Ritjuruki
Ngarrindjeri · numen · Ngarrindjeri traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Ritjuruki is the willy wagtail man of the Kondoli fire narrative. With Krilbalu the skylark man he cast the spear that struck Kondoli in the neck while the whale-man's back was turned, releasing the fire that the people sought. In the transformation that followed the spearing, Ritjuruki became the willy wagtail. The wagtail is a widely noticed and law-associated bird in Lower Murray tradition, and Ritjuruki appears as an actor across several Ngarrindjeri narratives.
Domains
- fire
Powers
- spears Kondoli to release the fire
Relations
- enemy: KondoliSpeared Kondoli to take the fire.Berndt, Berndt & Stanton (1993). A World That Was. (secondary)
Sources
- Ritjuruki, the willy wagtail man, was one of the men who speared Kondoli in the neck to release the fire, and was himself transformed into the willy wagtail.: Berndt, R.M., Berndt, C.H. & Stanton, J.E. (1993). A World That Was. Melbourne University Press. (secondary)