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CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE AND CENTENARY OF CANBERRA PRESENT DARWIN FESTIVAL’S
WULAMANAYUWI
and the seven
pamanui
WRITTEN BY JASON DE SANTIS
DIRECTED BY EAMON FLACK
Teacher Resource kit
PHOTO: ANGELA KEITH
10-13 APRIL 2013
Wulamanayuwi and the Seven Pamanui originally commissioned by Darwin Festival, and supported by the Australian Government’s Major Festivals Initiative managed by the Australia Council
in association with Ten Days on the Island (TAS) and COME OUT Festival; 32º Producing Hub, the Sidney Myer Fund, PlayWriting Australia, Regional Arts Fund and the Northern Territory Government.

This teaching resource for primary and middle schools students draws its inspiration from
the text and live-performance of Wulamanayuwi and the Seven Pamanui by Jason De
Santis. It has been developed to help you prepare your students to see the production and
extend their understanding back at school after their theatre experience. The activities in
this kit will allow your students to explore:
• Dreamtime stories and story-telling techniques
• Tiwi Islander traditions, language, culture and family life
• Characters and relationships.
By using the arts (and drama in particular) as a vehicle to explore the production
Wulamanayuwi and the Seven Pamanui, you will allow your students to open up to new
ideas, experiences and forms of artistic expression. They will be encouraged to experiment
with creative ways of thinking and acting and provided with opportunities to develop
persistence in improving their own ideas, skills and techniques. Hopefully, this experience
will be another step along the road to developing a lifelong appreciation of the arts.
This resource has been structured into a series of activities with increasing complexity and
demands on student capacity as you move through the tasks within each activity.
The curriculum content for this kit has been matched to the Australian Curriculum (English
and History) and Every Chance To Learn: Curriculum framework for ACT schools, Preschool
to Year 10 (ELA7: The student creates, presents and appreciates artistic works). Towards the
end of this document you will find a grid that outlines which major outcomes this kit meets
for each Year level so that you can map the outcomes your students are exploring.
This resource can be used in a number of ways. You can:
• follow the sequence of tasks within each activity
• choose tasks from within an activity appropriate to the level of your
students’ ability
• extend selected activities into performance pieces
• choose activities that complement your literacy, history and arts program
Warnings:
This play contains a small amount of mild coarse language and stylised violence.
This resource may contain the names and images of Aboriginal and Islander people now deceased. It also
contains links to sites that may use images of Aboriginal and Islander people now deceased.

and the seven pamanui
CONTENTS
The Play...............................................................................................................................4
Note from the writer: Jason De Santis...............................................................................5
Story summary....................................................................................................................6
Pre-performance Activities.................................................................................................7
Activity 1: Setting the Scene......................................................................................7
Activity 2: The Story....................................................................................................7
Activity 3: The Characters..........................................................................................7
Activity 4: Theatre Etiquette.......................................................................................9
Post-performance Activities.............................................................................................10
Activity 5: So What Did You Think?..........................................................................10
Activity 6: Cultural Understandings.........................................................................11
Activity 7: Contemporary Tiwi Life............................................................................16
Activity 8: Narrative Profile…....................................................................................17
Activity 9: Story Theatre...........................................................................................19
Activity 10: I Love Stories!........................................................................................21
Activity 11: In the Beginning….................................................................................23
Activity 12: Writer’s Block (not)................................................................................25
Online Dreamtime stories.................................................................................................27
Other Education Resource Kits........................................................................................27
Full Synopsis of Wulamanayuwi and the Seven Pamanui..............................................28
Curriculum Outcomes.......................................................................................................40
Early Childhood (Years 1 – 3)..................................................................................40
Primary (Years 4 – 5)................................................................................................44
Middle School (Years 6 – 7).....................................................................................46

