Maya-mayi the Seven Sisters

(Euahlayi)

Wurrunna had had a long day’s hunting, and he came back to the camp tired and hungry. He asked his old mother for durri, or grass-seed cakes, but she said there were none left.

Then he asked some of the other blacks to give him some doonbur seeds that he might make durri for himself. But no one would give him anything.

He flew into a rage and he said, “I will go to a far country and live with strangers; my own people would starve me.” And while he was yet hot and angry, he went.

Gathering up his weapons, he strode forth to find a new people in a new country.

After he had gone some distance he saw, a long way off, an old man chopping out bees’ nests. The old man turned his face towards Wurrunna, and watched him coming, but when Wurrunna came close to him he saw that the old man had no eyes, though he had seemed to be watching him long before he could have heard him.

It frightened Wurrunna to see a stranger having no eyes, yet turning his face toward him as if seeing him all the time. However, he determined not to show his fear, but go straight on toward him, which he did.

When he came up to him, the stranger told him that his name was Mooroonu-mil-da, and that his tribe were so called because they had no eyes, but saw through their noses.

Wurrunna thought it very strange and still felt rather frightened, though Mooroonu-mil-da seemed hospitable and kind, for he gave Wurrunna, whom he said looked hungry, a bark wirree filled with honey, told him where his camp was, and gave him leave to go there and stay with him.

Wurrunna took the honey and turned as if to go to the camp, but when he got out of sight he thought it wiser to turn in another direction. He journeyed on for some time, until he came to a large lagoon, where he decided to camp. He took a long drink of water, and then lay down to sleep. When he woke in the morning, he looked toward the lagoon, but saw only a big plain. He thought he must be dreaming. He rubbed his eyes and looked again.

“This is a strange country,” he said. “First I meet a man who has no eyes and yet can see. Then at night I see a large lagoon full of water. I wake in the morning and see none. The water was surely there, for I drank some; yet now there is no water.”

As he was wondering how the water could have disappeared so quickly, he saw a big storm coming up. He hurried to get into the thick bush for shelter. When he had gone a little way into the bush, he saw a quantity of cut bark lying on the ground.

“Now I am all right,” he said. “I shall get some poles and with them and this bark make a dardur in which to shelter myself from the storm I see coming.”

He quickly cut the poles he wanted and stuck them up as a framework for his dardur. Then he went to lift up the bark. As he lifted up a sheet of it he saw a strange-looking object of no tribe that he had ever seen before.

This strange object cried out, “I am Bulga-nunnoo,” in such a terrifying tone that Wurrunna dropped the bark, picked up his weapons and ran away as hard as he could, quite forgetting the storm. His one idea was to get as far as he could from Bulga-nunnoo, the bark-backed one.

On he ran until he came to a big river, which hemmed him in on three sides. The river was too big to cross, so he had to turn back, yet he did not retrace his steps, but turned in another direction. As he turned to leave the river, he saw a flock of emus coming to water. The first half of the flock were covered with feathers, but the last half had the form of emus, but no feathers.

Wurrunna decided to spear one for food. For that purpose he climbed up a tree, so that they should not see him. He got his spear ready to kill one of the featherless birds. As they passed by, he picked out the one he meant to have, threw his spear and killed it, then climbed down down to go and get it.

As he was running up to the dead emu, he saw that they were not emus at all but blackfellows of a strange tribe. They were all standing around their dead friend making savage signs as to what they would do by way of vengeance. Wurrunna saw that little would avail him the excuse that he had killed the blackfellow in mistake for an emu. His only hope lay in flight.

Once more he took to his heels, hardly daring to look around for fear he would see an enemy behind him. On he sped, until at last he reached a camp, which he was almost into before he saw it. He had been thinking only of danger behind him, unheeding what was before him.

However, he had nothing to fear in the camp he reached so suddenly, for in it were only seven young girls. They did not look very terrifying; in fact, they seemed more startled than he was. They were quite friendly toward him when they found that he was alone and hungry. They gave him food and allowed him to camp there that night.

He asked them where the rest of their tribe were, and what their name was. They answered that their name was Maya-mayi, and that their tribe were in a far country. They had come to this country only to see what it was like. They would stay for a while and then return whence they had come.

