The Dreaming

Series 04

STORY 01
Djet
as told by Shirley Gunumunga - NT Arnhem Land

Learn about the two different Seahawks and how they are created.

Synopsis:
Djet lived with his son and his father called Damala. They lived on Blue Mud Bay. One day, Djet, his son and Damala went fishing. Djet told his son to dig up some crabs for bait. So off the boy went digging up crabs along the beach. In the distance he could see something moving at the edge of the water. As he walked closer, he saw that it was a fish. He dropped the crabs and took the fish back to where Djet and Damala were sitting under a tree. He made a fire and started to eat the fish, not sharing it with Djet or Damala.

So Djet went out in the canoe and caught his own fish. He bought the fish back, cooked them up and he and Damala ate them together. His son began to cry because his father wasn’t sharing the fish with him. Djet wanted to teach his son a lesson, about sharing. His son began to cry louder and Djet continued to ignore him. The boy climbed up into the tree still crying louder and louder.

When Djet started getting the fish out of the fire to share with his son, the boy changed into a hawk. The bird circled above them making the crying noise. Damala knew it was the boy because of the crying noise, so he changed into a hawk as well.

Today, the hawkes still appear when the fish are being cooked on the beach. They are always hungry for fish.