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.