This resource builds on the original teacher resource kit developed by Kuozborski, A.,
Murdoch, J., Zuber, J., Sherpa, U., and Ben-Mayor, B. as part of the Darwin Festival in 2011.
Activities and information developed in the original teachers’ resource kit that are not
covered in depth in this kit include:
• Opening lines from the play (in verse)
• Production roles and responsibilities
• Set design, with drawings and photographs of the creative process to develop the
set for Wulamanayuwi and the Seven Pamanui
• Examples of traditional art works from the set painter Raelene Kerinauia
• Set design activities
• Shadow puppetry information and activities
• Discussion notes comparing written version of fairy tales with movie versions
• Activity: Writing your own real life fairy tale
• Tiwi islands – geography, maps and activities
• Pronunciation guide to Tiwi language used in the performance
THE PLAY
Using Tiwi language in rhyming verse, Wulamanayuwi tells the story of a young girl and her
experiences with the spirit beings of a mystical dreamtime land.
In the tradition of the Grimm Brothers’ tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,
Wulamanayuwi runs away from her evil stepmother into a land of water spirits, dingoes,
wallabies and frogs. Guided by a white cockatoo, she meets the seven Pamanui (spirit
beings) who, in a quest to seek revenge and justice, will lead her back home via a path of
myth and magic, disaster and adventure.
Told through story and song and narrated by Jarpara (the Moon Man), this play mixes the
enchanting tradition of European fairytales with the Dreamtime characters and stories of
the Tiwi Islands.
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and the seven pamanui
NOTE FROM THE WRITER: JASON DE SANTIS
Growing up in Darwin, I had always been told stories and most of all I loved hearing them!
Especially from my Nanna Martha and Poppy Vince. My Nanna, who has now passed on,
told me stories that were always funny and mischievous, often about family or friends, her
time spent growing up at Garden Point Mission and old Darwin. My Pop’s were about his
arrival in Australia in the 50’s, how hard he worked and his youth growing up on a farm in
Italy and sometimes, with a tear in his eye, he would tell me about World War One in Italy.
Then would come school holidays and I would often go home to Tiwi Islands and the stories
I was told there were always about ‘little men’ like the Pamanui in this story and ‘marpurtiti’
spirits, bush people and dreamtime beings.
For hundreds of years children on the Tiwi Islands have been told a tale of warning,
adventure and misadventure about a little girl called Wula-mana-yuwi. Her story bears a
striking resemblance to the western fairytale of Snow White. Clearly though, this ancient
and oral dreamtime story came well before the Grimm brothers set ink to paper. In many
ways, the story of Wulamanayuwi and the Seven Pamanui can be seen as the Tiwi version of
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves – the original version.
In 2008 I couldn’t help but think about the islands and suddenly all the stories I had been
told came flooding back to me and all I wanted to do was write. I wanted to write a story
that had elements of white and black culture, funny, sad, scary, exciting, like the stories I
had been told! So I chose Snow White and the Seven Dwarves as my framework, or as I like
to call my ‘cream puff’ and filled it with Tiwi culture, which I call affectionately the ‘chocolate
filling’ and I couldn’t stop writing, my imagination was on a field day and three years on I still
find it hard to stop.
So this is where Wulamanayuwi and the Seven Pamanui was conjured up, in the backyard
of a crooked house in Collingwood on a cold rainy day and sipping on copious amounts of
Rooibus tea with leatherwood honey. I hope you have as much enjoyment being part of this
tale as I had writing it.
(Note: excerpt taken from Kuozborski, A., Murdoch, J., Zuber, J., Sherpa, U., Ben Mayor, B. (2011)
Wulamanayuwi and the Seven Pamanui: Teachers’ Resource Kit. Darwin Festival.)
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STORY SUMMARY
Wula-mana-yuwi is a beautiful young woman who lives with her father Jip-mapu-wa-juwa and
seven little brothers on the coast of Bathurst Island at a place called Rocky Point.
One morning, a new woman arrives. It is the evil spirit of Jirri-kilala come to captivate
Wula-mana-yuwi’s father and steal his power and songs. But first, Jiri-kilala must get rid of
Wula-mana-yuwi.
When the dragonfly season arrives – the end of the wet – Wula-mana-yuwi’s father must
go away to a traditional ceremony on Men’s business and leaves his daughter in charge to
provide for the family.
With her father away, Jirri-kilala hatches her plan, and with the help of an Evil Spirit of the
Water, she poisons the land, killing all living things. Then she sends our heroine out on a
series of futile journeys to search for food in the barren land.
Wula-mana-yuwi is guided through her adventures by the White Cockatoo – the spirit of
her mother – who protects her innocent daughter from dangers like the hungry dingo spirit.
The White Cockatoo leads her to the hidden parts of the islands that are still lush and
plentiful with flowing water, sugar bag (native honey) and lots of bush food. But as
Wula-mana-yuwi repeatedly returns to the tribe triumphant, her evil step-mother’s anger
grows as quickly as a cyclone.
After tricking Wula-mana-yuwi and hiding her brothers from her in a secret waterhole,
Jirri-kilala forces Wula-mana-yuwi’s father to banish her from the tribe.
Lost from her family and in a strange land, Wula-mana-yuwi wakes up to discover a little
black creature, with a scrunched up moon face and a head full of wiry black hair. It’s a
Pamanua, little spirit shape shifter. And there are six more!
Meanwhile, Jirri-kilala, who is also a shape shifter, turns herself into an old lady. She visits
Wula-mana-yuwi in disguise and offers her a delicious stew of juicy carpet snake which is
really magpie goose – Wula-mana-yuwi’s totem that she must never eat.
Wula-mana-yuwi eats the stew and falls into a deep sleep. The Pamanuas panic and seek
the help of Awarra-jimi, a handsome hunter and also Wula-mana-yuwi’s promised husband.
He sweeps her into his arms and carries her back across the barren country to her tribe.
An epic battle takes place where Wula-mana-yuwi and her father are saved, the brothers
returned and Awarra-jimi finally kills the evil Jirri-kilala.
After everything settles, Wulal-mana-yuwi marries the heroic hunter, the earth is happy and
the dragonfly season can finally start. Up above, a giant red star flies across the sky and it
keeps flying until it disappears.
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and the seven pamanui
PRE-PERFORMANCE ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY 1: SETTING THE SCENE
Story summary
Read the story summary to set the scene for the performance:
• Who are the main characters in this story? (List)
• What does this story remind you of? (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves)
Sound bite
Play the sound bite of a song from the performance and the opening lines from the play
on Tiwi Fairy Tales (18 August, 2011) by Nicole Foote and Clare Rawlinson, ABC Darwin
http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/08/18/3296799.htm
• What did you notice about the language in the opening of the play? (singing, verse,
words in another language)
• What do you expect the production will be like?
• What is a prologue – what is its function?
ACTIVITY 2: THE STORY
Read the full synopsis of the story (at the end of this resource):
• Identify words (adjectives) and phrases (similes) that describe each character.
As you work through the story, create large posters (word banks) for each character
that list the descriptive words and phrases. Divide the list into 2 categories –
physical description and personality/emotion.
• Which words are most evocative? Why?
• Why did the author use similes? What effect do they have on the reader?
• Are there any other words or similes of your own you would like to add to a character
list to better describe the character?
ACTIVITY 3: THE CHARACTERS
Explore descriptive language in reference to the characters:
• Using descriptive words or phrases from the full synopsis (or your word banks),
students individually create frozen images depicting the word/phrase. For example:
◦ ◦ Handsome
◦ ◦ Humble
◦ ◦ Wise
◦ ◦ Annoyed
◦ ◦ Entranced
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• Have half the class repeat their statues for handsome and humble and ask the
observers to comment on the differences in stance, gesture and facial expressions
used to convey the different words.
• Have the other half of the class show their statues for each of the following words
and ask the observers to comment on the differences in stance, gesture and facial
expressions used to convey the subtle differences between the words.
o upset, nervous, anxious OR
o grumpy, angry, furious
• Explore what happens to stance, gesture and facial expressions in the frozen
images when new words are added to the original
◦ ◦ Tall…. add handsome…. add humble (father)
◦ ◦ Surprised…. add suspicious (family on the arrival of Jirri-kilala)
◦ ◦ Shocked…. add confused (Wulamanayuwi on hearing her father is to remarry)
◦ ◦ Grateful… add shocked (Jirri-kilala when Wulamanayuwi returned with food)
• A similar sequence of can be applied to verbs, but have students move around the
room rather than creating a frozen image.
◦ ◦ Look… transform to seek
◦ ◦ Walk…. Walk victoriously…. Walk excitedly… walk curiously… walk clumsily
◦ ◦ Laugh…. transform to cackle….
◦ ◦ Sleep…. transform to deep slumber…
• With the class, experiment with short segments from the story, asking students to
add extra words to subtly change the scene/character. Ask small groups of students
to improvise the original version to the class then repeat adding extra descriptive
words to the interpretation. You may wish to repeat the same segment several times
with various options or increasing the number of alternative words added.
Two examples:
◦ ◦ Text: “But as she walked on she could see that there was no hope of finding any
food to take home to her family. She sat down and looked up into the sky, as if
looking for a miracle…”
◦ ◦ Additions: “But as she slowly and dispiritedly walked on she could see that there
was no absolutely no hope of finding any food to take home to her family. She
crumpled down and peered up into the sky, as if seeking a miracle…”
◦ ◦ Text: “The fattest of the Pamanuas interrupted then by rubbing his tummy and
saying he was hungry”.
◦ ◦ Additions: “The biggest and fattest of the Pamanuas rudely interrupted then by
vigorously rubbing his huge tummy and saying he was ravenously hungry”
Create character portraits
OPTION A: Students form small groups. Allocate a character to each group: Wula-mana-yuwi,
Jip-mapu-wajuwa (father), Jirri-kilala (step mother), Spirit of the water hole, Pamanui,
Awarra-jimi (hunter), White cockatoo (spirit of mother).
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and the seven pamanui
As a group:
• Choose 3 words/similes from the list of words about the character that you think are
the most important in describing the character. Be prepared to explain why you have
made this decision.
• Draw the character (large poster) using the three most important words as
inspiration.
• Gallery tour – students in small groups number off (1-4). Regroup class into four
groups according to numbers. Each group takes a tour of the pictures of the gallery
with the student who helped create the picture speaking about which words they
chose to base their picture upon and why.
OPTION B: Students work in pairs or individually and pick a character from the story to draw/
paint (try to get at least two drawings created for each character). Before they start drawing
they must decide which three words best describe the character and try to make sure their
picture shows these three words clearly.
Students view each other’s creations and consider:
• Which 3 words did the illustrators use to create their drawing? How do you know?
• What are the similarities and differences between the pictures of the same
character? Why might there be differences?
ACTIVITY 4: THEATRE ETIQUETTE
Many students in your class may not have been to see live theatre before, so they may need
to be prepared for the experience.
Conduct one or more of the following activities to help to prepare them:
a. Brainstorm with the class what a trip to the theatre might involve
b. Show pictures of theatres/audiences and discuss what it might feel like to be there
and how they might be expected to behave. Note any similarities and differences
there might be between going to see a live show and attending a school assembly
c. Revisit the pictures created in Activity 3 and explain that just as they came up
with different ideas about the characters, the actors in the play may also come up
with different ideas about how to tell the story of Wulamanayuwi and the Seven
Pamanui and that each audience member might have a different reaction to how
the story is told.
Note: The Canberra Theatre has guidelines that may assist you with preparing your students for the excursion.
You can find helpful information for audience expectations and school excursions at the Canberra Theatre at:
http://www.canberratheatrecentre.com.au/site/theatre-etiquette.php and
http://www.canberratheatrecentre.com.au/site/school-excursions.php#Guidelines
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POST-PERFORMANCE ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY 5: SO WHAT DID YOU THINK?
Review the performance
Before discussing the performance you might like to show this short 1.5 minute clip of
segments from the show as a brief reminder of the production. You can access the clip from
the Canberra Theatre website or through YouTube.
http://www.canberratheatrecentre.com.au/site/what-is-on.php?detail=wulamanayuwi-andthe-seven-pamanui-0404
or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=kTQOelbFQWs
• What did you like, not like?
• What was different from the story we read? Were different aspects emphasised?
• What songs/characters did you like?
• Do you remember any actions or lines from the play? What made these important to
you?
• Do you have a new favourite character and why?
• Did you find any of the ways different characters were presented surprising?
• Can more words be added to the word banks for each character based on what you
saw and heard?
• What did you see on stage in the performance?
• How did what you see give an indication of:
◦ ◦ story
◦ ◦ character
◦ ◦ place
◦ ◦ culture
◦ ◦ community
• What colours were used? Why were these colours significant?
• What did you hear on stage in the performance?
• What styles of music did the performers use? Which instruments did you hear?
• How did what you hear add to your understanding of the:
◦ ◦ story
◦ ◦ character
◦ ◦ place
◦ ◦ culture
◦ ◦ community?
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and the seven pamanui
• What techniques did the actors use to tell the story? (song, puppetry, overhead
projection, verse, acting, mime…)?
• Why do you think they used the different techniques for each aspect of the story?
• Which technique do you think was the most effective?
ACTIVITY 6: CULTURAL UNDERSTANDINGS
In the play, Wulamanayuwi’s father says: “This is our culture.”
Four interviews with Jason De Santis have been used as a springboard for discussion and
activities to promote cultural understanding. You may wish to choose just one to explore
with your class, or have a look at all of them over a series of sessions.
(Warning: some of the recorded interviews contain mild coarse language).
INTERVIEW 1
Read the following excerpt from an interview with Jason De Santis:
“It’s about a young girl (Wulamanayuwi), about her becoming a woman and the
responsibilities that are attached to that,” says playwright and actor Jason De Santis.
“It also echoes the tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs while drawing on Tiwi culture
before colonisation”.
Born out of the homesick thoughts Jason experienced on Sorry Day in Melbourne, he
wanted to create a cross cultural piece that spoke to all people of all age groups.
“I wanted to make an artwork that had black, had white, had verse, had language, music
– everything that we know and have grown up with. I really wanted to show that white and
black can work together rather than be opposing forces all the time.”
(From Tiwi Fairy Tales (18 August, 2011) by Nicole Foote and Clare Rawlinson, ABC Darwin
http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/08/18/3296799.htm
DISCUSSION POINTS:
• Do you think this production ‘speaks to all ages’? In what ways?
• Jason says that he wanted this play to have “everything that we know and have
grown up with.” What can you identify in this play that you have grown up with?
• What contributions to the play can you see from Tiwi (black) culture, and what are
the contributions from mainstream (white) Australian culture?
• In which ways does the production show different cultures working together?
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INTERVIEW 2
Watch the recorded footage of rehearsals and interview with Jason De Santis on the
following website (Note: start the video at 1.32 min and end at 4.12min)
Mackay, Claire. (10 September 2010) Tiwi story ABC Darwin.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2010/09/03/3002372.htm?site=darwin
DISCUSSION POINTS BASED ON QUOTES FROM THE INTERVIEW
• Jason: “I was just overwhelmed by the amount of interest that, you know, white
Australia has in our fight for survival. And so I thought, well, I’ll combine a story that
white people know with a story that black people know and then, boom, you’ve got a
story that we’ll both know.”
◦ ◦ What are the similarities and differences between Snow White and the Seven
Dwarves and Wulamanayuwi and the Seven Pamanui?
• Interviewer: “Jason De Santis says the process has given him a greater love of Tiwi
culture.”
• Jason: “My Grandmother had it [culture] ripped away from her at a young age even
though she did grow up in the Mission Islands. And so I guess, you know, as a
grandchild of hers I feel it’s the most essential part of my wellbeing knowing who I
am and where I’m from.”
• In a previous interview (1) Jason mentioned that the story grew out of thoughts
experienced on Sorry Day.
◦ ◦ What was ‘Sorry’ day and why was it important to our indigenous Australians
and our Nation?
◦ ◦ How might his Grandmother’s culture been ripped away and what effect might it
have had on her and her community?
◦ ◦ Do you agree with Jason when he says “the most essential part of my wellbeing
is knowing who I am and where I’m from?” Does this view match your feelings
about knowing about your background?
INTERVIEW 3
Listen to the recorded radio interview (20 minutes) with Jason De Santis on the
following website:
Jason De Santis (part of Awaye series) by Rico Adjrun (18 February 2012) Radio National, Australian
Broadcasting Commission http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2010/09/03/3002372.htm?site=darwin
Research and discussion points based on quotes from the radio interview:
• Jason: “There’s no kind of time when [the play] is set…. I call it a ‘new time’ story….
I didn’t want it to feel like a Dreamtime story and didn’t want it to feel like we were in
the present as well.”
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and the seven pamanui
◦◦
What did you see or hear that represents ‘old times’ and what has he used from
present time?
◦ ◦ Do you think this ‘new time’ approach works?
• Jason: “I want it to feel like there was community input into [the play] which we’ve
done with the set, the puppets, some of the designs from [the local] primary
schools...”
◦ ◦ In which ways did the production demonstrate a sense of community to you?
◦ ◦ If we were to put on a production at school, how could we give a sense of
community to our production?
• Jason: “We didn’t live in townships, we lived in our country, where we were
traditional landowners and then we would just catch up every now and then for
ceremony… [I wanted this play] to capture family being in their country, them being
the only ones there… we weren’t in each others’ back yard.”
◦ ◦ What did you learn about the concept of ‘country’ from the play?
◦ ◦ Think about where and how you live. How is your concept different from the
Tiwi? How is it different?
• According to Jason, Eamon Flack [director] said this play is one of the hardest he
has ever directed.
◦ ◦ Why would this be a hard play to direct?
◦ ◦ Is there anything in how the play was performed that you would change if you
were the director?
• Jason: “Our set is an artwork…. If you look at the value of the production without the
action on the stage, and just the puppets and the set…”
◦ ◦ Look at Tiwi visual artworks and discuss how the traditional art form has been
used in the set, puppets and costumes.
References: Darby, Max (2013) Tiwi Island Art
http://artseducationguru.com/tiwi-island-art/
Art Gallery of South Australia (2006) Yingafrti Jilamara : The art of the Tiwi islands.
http://www.artgallery.sa.gov.au/agsa/home/Learning/docs/Online_Resources/
ED06_Tiwi_Education_Kit.pdf
◦ ◦ Why do you think Raelene Kerinauia was chosen as the artist for the
production?
Reference for examples of her work and description of her technique:
Short Street Gallery (2013) Details for Raelene Kerinauia. Broome.
http://www.shortstgallery.com.au/artist/335/raelene-kerinauia.html
• Interviewer: “What’s in store for theatre goers when they come to a performance?”
Jason: “You are going to laugh, you are going to feel sad… you’re going to walk away
saying ‘Oh my goodness, I know a lot about Tiwi culture now and I’ve learnt about
it in a really fun and colourful way.’ I want people to stop seeing our cultures so far
apart…”
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◦ ◦ What emotions did you experience when watching the play?
◦ ◦ What have you learnt about Tiwi culture through watching this play?
◦ ◦ In which ways was Jason successful in helping an audience realise that ‘black’
and ‘white’ cultures are not so far apart?
INTERVIEW 4
Listen to the recorded radio interview (5½ minutes) with Jason De Santis on the
following website:
Dreamtime fairytale from the Tiwis by Vicki Kerrigan 12 September, 2012. Australian Broadcasting
Commission, Darwin. http://blogs.abc.net.au/nt/2011/09/dreamtime-fairytale-from-the-tiwis-.html
RESEARCH AND DISCUSSION POINTS BASED ON QUOTES FROM THE RADIO INTERVIEW:
• Jason: “It’s a fairytale cross Dreamtime story.”
◦ ◦ What does Jason mean by this?
◦ ◦ What are the main features/purposes of a Dreamtime story?
◦ ◦ What are the main features/purposes of a fairytale?
◦ ◦ Which elements of the production would you say are influenced by Dreamtime
stories and which are inspired by fairy tales?
• Jason: “…and the thing is, fairytales are Dreamtime stories, it’s just that white
people call them fairytales… they both serve the same purposes.”
◦ ◦ Do you agree with this statement? Why/why not?
• Jason: “it’s modern, it’s old, it’s a great mix”
◦ ◦ Which aspects of the production are modern? Which are ‘old’?
◦ ◦ Do you think the mix of old and new is balanced? Explain.
• Interviewer: “ …after the Darwin Festival people were saying ‘it’s going to go
National, it’s going to be huge.”
◦ ◦ How would you judge if a production was ‘huge’?
◦ ◦ Do you think this prediction is correct?
◦ ◦ What makes this production appealing to audiences (local, national and
international)?
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and the seven pamanui
• Jason: “It was a really hard show to direct, especially for my director who is not
indigenous.”
◦ ◦ Which aspects of the show would make it difficult to direct?
◦ ◦ Why would it be even more difficult for a non-indigenous person to be the
director?
◦ ◦ Why do you think Eamon Flack was chosen to be the director of this play? What
does he bring to the production?
Brief biography from Australian plays http://australianplays.org/playwright/CP-flanew
“Eamon Flack finished his BA at the University of Queensland in 2000
and trained as an actor at WAAPA from 2001 to 2003. Since graduating
he has worked as an actor, director, writer and dramaturg for Bell
Shakespeare’s Mind’s Eye; ThinIce; Sydney Theatre Company; Perth
International Arts Festival; Griffin Stablemates; PlayWriting Australia;
the Ensemble Theatre; ArtRage; Deckchair Theatre; the Old Fitzroy and
Darlinghurst Theatre. He is currently Artistic Associate at Company B
Belvoir.”
• Jason: “The world, and starting off with Australia, needs to have access to these
stories and needs to have access to theatre like this. You know, we’re getting a little
bit sick of boring white middle class plays and ‘my life is falling apart’ type of stuff,
or you know, separate black one here, white over there, black theatre, white theatre.
Um, hello… don’t we all live in one country? Like, let’s just start making really good
Australian theatre.”
◦ ◦ Why does the world need to share stories like this?
◦ ◦ Do you know of any other theatre (or movie/book) that brings ‘black’ and ‘white’
together?
◦ ◦ What criteria would you use to judge whether a performance is really good
Australian theatre? In what ways does this production meet your criteria?
Jason De Santis said that through this play he wanted to “educate white and black
about each others’ culture.”
◦ ◦ What did you learn about Tiwi culture by watching this production?
◦ ◦ What questions do you have about Tiwi culture as a result of watching the
performance? You might choose to use one or more of your questions as a
starting point for a research project. Possible topics might include:
– Ceremonies (Wulamanayuwi’s father was going to the Kulama ceremony).
– Seasons (signs in the environment let them know when to start the
ceremonies).
– Concept of country (Wulamanayuwi was not in her own country).
– Marriage/Family (Wulamanayuwi’s husband was chosen for her at birth;
her father had more than one wife).
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– Language (many Tiwi words were used in the production).
– Bush tucker/food.
Useful websites to get started:
• Goodale, Jane. (1996) “Tiwi.” Encyclopedia of World Cultures. Encyclopedia.com.
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3458000401.html (comprehensive
summary of Tiwi life and customs – family, marriage, kinship, arts, medicine, death,
religion).
• Aboriginal Art Online (200-) Regions and Communities.
http://www.aboriginalartonline.com/regions/tiwi3.php
• Tiwi College Fast Facts http://tiwicollegeproject.com/fast-facts/
• Tiwi Art Network http://www.tiwiart.com/ (contains information about traditions,
ceremonies and history).
• Art Mob (200-) Tokwapi (everything) Tiwi Tasmania.
http://www.artmob.com.au/artists/tiwi/bio.html (information on ceremonies and
creation stories).
This production draws on Tiwi Culture and life as representing ‘black’ culture.
• Are all indigenous cultures/lifestyles the same? Choose one or more other
indigenous Australian cultures and make comparisons with what you have learnt
about Tiwi culture. Areas to investigate may include
◦ ◦ Language (words, efforts to preserve the language)
– Queensland Government: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs. (2012)
http://www.datsima.qld.gov.au/atsis/everybodys-business/aboriginal-and-torres-straitislander-languages
◦ ◦ Family
– Australian Government: Australian Law Reform Commission (2011) Marriages in
Traditional Aboriginal Societies http://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/12.%20Aboriginal%20
Marriages%20and%20Family%20Structures/marriage-traditional-aboriginal-societie
– Radio National: ABC Radio (1 January 2013) Torres Strait child rearing and mainstream
law [broadcast] http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lawreport/torres-straitadoption/4405670
– Arts
– Customs
– Law
ACTIVITY 7: CONTEMPORARY TIWI LIFE
Browse the following Tiwi publications.
• Tiwi Times (produced by the Tiwi Islands Training and Employment Board).
http://www.titeb.com.au/tiwi-times-2012/
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and the seven pamanui
• Tiwi College Newsletter http://www.tiwicollege.com/newsletter.php
• The Tiwi - News for Traditional Owners (produced by the Tiwi Land Council)
http://www.tiwilandcouncil.com/publications/the-tiwi.htm
From reading these publications
• What can you infer about modern-day Tiwi life?
• What are the important issues for Tiwi Islanders at the moment?
• Are any of the aspects of modern Tiwi life or issues reflected in the production?
ACTIVITY 8: NARRATIVE PROFILE
A narrative profile allows students to briefly tell a story from multiple character
points of view. Students work in groups of 5-6.
Example:
• Read a Dreamtime story or fairytale.
Note: the examples used in the following instructions refer to the story Purrukapali and Bima
from http://www.aboriginalartonline.com/regions/tiwi2.php
• Summarise the story, listing the key events.
• List the main characters.
• List the secondary characters.
• List any animals or artifacts in the landscape that could become animated as
a character.
• Against each name in the list, identify which key event they are most closely
associated with and their emotional reaction to the event. Try to include all the key
events in your list.
Character Event Emotion
Purrukapali
Walking into the sea with his dead
son
Grief, anger
Bima Going off with Japara Freedom, guilt
Japara Turning into the moon Regret
Mudungkala Describing his family Love
Jinani Gathering food Curiosity
The tree the son was placed
under
Son dies
Indignation
Whirlpool Drowning canoes that come near Determination
Throwing stick
Hitting Japara on the head and
leaving scars
Pride
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• From the list, work out which characters/animals/items in landscape you would like
to have tell the story (one for each person in the group).
• Write a short speech for each character that gives a small piece of the story and a
personal reaction to the events or other characters.
• Think about how to stage the presentation – will all characters be standing?
What gestures and movements might each character use to provide greater
communication of their message? Decide on the vocal quality and facial
expressions for each character. Consider the order in which the speeches will
be given.
• Present the narrative profile to the class.
Example:
Character
Bima
the tree the son
was placed under
Purrukapali
throwing stick
Japara
Speech
I am married to Purrukapali, but he is so boring! He keeps making
me gather food all the time, and we don’t have any fun. Japara is an
unmarried man in our camp. When Japara asks me to go into the
forest it is so exciting. I know I leave Jinani under a tree by himself –
but it is only for a little while. Surely he will be safe?
It’s getting hotter and hotter. Every day these irresponsible humans
leave this little boy unattended under my branches. The poor little
mite cries and cries until he is laying there as limp as a empty bag.
Don’t they know, that just like me, he needs water? My shade was not
enough. He died – they took too long in coming back for him and now
he is dead.
I cannot begin to tell you how angry and upset I am. My son is dead.
All because my wife did not do her duty. I will carry him into the sea
and from now on all creation will have death – we will not live forever.
Japara had better watch out – we are enemies forever!
I am glad I could be of such good use! Purrukapali practices with
me every day to make sure he is skilled. The day he came back from
hunting and heard that his little boy was dead he flew into a rage and
used me to punish his wife and Japara. I left huge scars on Japara’s
face and Bima’s head and frightened her so much she ran off into the
forest.
I am so sorry. I only wanted to have some fun. I was sure the boy was
safe under the tree. I offered to bring the boy back to life, but his
father, Purrukapali, wouldn’t let me. So to try to make things better
I have turned myself into the moon. But curse Purrukapali, he has
made sure that I will never forget what happened, because for three
nights every month I am ‘dead’.
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and the seven pamanui
ACTIVITY 9: STORY THEATRE
Story Theatre allows students to go beyond the text. It is not a re-enactment of the text, but
takes the students to where the text does not go. Students question the text and characters
within it, attempting to come to a deeper understanding of relationships and motives.
Extensive use of improvisation, role play and forum theatre is made by the students in this
exploration.
This activity has been adapted from a workshop ‘Using Drama For Deeper Learning’
presented by Ross Prior presented at the Drama Australia Conference 2003, Coming Home.
See the end of this resource for a list of online Dreamtime stories.
Read
Read the synopsis of Wulamanayuwi and the Seven Pamanui or another Dreamtime story.
(Note: The specific images and character referred to in the following activities relate to Wulamanayuwi – if you
are using an alternative text you will need to replace these with characters and events from the story you have
selected.)
Tableaux
Individually, in silence (and in own space) create a statue that shows:
• How Wulamanayuwi feels about having a new stepmother
• How the stepmother feels about Wualamanayuwi
• How the Spirit of the Water feels about the stepmother
• How the Pamanui feel when they discover Wulamanayuwi
• How the father feels once the stepmother’s true nature is revealed.
• Other combinations of your choice.
In groups of three, create three frozen images to show the relationships between a chosen
character and three others from the story.
• Each group chooses a focus character from the story.
• The frozen images show the focus character’s point of view/relationship with other
characters depicted.
• Encourage groups to explore and extend use of space, levels, stance, and facial
expression.
• Groups show work – get groups with same focus character to perform at the
same time.
• Discussion: What attitudes/feelings are being expressed about the relationship
between the characters? Discuss similarities/differences between images
presented.
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Pair improvisations
Pairs take on two characters from the story – role play an incident/argument/issue that
would be associated with the story, but not elaborated as part of the story. Half way through
role play pairs swap roles (to get a feel for the other side of an argument/issue).
Examples of pairs include:
• Discussion between Wulamanayuwi and Dad about why/why not it is a good idea to
accept/have a new stepmother.
• Wulamanayuwi asks her mother (Cockatoo) what she should do
◦ ◦ about the step-mother
◦ ◦ about having an arranged marriage
• Wulamanayuwi and one of her brothers – Wulamanayuwi is trying to convince her
brother why he should do as she says.
• The Spirit Dingo and Jirrikilala – when she orders him to attack Wulamanayuwi.
Forum theatre
As a class, the pair role-plays can be extended through forum theatre.
The class sits in a circle. A pair volunteers to repeat their improvisation from the previous
activity in the centre. As the impro is underway, the teacher freezes the action. Students
in the circle suggest ideas as to where the impro might go. The scene is restarted with the
suggestions in mind. At times students may swap in and out of the scene to take on roles
or alternative suggestions enacted from the same stopping point. This technique allows
different students to try out ideas and allows for different solutions to problems to be
explored. Various modes of language can be trialled, and effectiveness of different styles of
language and approach can be analysed by the class
Internal/external action
Set up class as for forum theatre.
One pair role-plays Wulamanayuwi and her father having a discussion about the
stepmother.
• Hold a conversation with just the ‘outside’ characters about what Wulamanayuwi
has noticed about the stepmother.
• Add another pair to the improvisation – they stand behind the original actors and
become their ‘conscience’ or ‘inner voice’. Hold same conversation again, but
between each statement, have the inner voice interject with feelings.
• Make the point that the inner voice does not always have to disagree or agree with
the outer voice.
• Don’t spend too long in forum theatre style seeking ideas – this is a demo only.
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and the seven pamanui
Set task for students
• Groups of four – create a conversation with two characters (outer voices) from the
story. Groups can decide what the conversation can be about. For example:
◦ ◦ One Pamanui speaking to another about the strange girl that has just turned up
(one is in favour of helping, the other is not)
◦ ◦ Spirit of the Water speaking with Mother spirit about how she is messing up his
plans
◦ ◦ Hero speaking with the step mother before they fight.
• Replay the conversation and add the inner voices..
Note: 15 minutes to create/rehearse, conversation not to go longer than 2 minutes
Share with the class.
• How did the relationship between the characters change from the beginning of the
story to the end?
• What were the differences between the inner and outer voices?
• What was the effect of hearing ‘both sides’ on the audience?
• How did each character get their message across – what was effective?
• What have you learnt about the characters?
• Is there anything from the written story that still puzzles you? (you can then set up
a role play with relevant characters to explore the question).
Follow up written activities:
• Diary entry from point of view of one of the main characters
• Letter to one character from another explaining their point of view
• Epistolary: letters from one character to another telling the story from their
perspective.
ACTIVITY 10: I LOVE STORIES!
Towards the end of the play one of the brothers shouts, “I love stories!”
DISCUSSION POINTS:
• What stories have you been told over the years?
• Who told you these stories?
• Where did these stories come from?
• What do you like about stories?
• Why is it important that we tell these stories (to you, your family, our school, our
community….)?
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Opinion lineup #1:
• Mark a line (imaginary) on the floor that is long enough for all students in the class
to stand along.
• At one end put a sign ‘Strongly agree’ and at the other ‘Strongly disagree’.
• Ask students to take a stand on the line that shows their opinion in relation to the
statement ‘Stories are important or ‘Stories are vital for culture and community’.
• Question students at various points on the line as to why they chose their position.
• After listening to some of the answers, indicate that students may move position if
someone’s reasons have helped them reconsider. Ask a few students why they have
moved position.
Read the account from Aunty Beryl Carmichael about why stories are important in her
culture. Aunty Beryl is a woman from the Ngiyaampaa people, who is a storyteller and
custodian of about twenty-eight stories.
http://www.rmwebed.com.au/HSIE/y10/abc/dreamtime/dreamtime.htm
• How do Aunty Beryl’s reasons for telling her stories compare with the reasons we
came up with for telling stories?
Opinion lineup #2:
• Ask students to line up again in response to the original statement. Indicate that
they may have changed their mind in response to the reading
• Ask those who have moved position to raise their hand
• Interview them to explain their reasons
• Interview a few students who have not moved as to why they have remained in the
same position
Read about why fairytales are important.
Use either text:
• Young, Jonathan (1997) Once Upon a Time: How fairytales shape our lives. Inside
Journal magazine - Fall 1997. http://www.folkstory.com/articles/onceupon.html
• Taylor, Melissa (2012) Eight reasons why fairy tales are important.
http://imaginationsoup.net/2012/02/fairy-tales-are-essential-to-childhood/
Opinion lineup #3:
• Repeat the line up and questioning in response to information presented in the
previous reading.
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and the seven pamanui
ACTIVITY 11: IN THE BEGINNING…
Read the Tiwi creation story
• http://www.aboriginalartonline.com/regions/tiwi2.php or
• http://tiwilandcouncil.com/about/history.htm
Re-read the story, with students noting the story using a LUAC (Language for understanding
across the curriculum: http://www.det.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/17338/
LUAChandbook.pd) strategy such as
• Sketch to stretch: stop the story at key moments and get students to draw a quick
sketch of what is happening
• Dictagloss: students list key words from the story as they are read aloud
• Plot profile: list the major events and rate them according to levels of excitement,
suspense or humour. On a graph, number the events along the bottom axis and plot
the appropriate rating along the vertical axis
Students write a brief summary of the story from their ‘notes’.
Discuss how the Tiwi creation story was presented in the opening of the play
• What strategies were used to tell the story? (Narrator, overhead slides with pictures
by school children, sound effects, shadow puppets, music backing, guitar...)
Read or view other Dreamtime Stories
• In what ways are these stories similar/different?
You can find a list of online Dreamtime stories at the end of this resource.
Create 2 minute performance pieces
• In small groups, choose a Dreamtime story (or fairytale) to tell
• Take notes on your story (use either the Sketch to Stretch or Dictagloss technique
before writing your summary)
• Choose two or three of the techniques that were used to tell the creation story in
Wulamanayuwi to use in your retelling
• Write the script for your performance and create the accompanying supporting
features (e.g: sound effect, shadow puppets, music backing, overhead projector
pictures…)
Develop success criteria
• Discuss with the class what will make their performance successful
• Create a Checklist or Capacity Matrix for reference.
Note: you can find a Capacity Matrix Template on the Quality Learning Australia website
http://www.qla.com.au/pages/Templates.html
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Second last rehearsal
• Small groups present their stories to the class.
• You may wish to run a modified tuning protocol after each presentation so that each
group gets constructive feedback from the class to improve their performance.
Tuning protocol
• The performance group sets a focus area from the success criteria for the audience
to give feedback on (1 min – although you may wish to extend this segment to
explore the types of things the audience may be looking for as evidence of success).
• The group performs their story (2 mins)
• In pairs, the audience considers warm and cool feedback in relation to the focus
point and chooses one of each to give to the performers (note: feedback statement
should be approx 30 seconds in length) (6 mins)
◦ ◦ The warm feedback identifies a specific aspect of the performance that worked
well with reasons why. The aim of the warm feedback is to identify what to keep
in the performance.
◦ ◦ The cool feedback can be framed in terms of “What if…?” or “I was wondering
about….”. The aim of the cool feedback is to identify an aspect of the
performance that might be strengthened.
• The pairs give their warm feedback one at a time. The performers do not speak and
take notes on what is said. This is not a time for discussion. (5 mins)
• The pairs then give their cool feedback, with the performers silently taking notes.
(5 mins)
• The performers then have three minutes to consider the feedback and frame a
response. The response could include:
o a thank you for the warm feedback – with two or three of the most appreciated
comments highlighted
o two or three of the cool feedback suggestions that they are definitely going to work
on in their next rehearsal
o one or two of the cool feedback suggestions that they are not going to implement
and reasons why.
• The performers give their response, with the audience sitting silently.
• The class reviews the protocol, with a focus on how the protocol helped them
improve their work and how they might improve the protocol the next time they use
it to give and receive feedback.
For more information about Tuning Protocols see:
• National School Reform Faculty Tuning Protocol Overview
http://www.nsrfharmony.org/protocol/doc/tuning.pdf
• Australian National Schools Network in partnership with the Coalition of Essential
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and the seven pamanui
Schools (1999) “How can we use student work to strengthen our professional
practice”?) http://www.ansn.edu.au/resource_kits
Last rehearsal
• Small groups work on their presentation, keeping in mind feedback received in the
tuning protocol.
Performance
Either to another class or year level, parents, School Assembly….
Reflection
Extension
• Students complete their own capacity matrix and discuss their perceptions with
peer/teacher
• Class discussion
o In what ways were our presentations successful?
o How did the audience receive our presentation?
o If we were to perform them again, what would we keep, what would we change?
• Write the script in verse
• Create two versions of the presentation suitable for two different audiences (eg:
Early Childhood class, Middle School assembly, adult audience in Come Alive
Festival of Museum Theatre using an artifact representing Dreamtime stories as
inspiration.
ACTIVITY 12: WRITER’S BLOCK (NOT)
During an interview Jason says: “I found this story within myself”
from http://blogs.abc.net.au/nt/2011/09/dreamtime-fairytale-from-the-tiwis-.html
• Where do you find inspiration for writing stories?
If students are running short on ideas get them to read the list from the website below and
choose three that they think would work for them.
Babaut, Leo. (2008) 31 Ways to Find Inspiration for Your Writing
http://writetodone.com/2008/03/03/31-ways-to-find-inspiration-for-your-writing/
In the first few minutes of the following interview, Jason talks about the creative process,
how he goes about writing and what he gets out of being a writer.
Jason De Santis (part of Awaye series) by Rico Adjrun (18 February 2012) Radio National, Australian
Broadcasting Commission http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2010/09/03/3002372.htm?site=darwin
• What process do you follow when creating a story?
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Improvisation games
Games can help build confidence that anyone can tell a story. Below is a selection of
TheatreSports games that can be used to help free up the imagination and build a
collaborative culture when constructing stories.
Word at a time story
A topic is given. The story is told one word at a time by participants. This story can be
told by the whole class (in a circle) or by small groups. You might also like to set the
genre for the story (eg: fairy tale, Dreamtime story)
Shared story
A topic is given. The story is told one a phrase or sentence at a time by participants. This
story can be told by the whole class or in small groups. Encourage gesture and use of
facial expressions. You might also like to set the genre for the story.
Ready, go
An extension of the shared story. A small group is lined up to tell a shared story, but
the timing for when the story swaps from one player to the next is in the control of
a conductor. When the conductor says “ready” a player steps forward. On “go” they
begin the story with accompanying actions/gestures. The conductor points to the next
participant and says “ready.” This participant steps forward and starts copying the
gestures of the speaker. On “go” the person copying the gestures picks up the story and
the original storyteller steps back. The conductor then points to the next in line and says
“ready”. The participant steps forward and starts copying the gestures of the speaker…..
Yes, and…
A modification of shared story. The participants tell part of a story (complete sentences).
The next speaker takes over, beginning their segment with “Yes, and…” Alternatively,
they can begin their segment with “That’s right!”
Inspire your partner
In small groups one participant tells a story about their day and others in the group react
with extreme/exaggerated interest. You can extend this activity into telling stories using
identified genres or about specific characters.
Advance, extend.
One person tells a story. Their partner either prompts the speaker to extend (add more
detail about what they are currently talking about) or advance (move the story along).
Spitfire
As an individual is telling a story, a partner gives them random words to add into the
story as they are going along.
Note – it is sometimes useful for students to construct a list of random words to use and write them down
before playing this game as it takes the pressure off trying to find words in the heat of the moment. Also, the
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and the seven pamanui
words could be drawn from vocabulary lists or from interesting words drawn from a current text being studied
(e.g: The synopsis of Wulamanayuwi and the Seven Pamanui).
Typewriter
One member of a small group sits at an imaginary typewriter and starts to tell a story.
Others in the group act out the story as it goes along. If the narrator pauses, actors may
wish to insert dialogue.
Reference: An extremely useful resource for teaching TheatreSports games and to find
other games that can be useful in promoting creative thinking and collaboration see
Pierse, Lyn (1993) Theatresorts downunder. Improcorp Australia, Kensington.
ONLINE DREAMTIME STORIES
• Purrukapali and Bima (http://www.aboriginalartonline.com/regions/tiwi2.php)
Part of the Tiwi creation story.
• Aboriginal Culture: Dreamtime stories:
http://www.rmwebed.com.au/HSIE/y10/abc/dreamtime/dreamtime.htm
• Dust Echoes (2007). ABC. http://www.abc.net.au/dustechoes/
◦ ◦ A series of twelve animated dreamtime stories from Central Arnhem Land, telling
stories of love, loyalty, duty to country and aboriginal custom and law. 
Each
story is approximately 4 minutes in length. Website includes introduction,
transcripts of stories, discussion points, worksheets and interactive animated
story boards.
OTHER EDUCATION RESOURCE KITS
The following education kits expand the range of resources and activities available to
support student exploration and understanding of Tiwi and Indigenous art and culture.
Art Gallery of South Australia (2006) Yingafrti Jilamara : The art of the Tiwi islands.
http://www.artgallery.sa.gov.au/agsa/home/Learning/docs/Online_Resources/ED06_Tiwi_Education_Kit.pdf
◦ ◦ This kit contains a comprehensive survey of Tiwi art with notes on how the art
fits with beliefs and family/community life. Includes a large number of annotated
images and leading questions for students to consider.
National Gallery of Australia. Culture Warriors: National Indigenous Art Triennial 07 - Education Resource.
(2007) http://nga.gov.au/Exhibition/NIAT07/Default.cfm?MnuID=3&GalID=EDU
◦ ◦ Culture Warriors: National Indigenous Art Triennial presents the work of 30
Indigenous artists. The exhibition demonstrates the wide range of contemporary
Indigenous art practice taking place today from painting on bark and canvas,
sculpture, textiles, weaving, new media, photomedia, printmaking and
installation. This kit contains a reproduction of an artwork from each of the
exhibiting artists in the exhibition. These 30 full-colour reproductions have an
explanatory text on the back as well as primary and secondary school activities.
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FULL SYNOPSIS OF WULAMANAYUWI AND THE SEVEN PAMANUI
WULA-MANA-YUWI AND THE SEVEN PAMANUAS
Synopsis written by Jason De Santis
FULL SYNOPSIS
Parlangardi, a long time ago, after death was first brought to the Tiwi Islands,
a young baby girl was born, Wula-mana-yuwi. She was the first-born to her
father Jip-marpuwa-juwa, a tall, handsome and humble warrior and her
mother, his first wife, a very beautiful singer. After giving birth to her daughter,
Wula-manayuwi’s mother fell gravely ill and died with the baby girl suckling
her breast. This brought much sadness to Jip-marpuwa-juwa, she was his
first wife, and they were as close with each other as the sea is to the sand.
And their love went asdeep as the ocean. Luckily, Jip-marpuwa-juwa’s second
wife produced milk from her breast to keep the baby alive.
As years passed, the very special Wula-mana-yuwi grew into a young woman
who was as vibrant as the sun, and was loved and respected greatly by her
seven little brothers that Jipmar-puwa-juwa had fathered with his two other
wives. The whole tribe loved her. She was beautiful, with the limbs of a black
pearl and hair as shiny and black as the darkest of starry nights. Her father
constantly thought about how she looked exactly like her mother, how much
she acted like her mother and how much she sounded like her when she
sang, like the song of a storm bird.
One morning as the moon was drifting to make way for the sun, a huge
green star landed on the island. In it flew the evil and horrid Jirri-kilala, a
‘mopardinga’ (devil woman). She had flown to the islands looking for men’s
souls to feed on.
A few days later, at sunset, Jipmar-puwa-juwa was hunting in the sea with his
spear, he noticed a beautiful young woman walking on the beach. She was
singing, a beautiful song he had never heard before and became entranced
by her voice and walked straight towards her. She was fair-skinned, like he
had never seen before, and green eyes like the jade colour of a waterfall.
They chatted and he could not stop looking into her eyes. She explained she
had come from the mainland with her sister and brother in-law who was from
the other side, her father had wished for her to be married, like her sister to
another Tiwi man.
28
He had not heard or seen of this woman before, but he knew that he
was falling in love. Unbeknownst to him, she was the evil and horrid spirit
Mopardinga, disguised as a beautiful woman Jirri-kilala, and that she was
going to drain his soul, but first she had to marry him. When they arrived

