The aboriginal people have many stories that they consider to be the explanation and reason for why things are the way they are, they call this Tjukurpa. Tjukurpa also teaches they how to survive and lays down the laws and values of their people. Here are some of the stories I’ve heard.
There was once this lizard that was in the desert, he came across someone’s hunted emu. He knew that he shouldn’t take it, but he did anyway and began to eat it. The two hunters saw the lizard man and went to ask him if he knew where their emu was he said “No, I haven’t seen it” and sent them off to keep looking. Then he scooped as much emu meat as he could carry at took it back to a cave high up on Uluru. When the two hunters went to track their emu they realized that the lizard man had taken it and followed him back to his cave. They called to him and asked for his emu back and the lizard man still wouldn’t tell the truth so the two hunters built a fire to smoke him out. The lizard past out and began rolling down the rock with the emu meat. His skin was being rubbed off on the rock as he fell until he was as small as a pebble when he reached the ground.
A marsupial mole lived in a cave at Uluru and she was very lonely. One day she saw the Anangu and thought they could be my friends and family. She looked around and realized that the rock wasn’t a very comfortable place to live so she got it ready by, making some caves, putting in a waterhole, and planting some bushes for food. She then invited the people to live with her and they did and they lived happily ever after until the white men came. . .
There was once this snake that came to the Uluru with all her eggs, she came to avenge the death of her nephew. In the fight the poisonous evil snake laughed in her face. For this she hit the snake and gave it a sorry cut. The evil snake continued to laugh and so she hit it again and killed it. The good snake now watches over the area and protects one of Uluru’s watering holes.
The way central Australia was formed was because of two boys (brothers) that were going on a walkabout. Still being young at heart the two boys built a large mud/sand pile to play in. Building it bigger and bigger and removing any of the rocks and stones from the sand and throwing them over their shoulder. These rocks formed Kata Tjuta. Once they built the sand pile they slide down it with their hands out leave butt and hand groves along the pile, this formed Uluru. After they had enough play time they continued on their walkabout and the older boy was bitten by a poisonous snake. The younger brother built a bed for the boy and went to get an antidote. The bed he made is now Mt. Connor (the fake Uluru). Upon his return with the bush medicine he found that his brother had died. There he cried and his tears formed a salt lake. Pulling himself together he buried his brother and cried again. This created as second lake where with a small island in the middle where the brother was buried. After a while the boy realized he had to continue on with his walkabout so he left and continued on, but still sad he continue to cry leave a long narrow salt lake behind. This is how the Anangu believe that central Australia was formed.
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