batch.motif.indigenous-australian-australian-legendary-tales-parker-gutenberg-l2891-l3002
---
record_id: batch.motif.indigenous-australian-australian-legendary-tales-parker-gutenberg-l2891-l3002
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
passage_locator:
label: CONTENTS / PREFACE / INTRODUCTION / ANDREW LANG.; lines 2891-3002
start: '2891'
end: '3002'
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: Deegeenboyah stays to cook an emu while the Mullyans hunt more emu with
spears. After the hunt, he offers to carry the cooked birds, lets the others move
ahead while playing, and escapes with the food through a hidden trap-door entrance
to an underground spider home. Mullyangah tracks him, questions Deegeenboyah's
daughters, learns of the trap-door route, kills the daughters and wives, then
waits at the entrance, intercepts the cooked emus, and confronts Deegeenboyah
for stealing the food.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Deegeenboyah proposes to stay and cook the emu while the younger men take
emu spears to hunt more emu.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The hunters use long spears with emu feathers attached and hide in a tree
to lure and spear emu.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Deegeenboyah asks to carry the emus so the others can play with their throwing
implements and boomerangs.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: When the others are out of sight, Deegeenboyah carries the emus through a
trap-door opening into an underground home associated with the Murgah Muggui spider.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Mullyangah follows Deegeenboyah's tracks, finds them disappear, and later
reaches a camp where Deegeenboyah's two daughters are playing.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: The two daughters say their father comes home through the spiders' trap-door
and that their mothers are away getting honey and yams.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: Mullyangah tricks each daughter into jumping from a leaning tree and lets
each fall to the ground dead.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: Mullyangah kills Deegeenboyah's two wives with spears as they pass.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: Mullyangah waits by the trap-door, takes the cooked emus as they are pushed
out, and confronts Deegeenboyah with spear and boondee in hand.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: Mullyangah tells Deegeenboyah that he stole the food and will die, and says
he has killed the children and wives.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Deegeenboyah
description: Person who cooks the emu, carries off the emus through the underground
trap-door, and later emerges to be confronted.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: The Mullyans
description: Group of men who hunt emu, return toward camp, and later search for
Deegeenboyah.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Mullyangah
description: Chief of the Mullyans who tracks Deegeenboyah, questions the daughters,
kills Deegeenboyah's family, and ambushes him at the trap-door.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Murgah Muggui spider
description: Spider associated with the underground home whose entrance is a trap-door
opening.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Two daughters of Deegeenboyah
description: Two little girls at Deegeenboyah's camp who show Mullyangah the spiders'
trap-door and are killed after being tricked into jumping from a tree.
role_refs:
- role:7
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Two wives of Deegeenboyah
description: Mothers of the girls, described as being out gathering honey and yams
before Mullyangah kills them with spears.
role_refs:
- role:8
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Emu
description: Birds hunted, cooked, carried away, and intercepted at the trap-door.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: cook and carrier of game
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Deegeenboyah stays to cook the first emu and later asks to carry the emus.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: food thief or deceiver
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He waits until the others are out of sight, then takes the emus into the
underground route; Mullyangah later accuses him of stealing the food.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:8
- id: role:3
label: hunting party
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The Mullyans take emu spears and kill emu during the chase.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: chief of the Mullyans
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The passage identifies Mullyangah as the chief of the Mullyans.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: avenger and killer
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Mullyangah kills the daughters and wives, waits for Deegeenboyah, and declares
punishment for the stolen food.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:6
label: owner or namesake of underground trap-door home
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The hidden opening is described as the door of the underground home of the
Murgah Muggui spider.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: unwitting informants
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The daughters show Mullyangah the trap-door route used by their father.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:8
label: victims of retaliatory killing
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:6
basis: Mullyangah kills the daughters and then the wives before confronting Deegeenboyah.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:9
label: gatherers of honey and yams
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The daughters state that their mothers are out getting honey and yams.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: moonoons or emu spears
literal_form: Long spears with a jagged nick and emu feathers attached at the end.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: emu feathers as lure
literal_form: Feathers fastened to spear ends and waved to attract curious emu.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: cooked emus as contested food
literal_form: Dead and cooked emu carried by Deegeenboyah and later intercepted
by Mullyangah.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: sym:4
label: underground trap-door