and the seven pamanui
at the camp everyone was surprised and suspicious, but with her she had
brought a dilly-bag full of ‘sung’ or cursed objects such as feathers, pearls
and weavings, once the other wives and the children touched these objects
they adored her. Except Wula-mana-yuwi. She didn’t touch the objects, and
became the spectator. Why, was the whole family, all-of-a-sudden, in love
with this present-giving, fair-skinned, green-eyed, beautiful woman?
What shocked Wula-mana-yuwi even more was her father’s announcement
that night that he would take Jirri-kilala as his new wife and that on request
of Jirrikilala, they would marry the next morning before sunlight. Not one
person in the family thought this was odd, except of course Wula-mana-yuwi.
That night after all the tribe had gone to sleep, Jirri-kilala woke. She quietly
crawled out of her shelter and made sure no one was awake. She needed
to make magic before the wedding ceremony. Being a shape-shifter, she
quickly turned into a tawny frogmouth owl and flew in the darkness to a little
pond hidden by a hanging rock. Into it, she spat an evil medicine, that of the
‘Evil Spirit of the Water’ - her guide, her master of song and magic. She knew
that Wula-mana-yuwi was wise, and the only way she was going to be able
to feed on her father’s soul was to be rid of his eldest daughter. She was his
protection.
With a wretched song, the Evil Spirit of the Water and Jirri-kilala curses the
family to believe everything Jirri-kilala says and does. They then devise a plan
that involves sending Wula-mana-yuwi hunting to country Jirri-kilala knows
is dead and barren. Jirri-kilala knows this because every part of country that
she had visited and unleashed her evil on had become dead and barren for
nothing to live. This was part of the bigger plan, you see. Jirri-kilala wanted
to return the earth to darkness, with no form and just shadows, like the days
before Murtangkala created the Tiwi Islands. However, to do that she had to
do away with all mortals, and it was the souls of men that kept her thriving,
and the better singer, dancer and hunter the man was, the bigger her powers
would grow.
The next morning, the wedding celebrations occurred, but Wula-mana-yuwi
did not dance or sing for her father’s new wife. This angered him. She knew
that she had upset her father, but she felt so strongly that something was
wrong with this new woman. She wanted to make a point. That very night that
Jirri-kilala had arrived Wula-mana-yuwi had a dreamt of a green star landing
in the country, and she had seen what she thought may have been her
mother, and that she had turned into a white cockatoo. The cockatoo then
spoke to Wula-mana-yuwi saying that trouble had arrived. She woke before
the dream ended. When she tried to relay this to her father, he laughed it off
and called her a dreamer, just like her mother. This annoyed Wula-mana-yuwi,
but she kept the peace and decided to let it be. What upset her most was
this sudden change in her father.
29

