Pindari and Mowan
Note for teachers: click here for some lesson ideas to go with this story.
If this story whets your appetite for Dreamtime stories, take a look at our In The Beginning programme!
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Telling Tips:
- This is a very emotional story, but be careful to tell with too much dread in your voice - there's so much it could end up sounding dreary. Instead, treat every moment of hope as if it's one step towards a happy ending. Your audience will enjoy the ride.
- If your audience is close enough, find 'campfires' amongst them and dash (as Mowan) into their midst. That ought to keep them on their toes! Make sure you end up at the front for your final words.
When Mowan was a little boy, he couldn’t wait to go out hunting kangaroos just like his father Pindari. So he got very excited when, on his fifth birthday, Pindari said that he could come with him on a hunt.
The father and his son set off from the village with clear, sunny skies above them. “It will be easy for us to find a kangaroo for dinner,” said Pindari. “And with the sun high in the sky, Mowan, you will be able to watch me as I catch one!”
But once they were several miles away from the village, the weather suddenly turned. Storm clouds raced across the sky and lashed the ground with thick sheets of rainwater. Mowan was soaked through in seconds, and soon caught a chill.
With so much rain and cloud in the sky, Pindari could not see which way they had come or where they had to go to get home, so he carried his son to a nearby tree. Mowan was shaking. The little boy’s teeth were chattering. He was very sick. Pindari knew he needed food and a warm coat – both of which could be got by hunting Kangaroo. But Pindari couldn’t hunt a Kangaroo while carrying a little boy on his back...
“Okay, my son, it’s okay,” said Pindari. “I’m going to build you a tree house from these logs here, to keep you safe while I finish the hunt. Then I will wrap you up, and feed you, and carry you back to the village.”
So while the winds whipped around him, Pindari gathered some nearby logs and lifted them high into the branches of the tree. He then carefully placed the shivering young boy within the circle of logs, and closed them around him to protect him from the icy cold wind and rain. Then Pindari set off in search of Kangaroo. As he did so, he muttered a quick prayer to the spirits:
“Oh great spirits. I know my son is close to death. I pray you will look after him and make sure he feels no pain.”
Off went Pindari to continue his hunt. Despite being battered by rain and surrounded by thunder, Pindari managed to find and capture a Kangaroo. He lifted it up onto his shoulder and carried it back to the tree where his son was hidden. But when he got there, he was shocked to see that the tree house had vanished!
Pindari was about to panic, when he suddenly noticed what looked like a small bundle of twigs dangling from the branches. The hunter went for a closer look, and saw a miniature version of the tree house he had built for his son.
The wind and the rain had died away now. Pindari carefully picked up the wooden cage and gently prised it open so he could peer inside. And there, sure enough, was a tiny grub. The spirits had transformed his son into a small creature, protected by the wooden cage from all the elements.
Pindari carefully replaced the cage. He had tears in his eyes because of what his son had been turned into. But, at the same time, he knew he should thank the spirits for making sure that his son felt no pain. Pindari turned around, picked up his kangaroo, and went off in search of his village.
But Pindari had made one small mistake. The spirits had not finished their work yet! Sometime later that same day, the cage burst open, and out flew Mowan on two beautifully patterned brown wings. He called out,
“Father! Father! I know you came back for me, Father, I heard you while I was sleeping. Where are you? Father?”
There was no reply. So Mowan flew as high into the sky as he could. It was getting dark, but Mowan could just see the flickering flames of a camp fire. “That must be where my Father has set up camp!” said Mowan. “I’ll go and find him there!”
So off he shot. And when he arrived at the camp, he called out,
“Father! Father! Where are you? Father?”
But Pindari was nowhere to be seen.
“This obviously isn’t his camp fire,” said Mowan sadly. So again he flew as high into the sky as he could. He saw the flickering flames of another camp fire. “That has to be where my Father has set up camp!” he said. “I’ll go and find him there!”
So off he shot. And when he arrived at the camp, he called out,
“Father! Father! Where are you? Father?”
But once again, Pindari was nowhere to be seen.
Mowan continued to search for his father by flying from camp fire to camp fire. And that is why moths continue to chase the light, even to this day. So if you ever find a moth tapping at your window, desperate to see the light inside, don’t be afraid. Instead, take pity on the poor boy who is forever searching for his father...