The next day Wurrunna made a fresh start, and left the camp of the Maya-mayi as if he were leaving for good. But he determined to hide near and watch what they did, and if he could get a chance he would steal a wife from among them. He was tired of traveling alone.

He saw the seven sisters all start out with their yam sticks in hand. He followed at a distance, taking care not to be seen. He saw them stop by the nests of some flying ants. With their yam sticks they dug all around these ant holes. When they had successfully unearthed the ants they sat down, throwing their yam sticks on one side, to enjoy a feast, for the ants were thought by them to be a great delicacy.

While the sisters were busy at their feast, Wurrunna sneaked up to their yam sticks and stole two of them. Then, taking the sticks with him, he sneaked back to his hiding place.

When at length the Maya-mayi had satisfied their appetites, they picked up their sticks and turned toward their camp again. But only five could find their sticks, so those five started off, leaving the other two to find theirs. They supposed the sticks must be somewhere near, and that, finding them, the sisters would soon catch up.

The two girls hunted all around the ants, nests, but could find no sticks. At last, when their backs were turned toward him, Wurrunna crept out and stuck the lost yam sticks near together in the ground. Then he slipped back into his hiding place.

When the two girls turned around, there in front of them they saw their sticks. With a cry of joyful surprise they ran to them and caught hold of them to pull them out of the ground, in which they were firmly stuck. As they were doing so, out from his hiding place jumped Wurrunna.

He seized both girls around their waists, holding them tightly.

They struggled and screamed, but to no purpose. There was no one near to hear them, and the more they struggled the tighter Wurrunna held them. Finding their screams and struggles in vain, they quieted down at length, and then Wurrunna told them not to be afraid, for he would take care of them. He was lonely, he said, and wanted two wives. They must come quietly with him, and he would be good to them. But they must do as he told them. If they were not quiet, he would swiftly subdue them with his nulla-nulla. But if they would come quietly with him he would be good to them.

Seeing that resistance was useless, the two young girls complied with his wish, and traveled quietly on with him. They told him that some day their tribe would come and steal them back again. To avoid this he traveled quickly on and on still farther, hoping to escape all pursuit.

Some weeks passed, and outwardly the two Maya-mayi seemed settled down to their new life, and quite content in it, though when they were alone together they often talked of their sisters, and wondered what they had done when they realized their loss. They wondered if the five were still hunting for them, or whether they had gone back to their tribe to get assistance. That they might be in time forgotten and left with Wurrunna forever, they never once for a moment thought.

One day when they were camped Wurrunna said, “This fire will not burn well. Go, you two, and get some bark from those two pine trees over there.”

“No,” they said, “we must not cut pine bark. If we did, you would never more see us.”

“Go! I tell you, cut pine bark. I want it. Do you not see that the fire burns but slowly?”

“If we go, Wurrunna, we shall never return. You will see us no more in this country. We know it.”

“Go, women, stay not to talk. Did you ever see talk make a fire burn? Then why do you stand there talking? Go, do as I bid you. Talk not so foolishly. If you ran away, soon should I catch you, and, catching you, would beat you hard. Go! Talk no more.”

The Maya-mayi went, taking with them their kumbus, or stone axes, with which to cut the bark. Each went to a different tree, and each, with a strong hit, drove her kumbu into the bark. As she did so, each felt the tree that her kumbu had struck begin to rise higher out of the ground and bear her upward with it.

Higher and higher grew the pine trees, and still on them, higher and higher from the earth, went the two girls.

Hearing no chopping after the first hits, Wurrunna came toward the pines to see what was keeping the girls so long. As he came near them, he saw that the pine trees were growing taller even as he looked at them, and clinging to the trunks of the trees high in the air, he saw his two wives.

He called to them to come down, but they made no answer. Time after time he called to them as higher and higher they went, but still they made no answer. Steadily taller grew the two pines, until at last their tops touched the sky.

As they did so, from the sky the other five Maya-mayi looked out, called to their two sisters on the pine trees, bidding them not to be afraid but to come up to them.

Quickly the two girls climbed up when they heard the voices of their sisters. When they reached the tops of the pines, the five sisters in the sky stretched forth their hands, and drew them in to live with them there in the sky forever.

And there, if you look, you may see the seven sisters together. You perhaps know them as the Pleiades, but the Daens, or blackfellows, call them the Maya-mayi.

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