Kondoli
Ngarrindjeri · numen · Ngarrindjeri traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Kondoli, the whale-man, is the fire-owner of Ramindjeri and Ngarrindjeri tradition, first recorded by Meyer in 1846. He alone held fire and refused to share it, so the people arranged a great dance at Muthabaringga to draw him out. While his attention was turned, he was speared in the neck; fire burst from the wound, and Kondoli fled into the sea, where he became the whale that spouts water from the wound in its back. In the same event the assembled people were transformed into the various fishes, birds and animals, so that the Kondoli story accounts both for the origin of fire among the people and for the origins of many species.
Domains
- fire
- sea
Powers
- holds the only fire
- becomes the whale
Relations
- enemy: RitjurukiOne of the two men who speared him to release the fire.Berndt, Berndt & Stanton (1993). A World That Was. (secondary)
Sources
- Kondoli the whale-man was the sole possessor of fire; lured to a dance and speared in the neck, the fire escaped from his wound and he fled into the sea and became the whale, while the assembled people were transformed into fishes, birds and animals.: Meyer, H.A.E. (1846). Manners and Customs of the Aborigines of the Encounter Bay Tribe. Adelaide. (primary); Berndt, Berndt & Stanton (1993). A World That Was. Melbourne University Press. (secondary)