After the wedding celebrations, Jipmar-puwa-juwa advised his family that he
had to leave for Kurlama ceremonies that very day. Mopardinga started to
feel anxious, as she knew she would have to wait for three days and nights
until her new husband returned so she could feed on his soul. She knew then
that this was her time to rid the Island of Wula-mana-yuwi, who she knew was
a protector of her father.
Before Jipmar-puwa-juwa left for Kurlama, he took Wula-mana-yuwi aside.
Wulamanayuwi was nervous. Was he angry at her for not dancing or singing?
He explained to her that she was his eldest child, and because he did not
have an eldest son, it was her responsibility to protect and look after the
family while he was away. He reminded her that she had the spirit of her
mother and that she was growing up to look more and more like her every
day. He also reminded her to not eat or kill magpie goose, as this was her
totem and ceremonial dance. He then hugged her tightly; this was the father
she knew, sincere and loving. She then stared into his eyes; in them were
grey clouds as if a storm was forming. He quickly looked away when he
noticed she was doing this, and the tone of his voice quickly changed.
Wula-mana-yuwi definitely knew then that something was wrong.
As Jipmar-puwa-juwa said his last goodbyes to his family, he looked around
for Jirri-kilala. She had already retreated into her shelter and had covered it
with tree branches so as not to let the sunlight in. Odd as it seemed, no one
seemed to care, except of course Wula-mana-yuwi. Jirri-kilala shouted her
good byes and said she had felt sick all-of-a-sudden. Her father shrugged
and started to walk, turning back once more to wave to his family.
As soon as the silhouette of Jipmar-puwa-juwa disappeared Jirri-kilala yelled
from her shelter for Wula-mana-yuwi to go hunting and gathering for the
family on the other side of the hill, and by herself! Wula-mana-yuwi asked if
anyone else was going to come and Jirri-kilala quickly responded with a “No!”.
Wula-mana-yuwi was puzzled, more so with the fact that the rest of the family
agreed with Jirri-kilala, and they all told her to hurry as they were starving.
Jirri-kilala was also quick to remind Wula-mana-yuwi that she was the eldest,
therefore responsible for looking after her family. She then exclaimed that
she was not to return unless her basket and arms were full with food. Her
father’s voice then echoed in her head, so she set off to hunt.
Hours passed and Wula-mana-yuwi could not find anything. The land was all
dry and dead, there wasn’t even a fly in sight! How could this be? She hadn’t
seen any fire coming from this area, and she remembered it being full of tall
trees and green shrubs, and it was only the end of the wet season. The sun
began to slowly set, and she knew she had to hurry to avoid being caught in
the darkness. But as she walked on she could see that there was no hope of
finding any food to take home to her family. She sat down and looked up into
the sky, as if looking for a miracle, where out of nowhere, a white figure flew
30

