offspring
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The pups combine dog bodies and pig heads and are said to slay a man who
meets them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: idle dependents transformed into flies
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The Bunnyyarl refuse gathering work, expect the Wurrunnunnah to share, and
are changed into flies.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: provident gatherers transformed into bees
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The Wurrunnunnah gather and store honey in anticipation of winter and are
changed into little wild bees.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: false claimant to a discovered food source
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Deegeenboyah sings the discovery song as if he found a nest and claims the
Mullyan nest as his own earlier find.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:7
label: successful hunters and nest finders
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The Mullyan find the first emu nest, sing the song, reveal the location,
set the net, and capture the emu.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:8
label: hunted nesting bird
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The emu is on the nest, driven away, trapped in the net, killed, and cooked.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Noondoo springs and scrub
literal_form: springs, thick scrub, and ridge at Noondoo
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: deadly face taboo
literal_form: prohibition on looking upon Byamee's face
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: honey from flowers
literal_form: flower honey gathered and stored before winter
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: rubbish
literal_form: rubbish around which the Bunnyyarl play and spend time
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: emu discovery song
literal_form: Song of the Setting Emu sung when the first emu nest of the season
is found
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:6
label: emu nest and eggs
literal_form: first emu nest of the season and its eggs
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: sym:7
label: emu-trapping net
literal_form: long rope net erected as a triangular yard with one side open
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: sym:8
label: cooking fire and coals
literal_form: ashes, fire, coals, leaves, feathers, and earth used to cook eggs
and emu
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Byamee, the Noondoo dog, and the earmoonan
summary: Byamee goes to Noondoo with his dog; the dog gives birth in thick scrub
to dangerous hybrid pups, and Byamee remains apart in the Noondoo scrub under
a fatal sight taboo.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Bunnyyarl and Wurrunnunnah divide over work
summary: The Wurrunnunnah urge the Bunnyyarl to gather honey before winter, but
the Bunnyyarl refuse and rely on the Wurrunnunnah's labor; the Wurrunnunnah gather
honey and leave them.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Transformation into bees and flies
summary: The Wurrunnunnah become little wild bees, and the Bunnyyarl become flies.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: Deegeenboyah claims the emu nest
summary: Deegeenboyah misses the hunt, hears the Mullyan returning with the emu-nest
song, imitates the song, and claims to have found the same nest first.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: scene:5
label: Mullyan emu trapping and cooking
summary: The Mullyan set a large net, drive the emu from its nest into the net,
kill it, collect and bake the eggs, and cook the emu in a fire pit.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:7
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: origin of dangerous hybrid beings in a remote place
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The dog gives birth in Noondoo scrub to hybrid pups with dog bodies, pig
heads, and lethal power.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives an origin-like account of the earmoonan but does not
explicitly frame it as a named origin tale beyond the narrative description.
- id: motif:2
label: fatal sight of a powerful being
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Byamee is said to live forever, while any person who looks on his face will
die.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: No broader explanation of the taboo is supplied in this passage.
- id: motif:3
label: moralized transformation into present animals or insects
taxonomy_refs:
- shapeshifter
basis: Hardworking Wurrunnunnah become wild bees and lazy Bunnyyarl become flies
after a contrast between provident labor and idleness.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy label 'shapeshifter' is only approximate because
the passage describes passive transformation, not voluntary shape-changing.
- id: motif:4
label: providence versus idleness
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The Wurrunnunnah prepare for winter by storing honey, while the Bunnyyarl
neglect preparation and depend on others.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents a contrast with moral coloring, but no explicit proverbial
conclusion is stated.
- id: motif:5
label: false claim to a discovered food source
taxonomy_refs:
- trickster_boundary
basis: Deegeenboyah sings the emu-nest discovery song as if he found a nest and
then claims the Mullyan nest as his own earlier discovery.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The story segment ends before any consequence for the deception is shown;
the trickster taxonomy is therefore cautious.
- id: motif:6
label: communal hunting with ritualized discovery song
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The first emu nest of the season is announced by a song, answered by the
camp, and followed by net-trapping, a corrobborce, and cooking.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: This is a literal hunting sequence in the passage; broader ritual significance
should not be inferred beyond the stated song and corrobborce.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The Bunnyyarl and Wurrunnunnah episode fits a broad etiological transformation
pattern in which present animal or insect forms explain social or moral traits.
claim_level: same_motif
target: etiological transformation into animals or insects
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage supports the pattern internally, but it gives no external
comparative evidence or historical linkage.
- id: claim:2
claim: Deegeenboyah's imitation of the discovery song and false claim to the nest
has the same narrative function as a trickster-like deception to gain access to
food or prestige.
claim_level: same_function
target: trickster-like false claimant to food discovery
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: low
limitations: The excerpt does not include the end of the tale, so the consequences
and full characterization of Deegeenboyah remain uncertain.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2776-2785
quote_or_summary: Byamee goes swiftly to Noondoo with his dog; at the Noondoo springs
the dog enters thick scrub and gives birth to pups with dogs' bodies, pigs' heads,
and deadly fierceness, called earmoonan.
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 2785-2789
quote_or_summary: Byamee does not dare approach the breed of his old dog; he lives
forever, but no man may look upon his face without dying, and he lives alone in
thick scrub on a Noondoo ridge.
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 2793-2798
quote_or_summary: The Bunnyyarl and Wurrunnunnah are relations in one camp; the
Wurrunnunnah work hard to gather food for famine, while the Bunnyyarl waste time
and do not store provisions.
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 2798-2805
quote_or_summary: The Wurrunnunnah invite the Bunnyyarl to gather flower honey before
winter, but the Bunnyyarl refuse and return to turning over rubbish, expecting
shared food.
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 2805-2809
quote_or_summary: The Wurrunnunnah gather flowers, store honey, and do not return
to live with the Bunnyyarl because they are tired of doing all the work.
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: quote
locator: lines 2810-2811
quote_or_summary: '"the Wurrunnunnah were changed into little wild bees, and the
lazy Bunnyyarls were changed into flies."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt quoted.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 2815-2824
quote_or_summary: Deegeenboyah is old, has two wives and two daughters to feed,
usually joins Mullyan hunters, but one day misses them and hides in the scrub
waiting for their return.
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 2824-2847
quote_or_summary: Deegeenboyah hears the hunters singing the Song of the Setting
Emu, sung by whoever finds the first emu nest of the season, and he begins singing
the same song as if he too had found a nest; the song text concerns seeing the
nest and protecting the eggs from ants.
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 2852-2864
quote_or_summary: The Mullyan ask whether Deegeenboyah found a nest too; he says
yes, asks where their nest is, and after they tell him the location he claims
it is his but says they can share.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 2865-2889
quote_or_summary: The Mullyan take a large emu-trapping net, camp near the nest
with Deegeenboyah, perform a corrobborce, set the net, drive the emu into it,
kill the bird, bake the eggs in ashes, and cook the emu in a covered fire pit.
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: low
notes: Literal extraction is strong because the passage is explicit. Motif labels
are cautious, especially where available taxonomy terms only approximate the passage.
Comparison claims are limited to broad pattern/function claims supported by the
excerpt itself.
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: |-
Only the provided passage and metadata were used. No historical contact or inheritance claims are made.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:indigenous-australian-australian-legendary-tales-parker-gutenberg__l2776-l2889
passage_sha256=111129236cdd60a92f5c0c3cd88ac5b48c9d826e6c38e92a095d2309781b3c60