batch.motif.indigenous-australian-australian-legendary-tales-parker-gutenberg-l3224-l3258
---
record_id: batch.motif.indigenous-australian-australian-legendary-tales-parker-gutenberg-l3224-l3258
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
passage_locator:
label: CONTENTS / PREFACE / INTRODUCTION / ANDREW LANG.; lines 3224-3258
start: '3224'
end: '3258'
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: Wirreenun, after showing calm indifference to praise and criticism, summons
another rainmaker. Together they send rain over the dry plain of Googoorewon until
it becomes a lake. Wirreenun orders young men to fish there despite their doubts,
and their nets bring up many fish, providing plenty for the tribes and dogs. The
elders then arrange and hold a borah initiation for boys on a ridge away from
the camp, following Wirreenun’s triumph as rainmaker.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Wirreenun is described as calm and heedless of both praise and murmurs.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Wirreenun summons a rainmaker from a neighbouring tribe and consults with
him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The tribes are ordered to go to Googoorewon, described as a dry plain surrounded
by solemn, gaunt trees that had once been black fellows.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: Wirreenun and the other rainmaker make rain fall over the plain and fill it
with water.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: When the plain has become a lake, Wirreenun tells the young men to take nets
and fish.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The young men question how fish could be present in a lake newly filled by
rain rather than river floodwater.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: Wirreenun insists that the young men fish and says that, if the nets catch
nothing, he will no longer speak to the men of his tribe and will seek honey and
yams with the women.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: The young men cast nets in the lake and catch many named fish, enough for
all the tribes and their dogs.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: The elders decide that, because there is plenty everywhere, they will hold
a borah so boys may be made young men.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: The borah ground is to be prepared on a ridge away from the camp so that the
women will not know.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:11
text: The big borah of Googoorewon is described as famous and as following the triumph
of Wirreenun the rainmaker.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Wirreenun
description: A rainmaker whose powers are displayed by changing Googoorewon from
a dry plain into a lake with fish.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Rainmaker of a neighbouring tribe
description: A rainmaker summoned by Wirreenun and consulted before the rain is
made.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Tribes
description: Groups ordered to go to Googoorewon and later provided with plenty
of fish.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Young men of Wirreenun’s tribe
description: Men ordered to fish in the newly made lake; they doubt that fish can
be there, then catch many fish with nets.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Elders of the camp
description: Elders who decide to hold a borah and prepare a ground away from the
camp.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Boys
description: Boys for whom the borah is to be held so that they should be made young
men.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Women
description: Women from whom the borah ground is to be kept unknown; Wirreenun also
mentions seeking honey and yams with women if his command fails.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Dogs
description: Dogs of the tribes who also have plenty after the fish catch.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: rainmaker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
basis: Wirreenun summons another rainmaker, and together they make rain fall over
the plain.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: power-displaying leader
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Wirreenun determines to show that his powers are great, commands the tribes
and young men, and is later associated with triumph.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: beneficiaries of abundance
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: All the tribes receive plenty after the fish are caught.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: commanded fishers
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The young men are told to take nets and fish, doubt the command, then draw
nets heavy with fish.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: ritual decision-makers
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The elders decide to hold the borah and prepare its ground.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: initiands
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The borah is to be held so the boys should be made young men.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: excluded from ritual knowledge
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The borah ground is prepared away from camp so that women should not know.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: rain
literal_form: Rain made to fall over Googoorewon
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: dry plain changed into lake
literal_form: Googoorewon, first a dry plain and then a lake filled with water
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: gaunt trees
literal_form: Solemn, gaunt trees around Googoorewon, said to have once been black
fellows
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:4
label: nets and fish
literal_form: Nets drawn from the lake heavy with goodoo, murree, tucki, and bunmillah
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: borah ground
literal_form: A prepared ground on a ridge away from the camp
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Rainmakers assemble at Googoorewon
summary: Wirreenun summons a neighbouring rainmaker, consults with him, and orders
the tribes to the dry plain of Googoorewon.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Rain fills the dry plain
summary: After the tribes camp around the plain, Wirreenun and the other rainmaker
make rain fall over it until it is filled with water.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Fishing the new lake
summary: Wirreenun tells the young men to fish in the new lake despite their doubts
and stakes his standing among the men of the tribe on the result.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Abundant catch
summary: The young men draw nets heavy with fish, providing plenty for the tribes
and their dogs.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Borah after plenty
summary: The elders decide that the time of plenty should be followed by a borah
in which boys are made young men, with a ground prepared away from the camp and
women.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: rainmaker creates water and abundance
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Wirreenun and another rainmaker make rain fill a dry plain, and the resulting
lake yields abundant fish for the tribes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents the act literally within the tale but does not explain
broader ritual or cosmological meaning.
- id: motif:2
label: power proven by impossible abundance
taxonomy_refs:
- culture_hero
basis: Wirreenun demonstrates great powers by commanding fishing in a rain-filled
lake thought unlikely to contain fish; the nets nevertheless fill with many fish.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: 'The taxonomy reference is cautious: the passage shows a beneficent public
feat, but does not explicitly call Wirreenun a culture hero.'
- id: motif:3
label: initiation follows communal plenty
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: After fish abundance is established, elders decide to hold a borah so boys
may be made young men.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage names the initiation event but gives limited detail about
the rite itself.
- id: motif:4
label: restricted ritual ground away from women
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: The borah ground is prepared on a ridge away from camp so that women should
not know.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: No further details of the restriction or ritual procedure are included
in this passage.
- id: motif:5
label: humans transformed into trees
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Googoorewon is surrounded by gaunt trees said to have once been black fellows.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage only mentions this condition in setting description and does
not narrate the transformation event.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 3224-3229
quote_or_summary: Wirreenun remains calm, summons a neighbouring rainmaker, consults
with him, and orders the tribes to Googoorewon, a dry plain surrounded by gaunt
trees said to have once been black fellows.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted at length.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 3230-3232
quote_or_summary: When the tribes are camped around the plain, Wirreenun and the
other rainmaker make rain fall over the plain and fill it with water.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted at length.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 3233-3244
quote_or_summary: After the plain becomes a lake, Wirreenun orders young men to
fish with nets; they doubt there can be fish in a lake just filled by rain, but
he insists and stakes his standing among the men on the result.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted at length.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 3245-3249
quote_or_summary: The young men cast their nets and draw up many fish, so that all
the tribes and their dogs have plenty.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted at length.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 3250-3258
quote_or_summary: The elders decide to hold a borah because there is plenty everywhere;
boys are to be made young men, a ground is prepared on a ridge away from women,
and the big borah of Googoorewon follows Wirreenun’s triumph as rainmaker.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/indigenous-australian/project-gutenberg/australian-legendary-tales-parker.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized rather than quoted at length.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal sequence and figures are clear in the supplied passage. Motif labels
are candidate descriptions only; no external comparisons are asserted.
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 make an explicit comparative connection.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:indigenous-australian-australian-legendary-tales-parker-gutenberg__l3224-l3258
passage_sha256=4eebe71b699f73a730490f4fce0169ca3d84975338c6c358031cb04a7d7c7eb1