and the seven pamanui
over the top of her. She was startled. This figure then landed in front of her. It
was a white cockatoo, and it looked exactly like the one she had seen in her
dream.
The cockatoo jumped towards her and made an action with its wing, like the
gesture a person makes for someone to follow them. The cockatoo then flew
up, circled and looked back at Wula-mana-yuwi, so up she got and follow the
bird she did. Just over another little hill, further than Wula-mana-yuwi had
ever been was thriving country. There were billy-goat plums, bush apples,
sugar bag and fat possums and bandicoot scratching around in every hollow
log. Wula-mana-yuwi was quick to load up her basket with tucker for her
family, and had a quick feed herself as she was starving. She looked for the
white cockatoo then to thank it, but the bird had already disappeared. So,
with only a short time till the sun went to sleep she ran as fast as she could
back towards camp.
The sun had disappeared now and Wula-mana-yuwi could see a fire burning
in the direction of her camp. When she arrived the family was hungrily sitting
around the fire waiting. When her seven little brothers had seen that her
basket and arms were full with berries, sugar-bag and two fat bandicoot on
each shoulder they started singing and clapping their hands. As she sat down
by the fire, Jirri-kilala came out from her shelter, pretending to be grateful
that Wula-mana-yuwi had found food, but looking shocked at the same time.
She couldn’t really care if the whole tribe starved to death. Wula-mana-yuwi
offered her some food but she refused, claiming that she was still sick. She
wasn’t sick; she just didn’t eat the food of mortals.
That night, after the family had feasted and fast asleep, Jirri-kilala crawled
out of her shelter and turned once again into the tawny frogmouth owl and
flew to the little pond under the hanging rock. When she arrived she was
furious! How did this daughter find the food? She had deliberately sent to
her to barren land. She consulted the ‘Evil Spirit of the Water’ and he told
her of how a light from above had guided her to the food, he could not see
that it was a white cockatoo, as it was too pure for his eyes to see. Jirri-kilala
was livid; she needed to learn another evil chant so that she could execute
another evil plan that would be sure to rid her of this clever daughter.
The next night, the tribes’ youngest baby would be made sick. Wula-manayuwi
would then have to search in the darkness for a certain root of a shrub
that could be boiled and sipped to cure her baby brother. But this shrub
was deep in the bush, and awaiting her would be the evil and cunning ‘spirit
dingo’ that would eat Wula-mana-yuwi alive. Jirri-kilala let out an evil cackle,
overjoyed that this daughter was finally going to be gone forever. She turned
into the owl again and flew quickly back to camp and into her shelter as the
sun was coming up.
31

