This is still one of the best available collections of Australian
Aboriginal folklore. It was written for a popular audience, but the
stories are retold with integrity, and not filtered, as was the
case with similar books from this period. That said, the style of
this book reflects Victorian sentimentality and, an occasional
tinge of racism that may not sit well with some modern readers. K.
Langloh Parker (the K. stands for 'Katie') 1856-1940] lived in the
Australian outback most of her life, close to the Eulayhi people.
The texts, with their sentient animals and mythic transformations,
have a sonambulistic and chaotic narrative that mark them as
authentic dreamtime lore. The mere fact that she cared to write
down these stories places her far ahead of her contemporaries, who
barely regarded native Australians as human. This was the first
book Parker wrote. She write four books, three of native folklore
and one an ethnography of the Eulayhi tribe. Parker has some odd
connections with modern popular culture. She was rescued from
drowning by an aborigine at an early age. This incident was
portrayed in the film 'Picnic at Hanging Rock', directed by Peter
Weir. The song They Call the Wind Mariah was based on a story from
this book. (And the pop singer Mariah Cary was reputedly named
after this song).--J.B. Hare
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