Bulthuku, the Shore Bird

Bulthuku is the shore-bird ancestor of the Lardil and the sister of the Rainbow Serpent Thuwathu. In the central Lardil creation narrative she sought shelter for herself and her infant, Jindirrbu (the willy-wagtail), from cold rain, but Thuwathu refused them and the child died of the cold. In revenge Bulthuku set fire to the serpent's humpy; the burning Thuwathu then rolled and writhed across the country, an act that formed the swamps, creeks and rivers of Mornington Island. Bulthuku is thus the agent whose grief and retribution precipitate the creation of the watered landscape.

Domains

• fire and retribution
• shore birds

Powers

• to set fire to the serpent's shelter in revenge for her child

Epithets

• BulthukuDick Roughsey (Goobalathaldin), The Rainbow Serpent (Sydney: William Collins, 1975). (secondary)

Relations

• sibling: Thuwathu, the Rainbow SerpentBulthuku is the sister of the Rainbow Serpent Thuwathu; his refusal of shelter to her and her infant, and her fiery revenge, drive the creation of the land.Dick Roughsey (Goobalathaldin), The Rainbow Serpent (Sydney: William Collins, 1975). (secondary)

Sources

• Bulthuku is the shore-bird ancestor and sister of the Rainbow Serpent Thuwathu, whose infant died of cold when Thuwathu refused them shelter and who burned his humpy in revenge, setting in motion the shaping of the land.: Dick Roughsey (Goobalathaldin), The Rainbow Serpent (Sydney: William Collins, 1975). (secondary); David McKnight, People, Countries, and the Rainbow Serpent: Systems of Classification among the Lardil of Mornington Island (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999). (secondary)