The next morning came, and the family decided that they would all go hunting
in the mangroves for mud mussels, crab and mangrove worm. Wula-manayuwi
called for Jirri-kilala to see if she would like to join them. Jirri-kilala
refused, stating once again that she was still sick. Wula-mana-yuwi went to
go inside her shelter to check on her but as she approached Jirri-kilala poked
her with a sharp stick. Wula-mana-yuwi knew then that she should just leave
her be.
Returning before sunset the family settled to eat their tucker. They offered
Jirrikilala who still had not come out from her shelter. Again she refused. Wulamanayuwi
thought that of course you get sick if you don’t eat, but she couldn’t
be bothered, more crab claws for her to eat!
After all was quite the baby brother of the family began crying, sounding sick
and bothered. Jirri-kilala quickly came out from her shelter. She asked his
mother to pass him to her, she looked at him then ordered Wula-mana-yuwi,
still half asleep to look for the root of shrub that would cure her baby brother
and reminded her that his health was dependant on whether she found this
plant. She didn’t care at all if the baby died right there in her arms. So off
Wula-mana-yuwi went, fire stick in hand and the will to help her little brother.
After searching for some time she finally found the shrub she was looking for.
She quickly began to dig at its roots. Just as she snapped off the root there
was a loud snap behind her. Standing tall, red eyes bright as coals and a thick
growl was the biggest dingo Wula-mana-yuwi had ever seen. She didn’t know
what to do. She tried to scream but no sound came out. She fell to the ground
crawling backwards as the dingo approached her snarling. All of a sudden a
shadow appeared to fly across the moon and swoop down towards her. It was
the white cockatoo; the bird let out a screech and dropped an oyster shell in
her hand. From that oyster shell a reflection of the moon beams shone brightly
and straight into the eyes of the dingo that turned into a little fluffy dingo pup,
yelping and wagging his tail. Wula-mana-yuwi was freaked, but quickly grabbed
the root and as she turned to run thought that of what a good idea it would be
to bring the pup back as a gift for baby brother.
When Wula-mana-yuwi arrived the family was so relieved. They quickly boiled
the root in some water and gave it to her baby brother in little sips. Jirri-kilala
was so cross, especially as the girl told the family the whole story of what
had happened and how she was saved by a white cockatoo that dropped
the shell into her hand. Jirri-kilala knew then that this was the “white light”
that the ‘Evil Spirit of the Water’ had told her about, and in fact was the white
cockatoo. She knew then that this bird was some sort of protector and that
she was to kill it too! After everyone was asleep she quickly turned into the
owl and flew to the pond. Was the ‘Evil Spirit of the Water’ trying to make a
fool out of her? She yelled at him to teach her the most evil song to sing and
rid of the girl forever.
32

and the seven pamanui
The next morning the tribe did not even move from their shelters. The sun
was burning down on them hotter than ever before. The children were thirsty
and they wanted to go swimming, but the river they lived next to was dry,
the waterfalls were dry, everything was bone dry. Jirri-kilala then called
Wula-mana-yuwi from her guarded shelter and told her take her seven little
brothers to a tiny lake that was hidden from the sun, and the water was
always cool as it was under a hanging rock. Wula-mana-yuwi agreed and she
set off with her little brothers in tow. As she walked away Jirri-kilala peeked
from a little hole in her shelter wall. She was watching them walk away with
a smile on her face, as they walked she noticed the white cockatoo appear
above, she quickly did a whistle that caused a huge wind to knock the bird off
course and carried it as far away as possible.
Arriving at the water hole, the kids screamed in delight and ran straight into
the water. It was beautiful and clear, with sand at the bottom and a little
shallow area for the baby brother to wade in. Wula-mana-yuwi had a quick
dip then got out to leave her brothers screaming and splashing so she could
rest under a thick green frangipani tree. She began to sing as she made a
garland of flowers. Out of nowhere there was a huge clap of thunder and
crack of lightning. This startled Wula-mana-yuwi and she looked up but there
wasn’t a cloud in sight. She noticed then how silent it was. She looked over
to the water hole and her brothers were gone, the water was completely still.
She thought they must have run in fright from the thunder and lightning. She
looked on the other side of the rock, they weren’t there. She looked on top of
the rock and no one was there. She dived into the water; no one was in there
either. She yelled out to them, and there was no reply. She began to worry
now. She searched everywhere. Her brothers were gone. She ran back as
quickly as her legs could move her back to camp.
When Wula-mana-yuwi arrived back at camp she was hysterical, she was
crying, she was worried and most of all scared. Jirri-kilala sat in her shelter
and could hear everything. It was perfect; when Jipmar-puwa-juwa arrived
back home he would be so angry with his daughter for losing all his sons that
he would want to kill her. She snickered at the thought. As for the mothers,
they didn’t know what to do. They were so shocked, and Wula-mana-yuwi
could see the rage filling the sadness in their eyes, Jirri-kilala could hear it
in their voices. All the others then ran in the direction of where their children
were last seen, including Wula-mana-yuwi. Of course, Jirri-kilala stayed.
They arrived late that evening with no children. The mothers were wailing
loudly and calling their children’s’ names. Wula-mana-yuwi was too sad to
walk. She had collapsed to her knees before they even got back to camp
sobbing; she picked up a rock and began hitting herself in her head in a
sign of complete guilt and confusion. Jirri-kilala had finally come out again
from her shelter to comfort the mothers. She didn’t really know what had
happened to the boys, whether they were dead or just gone to sleep. Either
33