literal_form: A neat covering over an opening into the underground home of the Murgah
Muggui spider, with another exit near Deegeenboyah's home.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: sym:5
label: leaning tree
literal_form: A leaning tree with a bent trunk where the girls play and from which
they are tricked into jumping.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:6
label: spears and boondee
literal_form: Weapons carried by Mullyangah when tracking and confronting Deegeenboyah;
spears are used to kill the wives.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: sym:7
label: mooroolahs and bubberahs
literal_form: Throwing implements and returning boomerangs used in play as the party
returns toward camp.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Planning and emu hunt
summary: Deegeenboyah remains to cook while the others hunt. The hunters hide in
a tree, use feathered spears as lures, and kill two emu.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Deegeenboyah absconds with the emus
summary: On the return journey, Deegeenboyah offers to carry the emus, sits behind
the others, then uses a hidden trap-door route through the underground spider
home to take the food away.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Mullyangah discovers the hidden route
summary: After Deegeenboyah fails to return, Mullyangah tracks him, reaches his
camp, questions the daughters, and is shown the spiders' trap-door.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Killing of the daughters and wives
summary: Mullyangah tricks the two daughters into jumping from the leaning tree
and lets them fall dead, then kills the two wives with spears as they pass.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:5
label: Ambush at the trap-door
summary: Mullyangah waits at the trap-door, takes the cooked emus pushed out by
Deegeenboyah, and confronts him, accusing him of stealing the food and announcing
the deaths of his family.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Decoy hunting with animal parts
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Hunters attach emu feathers to spears, hide, wave the feathers, and lure
emu close enough to kill them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: This is a literal hunting episode; any broader ritual or symbolic interpretation
is not stated in the passage.
- id: motif:2
label: Food theft by feigned helpfulness
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Deegeenboyah offers to carry the emus under the pretext of helping the others
play, then takes the food through a hidden route.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The available taxonomy includes sacred theft, but the passage presents
the theft as food theft, not explicitly sacred theft.
- id: motif:3
label: Hidden subterranean trap-door route
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Deegeenboyah uses a concealed trap-door into an underground spider home with
another exit near his own home.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage describes an underground passage, but does not frame it as
an underworld journey or initiation.
- id: motif:4
label: Children unwittingly reveal a concealed entrance
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The daughters show Mullyangah the spiders' trap-door used by their father
to come home.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not say the children understand that the information
will be used for ambush or retaliation.
- id: motif:5
label: Retaliatory killing of a thief's family
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Mullyangah kills Deegeenboyah's daughters and wives, waits for him, and tells
him the killings are connected to the stolen food.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives the retaliation explicitly, but the continuation beyond
the supplied range may alter the outcome.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2891-2894
quote_or_summary: Deegeenboyah says he will stay and cook the emu while the young
men take moonoons, or emu spears, to hunt more emu.
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 2895-2914
quote_or_summary: The Mullyans use long spears with jagged nicks and emu feathers,
hide in a tree, wave the feathered spear ends, and spear two curious emu.
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 2915-2940
quote_or_summary: After the emus are cooked, Deegeenboyah offers to carry them while
the others play; once out of sight he takes the emus through a trap-door opening
into the underground home of the Murgah Muggui spider, using a route with another
exit near his home.
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 2941-2952
quote_or_summary: The Mullyans search for Deegeenboyah. Mullyangah, their chief,
follows the tracks to where they disappear and eventually finds a camp with Deegeenboyah's
two daughters.
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 2953-2964
quote_or_summary: The daughters say their father is hunting, show Mullyangah the
spiders' trap-door through which he comes home, and say their mothers are getting
honey and yams.
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 2965-2983
quote_or_summary: Mullyangah positions himself by a leaning tree, tells each girl
to jump toward him, drops his arms or steps aside, and each girl falls to the
ground dead.
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 2984-2997
quote_or_summary: Mullyangah says he must silence the wives, kills them with spears,
waits at the trap-door, takes the cooked emus pushed out, and confronts Deegeenboyah
with spear and boondee in hand.
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 2998-3002
quote_or_summary: Mullyangah tells Deegeenboyah that he stole the food and shall
die, and says he has killed the children and wives; Deegeenboyah sees the dead
girls and groans.
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: The narrative actions and figures are explicit in the supplied passage. Motif
labels are descriptive rather than tied to external taxonomy except for the literal
tree symbol. No comparison claims are made because the supplied passage itself
does not support a specific comparative link.
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. The passage appears to be an excerpt from a longer tale, so outcome-dependent motifs beyond line 3002 were not inferred.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:indigenous-australian-australian-legendary-tales-parker-gutenberg__l2891-l3002
passage_sha256=02c9ba7fe11409a4b9d216d63cece2783184b52c2ceece872bca517f87ccc693