way, Jipmar-puwa-juwa arrived back home early the next morning and that
would be the end of this stupid little family.
As the mothers sat crying Wula-mana-yuwi walked back into camp with her
head down, the eldest mother Jukurra jumped to her feet cursing Wulamana-yuwi
and pulled her hair until she fell to the ground. Wula-mana-yuwi
didn’t even flinch. Jirri-kilala broke them apart and Wula-mana-yuwi quickly
disappeared into her shelter where she cried herself to sleep.
The morning came quickly, and the wailing continued. Jipmar-puwa-juwa was
walking towards the camp, until a gust of wind picked up the wailing and sent it
to him, the then started running towards his wives. When he arrived the women
were shouting and crying as to what happened, he could hardly make out what
they were saying but heard clearly that his boys had mysteriously disappeared
under the Wula-mana-yuwi’s watch. He screamed then for his daughter to show
her face. Wula-mana-yuwi walked slowly out of her shelter. She was bruised,
sore and sorry, her father tried to talk calmly but this was very brief. She tried
to explain what had happened, but when she did he picked up his spear and
proceeded to spear her, but he stopped himself just inches from her abdomen.
He told her then to leave. She was no longer his daughter; she was a bastard
child now. He told her he never wanted to see her face, and that she was to
never step foot on this country ever again.
Wula-mana-yuwi on hearing this sobbed inside her heart, she quickly turned
and ran into her shelter, fetched the oyster shell which she had now turned
into a necklace and stopped to look at her father’s face one last time, but he
turned away and spat. So she ran, away from her family, and away from her
country, forever.
Wula-mana-yuwi could run no longer. Her feet were bleeding and swollen
and she was too tired to even wink. She had crossed the river and was now
in country that was completely foreign to her. It was like the barren land she
had seen when she sent to hunt for the family. Except it was much darker
here. There was no soft ground to sleep, so she made a bed in between two
boulders. She fell asleep straight away.
She woke up to the sound of no birds, no wind and just harsh sunlight.
Wula-mana- yuwi was so thirsty now so she wandered down to the river. She
washed her battered feet and face and dunked her head in the water. Then
something hit her on her back. She quickly sat up and looked around. It was
just a little pebble. She continued to bathe and then another pebble flew
past her head and into the water, Wula-mana-yuwi got onto her knees and
scanned the area but could not seen anyone or anything. As she turned to
wash her hair once more another rock hit her in the back of her head, this
time she jumped and shouted angrily. And it was then that she saw a little
shadow and the sound of little feet dart behind a boulder. She rushed over
34

and the seven pamanui
to the boulder and hid on the other side. She looked to the left side, nothing.
She looked to the right side, nothing. As she looked over the top another
head rose at the same time. It was a Pamanua! They both looked at each
other and screamed. Wula-mana-yuwi fainted.
Wula-mana-yuwi woke to a bunch of leaves being brushed roughly in her face
and nose, it smelt like eucalyptus. She sat up immediately and looked for the
person doing this to her, but no one was there. She scanned around her, she
was in a cave. As she sorely rose to her feet she could see that there were
seven little sleeping mats, seven little bowls, seven little spears and seven little
dilly bags, how odd she thought? Was this where children lived? She looked
around and noticed a small bunch of leaves protruding from the wall and it
made a little movement. She walked over to it and yanked it hard; when allof-a-sudden
a little Pamanua fell out of the wall giggling. Then another six fell
out of the wall pointing and laughing at the one Pamanua Wula-mana-yuwi had
pulled out. They were all camouflaged against the cave wall.
At first Wula-mana-yuwi was scared but began giggling at these little
creatures she had only ever been told about in stories by her mothers. They
were usually told stories about these to make her little brothers fall asleep.
She introduced herself and so did they. They were cute little black creatures,
with scrunched up moon faces, and a head full of wiry black and white hair.
Their bodies were solid strong, and they had only three fingers and toes, that
were so short they were almost like paws. They told Wula-mana-yuwi they had
found her knocked out
near the river so brought her back to the cave. They apologised for their
youngest Pamanua scaring her and said that he was such a humbug and
sticky beak! Wula-mana-yuwi just laughed. They chatted nicely and Wulamana-yuwi
had told her the story of this new woman that her father had
married, and that she thought she was evil because when she was banished
she could hear Jirri-kilala laughing at her from her shelter. The Pamanuas told
her she definitely must be evil and said that she should tell her father! Wulamana-yuwi
said she was too scared to go back.
The fattest of the Pamanuas interrupted then by rubbing his tummy and
saying he was hungry, and then they all joined in. Wula-mana-yuwi agreed
and offered to prepare a meal for them all. She looked for food but could only
find yams, herbs and powder to make damper. So for dinner that night they
all feasted on yam and herb soup with damper. They all fell asleep that night
with happy bellies, including Wula-mana-yuwi who was still sore and tired.
As night crept in Jirri-kilala crept and flew out to the water hole. She
consulted the ‘Evil Spirit of the Water’ once more as she wanted to be sure
that this girl was definitely dead and gone forever. As she spoke he was
worried, he knew Wula-mana-yuwi was still alive and he knew she had found
35

Pamanuas that had taken her in. Furiously Jirri-kilala smashed the water with
her hand. She shouted at the ‘Evil Spirit of the Water’ to stop making a fool of
her and said that this time she would deal with the girl on her own. She would
catch a magpie goose and cook it, then curse it to look like a lovely fat carpet
snake. Once this was done she would shape-shift into an old humble woman
and find the girl and offer it to her. Surely this would kill her as it is great
taboo to eat your totem. She needed this to happen first thing in the morning
as too much sun would drain her of energy to feed on Jipmar-puwa-juwa later
the next night.
It was very silent in the cave when Wula-mana-yuwi awoke. The Pamanuas
must’ve set off to hunt as they were gone and so were their dilly-bags and
spears. So she started to clean up their cave. They were extremely messy for
such small people she thought to herself, just like her little brothers she had
lost. The thought always played on her mind, and she thought of how much
the Pamanuas personalities were exactly like her little brothers too. One was
clumsy, one was grumpy, there was a sooky Pamanua, a sleep Pamanua, a
baby humbug, a macho one that looked the eldest and a little chubby one
too. A she set about cleaning there was a gentle voice, like that of an old lady
calling out to see if anyone was home.
Wula-mana-yuwi walked outside to find a dear old lady with hair as white
as clouds and a toothless smile as gentle as a child. She said she was
wandering past and heard Wula-mana-yuwi’s sweet voice so she thought
she would bring her a cooked carpet snake. It was so fat and Wula-manayuwi
looked at it, it was her favourite! She took the offering from the old lady.
When she asked if the old lady would like to come inside the old lady refused
and said she was on her way back home, as she had passed through from
visiting her daughter and grandchildren. The old lady told Wula-mana-yuwi
to taste the meat, so Wula-mana-yuwi did, and she bit the fattest part of the
body. As soon as she had done this everything went blurry and she dropped
to the ground heavily. The old lady turned and left immediately.
The Pamanuas walked victoriously back top their cave with their catches, one
wallaby and three fat possums. They were so excited to share it with Wulamana-yuwi
until they found her lying in a heap dead at the entrance to their
cave. They tried to shake her awake but she did not move. They then placed
her in a comfortable position and began mourning Wula-mana-yuwi. They
started to dance and sing songs of sorrow and death.
Upstream a tall, dark and handsome man named Prijina walked with his
spear in hand. He was on his way to meet his promised wife, Wula-manayuwi,
daughter of the infamous warrior and hunter, Jipmar-puwa-juwa. He was
about to cross the river when he heard crying and singing in the distance. He
followed the noise and found the Pamanuas surrounding a beautiful young
girl who lay dead on the ground. He was completely surprised. Never before
36

and the seven pamanui
had he seen Pamanuas, and to see them mourning a human was weird.
He walked curiously up to them and asked who this girl was and when they
told him it was Wula-mana-yuwi he was shocked. This was meant to be his
wife! They explained what had happened to her and he decided then that no
matter what the consequence was, he was going to return her to her father
and country to be buried.
He scooped her up. She was still very beautiful, more than he could have
imagined. Tears began to well in his eyes as he had waited all his life to meet
Wula-mana-yuwi and take her back to his country as his wife. He began
walking and asked if the Pamanuas were to join him. They said the tide was
high and they needed it to flow out before they could cross. He thanked them
for looking after her and went on his way to take his promised wife back to
her father.
When he arrived at Jipmar-puwa-juwa’s camp it had was just fading into
night time. He could see Jipmar-puwa-juwa sitting by down by a burn out
fire silently. He introduced himself and slowly placed the dead girl in front of
her father. He looked around and noticed that the camp was silent, creepily
silent and the hair on his neck stood up. Where were Jipmar-puwa-juwa’s
other two wives? He began to tell Jipmar-puwa-juwa the story of what had
happened, then he noticed something, this man was not moving, and he
didn’t even react. He was silent and breathing only in short puffs. When he
looked closely he could see Jipmar-puwajuwa’s eyes were completely glazed
over and blackened. Something was wrong, and he knew immediately that
something evil had happened here.
Suddenly, out of the darkness came an ugly devil woman. She was horrid
with the face of a smashed up crocodile, teeth as sharp as sharks, and one
big claw for a hand. She cackled. Another man to feast on she thought and
she started to approach Prijina. This was Jirri-kilala in her real form as a
Mopardinga. He tried to step back but couldn’t move. His feet were stuck to
the earth. Mopardinga was closer to him now, snarling with a yellow juices
flowing from her ugly mouth. She reached out her claw and placed it on his
head, digging the claws in; she was draining his soul.
In the background the Pamanuas snuck in. They were sticking to the shadows
as they could see what was going on in the camp. They were petrified of
this beast they saw, never before had they seen anything so disgustingly
repulsive before in their lives. The wanted to save Wula-mana-yuwi from the
beast as she was occupied with Prijina. As they snuck behind her to pick
her up they saw how Wula-mana-yuwi’s father’s eyes were blackened. They
were truly scared now. They began walking with her, carrying her above their
heads when the clumsy Pamanua tripped and fell causing them to drop her.
Mopardinga quickly looked up from her evil draining and looked back. As she
began walking towards them laughing the Pamanuas huddled around
37

Wula-mana-yuwi to protect her, they would die before anything else could
happen to this innocent beautiful young girl.
As Mopardinga was nearing them they heard a cough. And turned to find
Wula-mana-yuwi spitting a piece of what looked like goose meat from her
mouth. They were so were so surprised, and they knew immediately that
she must have eaten her totem and that she was really just fast asleep.
Wula-mana-yuwi jumped to her feet and began shouting at Jirri-kilala.
She shouted that whilst she was in the deep slumber she had dreamt of
everything happening up until right now. She knew Jirri-kilala was this beast,
and that she was trying to turn the world into shadows and darkness like
before the creation period.
Jirri-kilala was as angry as cyclone now and she was going to kill this girl right
here and right now whilst she was in her beastly form. Just as she lunged
forward to claw Wula-mana-yuwi’s pretty face a white cockatoo swooped
and pecked at her eye. Then another cockatoo swooped pecking at her, and
another, and then another till there was a huge swarm of white cockatoos.
She screeched but they were chasing her about like an angry cyclone and
with the help of the Pamanuas began leading her towards the water hole that
she went to consult with the ‘Evil Spirit of the Water’. They swarmed about
her violently and the Pamanuas pushed her into the water as she tried to
claw her way out. They beat her head with a stick and pushed her deeper
under water until she was drowned. The cockatoos then drank all the water
up and let out screeches of accomplishment and flew off into the darkness.
By this stage Wula-mana-yuwi was overjoyed and saddened at the same
time. She was rid of Jirri-kilala finally, but around her was death and
devastation. The country was already dying, and her father was dying. She
noticed a young man standing confused and speechless, his eyes glazed
over with blackness too. She ran to her father placed her head on his lap
and began wailing. She could not believe she was now alone in this world.
Even her mothers were gone too. She then felt fingers run over her head
and her father’s breath on her neck. She looked up. He was alive! And so
was the young handsome man. She told her father how sorry she was but
he said it was he who was sorry. He was sorry for falling for this evil woman
and not listening to his daughter and her dreams. The young tall handsome
man stood there stunned at what had just happened. Jipmar-puwa-juwa
introduced him then as Prijina her promised husband.
Suddenly they all heard a familiar laughter coming their way. It was her little
brothers, and following were her two mothers. The Pamanuas had been her
little brothers all along; they had been magically changed into them by Jirrikilala.
Up above them they heard a screeching. It was the white cockatoo that
had protected Wula-mana-yuwi all along. It came and landed on Jipmar-puwajuwa’s
forearm. He looked into its eyes and knew now that this was the spirit
38

and the seven pamanui
of Ngimpangilipungatanyim, Wula-mana-yuwi’s mother. The bird then brushed
her head against his cheek and flew up into the dark sky as they all watched.
The land started to change under their feet as well. Everything was going
back to normal. They all cheered and hugged as this was a huge relief for
everyone. To celebrate Jipmar-puwa-juwa announced that the next morning
the two young promised lovers would marry. This delighted them both. And
after the sun came out Wula-mana-yuwi exclaimed. They all laughed and
knew that they could all now live happily ever after…
After everything had settled, and the tribe was asleep, a cold breeze blew
through the country. The earth was happy now and the dragonfly season
could finally start, when up above a giant red star flew across the sky, and it
kept flying till it disappeared.
39

CURRICULUM OUTCOMES
Please note that not all outcomes relate to all activities listed in this resource. Once you have decided which tasks/activities you wish to use with
your class, identify which specific outcomes from the selected list below you will draw out in the activities that you plan to implement.
EARLY CHILDHOOD (YEARS 1-3)
English
Language
Language
variation and
change
Language for
interaction
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Understand that language is used
in combination with other means of
communication, for example facial
expressions and gestures to interact
with others (ACELA1444)
Explore different ways of expressing
emotions, including verbal, visual,
body language and facial expressions
(ACELA1787)
Understand that spoken, visual and
written forms of language are different
modes of communication with
different features and their use varies
according to the audience, purpose,
context and cultural background
(ACELA1460)
Identify language that can be used for
appreciating texts and the qualities of
people and things (ACELA1462)
Understand that languages have different
written and visual communication systems,
different oral traditions and different ways
of constructing meaning (ACELA1475)
Understand that successful cooperation
with others depends on shared use of
social conventions, including turn-taking
patterns, and forms of address that vary
according to the degree of formality
40

and the seven pamanui
Literature
Literature and
context
Examining
literature
Responding to
literature
Creating
literature
Discuss how authors create
characters using language and
images (ACELT1581)
Discuss features of plot, character
and setting in different types of
literature and explore some features
of characters in different texts
(ACELT1584)
Express preferences for specific
texts and authors and listen to the
opinions of others (ACELT1583)
Recreate texts imaginatively using
drawing, writing, performance and
digital forms of communication
(ACELT1586)
Discuss how depictions of characters
in print, sound and images reflect the
contexts in which they were created
(ACELT1587)
Discuss the characters and settings
of different texts and explore how
language is used to present these
features in different ways (ACELT1591)
Compare opinions about characters,
events and settings in and between
texts (ACELT1589)
Identify aspects of different types of
literary texts that entertain, and give
reasons for personal preferences
(ACELT1590)
Create events and characters using
different media that develop key
events and characters from literary
texts (ACELT1593)
Discuss texts in which characters, events
and settings are portrayed in different
ways, and speculate on the authors’
reasons
Draw connections between personal
experiences and the worlds of texts, and
share responses with others (ACELT1596)
Create imaginative texts based on
characters, settings and events from
students’ own and other cultures using
visual features, for example perspective,
distance and angle (ACELT1601)
Create texts that adapt language features
and patterns encountered in literary texts,
for example characterisation, rhyme,
rhythm, mood, music, sound effects and
dialogue (ACELT1791)
41

Literacy
Texts in context Respond to texts drawn from a
range of cultures and experiences
(ACELY1655)
Interacting with
others
Interpreting,
analyzing,
evaluating
Engage in conversations and
discussions, using active listening
behaviours, showing interest, and
contributing ideas, information and
questions (ACELY1656)
Use interaction skills including turntaking,
recognising the contributions
of others, speaking clearly and
using appropriate volume and pace
(ACELY1788)
Make short presentations using
some introduced text structures
and language, for example opening
statements (ACELY1657)
Use comprehension strategies to
build literal and inferred meaning
about key events, ideas and
information in texts that they listen
to, view and read by drawing on
growing knowledge of context, text
structures and language features
(ACELY1660)
Discuss different texts on a similar
topic, identifying similarities and
differences between the texts
(ACELY1665)
Use interaction skills including
initiating topics, making positive
statements and voicing disagreement
in an appropriate manner, speaking
clearly and varying tone, volume and
pace appropriately (ACELY1789)
Rehearse and deliver short
presentations on familiar and new
topics (ACELY1667)
Identify the point of view in a text and
suggest alternative points of view
(ACELY1675)
Listen to and contribute to conversations
and discussions to share information
and ideas and negotiate in collaborative
situations (ACELY1676)
Use interaction skills, including active
listening behaviours and communicate in
a clear, coherent manner using a variety
of everyday and learned vocabulary and
appropriate tone, pace, pitch and volume
(ACELY1792)
Use comprehension strategies to build
literal and inferred meaning and begin to
evaluate texts by drawing on a growing
knowledge of context, text structures and
language features (ACELY1680)
42

and the seven pamanui
Creating texts Create short imaginative and
informative texts that show emerging
use of appropriate text structure,
sentence-level grammar, word
choice, spelling, punctuation and
appropriate multimodal elements, for
example illustrations and diagrams
(ACELY1661)
History
Arts
Create short imaginative, informative
and persuasive texts using growing
knowledge of text structures and
language features for familiar and
some less familiar audiences,
selecting print and multimodal
elements appropriate to the audience
and purpose (ACELY1671)
Plan, draft and publish imaginative,
informative and persuasive texts
demonstrating increasing control over
text structures and language features and
selecting print,and multimodal elements
appropriate to the audience and purpose
(ACELY1682)
Year 1 outcomes:
Differences in family structures and roles today, and how these have changed or remained the same over time (ACHHK028)
How the present, past and future are signified by terms indicating time such as ‘a long time ago’, ‘then and now’, ‘now and
then’, ‘old and new’, ‘tomorrow’, as well as by dates and changes that may have personal significance, such as birthdays,
celebrations and seasons (ACHHK029)
In the early childhood band of development, students have opportunities to understand and learn about:
7EC1 visual arts, dance, drama, music and media
7EC4 dramatic elements in storytelling and drama (e.g. time, space, mood)
In the early childhood band of development, students have opportunities to learn to:
7EC7 view, observe, experience and listen to a range of artistic works including those created by peers
7EC8 create artistic works that tell a story (e.g. comic strip, storyboard, dance or puppet play)
7EC13 talk about their responses to artistic works (e.g. ideas, feelings, moods evoked) and express opinions about what they
like or dislike.
43

PRIMARY (YEARS 4-5)
Year 4 Year 5
English
Language
Expressing and
developing ideas
Understand that the meaning of sentences can be enriched
through the use of noun groups/phrases and verb groups/phrases
and prepositional phrases (ACELA1493)
Understand how noun groups/phrases and adjective groups/
phrases can be expanded in a variety of ways to provide a fuller
description of the person, place, thing or idea (ACELA1508)
Incorporate new vocabulary from a range of sources into
students’ own texts including vocabulary encountered in research
(ACELA1498)
Literature
Literature and
context
Make connections between the ways different authors may
represent similar storylines, ideas and relationships (ACELT1602)
Identify aspects of literary texts that convey details or
information about particular social, cultural and historical
contexts (ACELT1608)
Examining
literature
Discuss how authors and illustrators make stories exciting,
moving and absorbing and hold readers’ interest by using various
techniques, for example character development and plot tension
(ACELT1605)
Recognise that ideas in literary texts can be conveyed from
different viewpoints, which can lead to different kinds of
interpretations and responses (ACELT1610)
Responding to
literature
Discuss literary experiences with others, sharing responses and
expressing a point of view (ACELT1603)
Present a point of view about particular literary texts using
appropriate metalanguage, and reflecting on the viewpoints of
others (ACELT1609)
Creating literature Create literary texts by developing storylines, characters and
settings (ACELT1794)
44

and the seven pamanui
Literacy
Texts in context Show how ideas and points of view in texts are conveyed
through the use of vocabulary, including idiomatic expressions,
objective and subjective language, and that these can change
according to context (ACELY1698)
Interacting with
others
Use interaction skills such as acknowledging another’s point of view
and linking students’ response to the topic, using familiar and new
vocabulary and a range of vocal effects such as tone, pace, pitch
and volume to speak clearly and coherently (ACELY1688)
Clarify understanding of content as it unfolds in formal
and informal situations, connecting ideas to students’
own experiences and present and justify a point of view
(ACELY1699)
Plan, rehearse and deliver presentations incorporating learned
content and taking into account the particular purposes and
audiences (ACELY1689)
Use interaction skills, for example paraphrasing, questioning
and interpreting non-verbal cues and choose vocabulary and
vocal effects appropriate for different audiences and purposes
(ACELY1796)
Interpreting,
analyzing,
evaluating
History
Use comprehension strategies to build literal and inferred meaning
to expand content knowledge, integrating and linking ideas and
analysing and evaluating texts (ACELY1692)
Year 4 outcomes:
First Contacts
The diversity and longevity of Australia’s first peoples and the ways Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples are connected to
Country and Place (land, sea, waterways and skies) and the implications for their daily lives. (ACHHK077)
45

46
Arts
In the later childhood band of development, students have opportunities to understand and learn about:
7LC1 visual arts, dance, drama, music and media
7LC4 traditions and techniques associated with different forms of the performing arts
In the later childhood band of development, students have opportunities to learn to:
7LC8 explore some elements of drama (e.g. dramatic tension, contrast, symbol, time, space, focus, mood) in their own
improvisations
7LC12 interpret and respond to a range of artistic works, identifying some of the skills, elements and techniques used to
create meanings and giving reasons for their interpretations and preferences.
MIDDLE SCHOOL (YEARS 6 -7)
Year 6 Year 7
English
Language
Understand that different social and geographical dialects
or accents are used in Australia in addition to Standard
Australian English (ACELA1515)
Language
variation and
change
Understand that strategies for interaction become more
complex and demanding as levels of formality and social
distance increase (ACELA1516)
Language for
interaction
Analyse how point of view is generated in visual texts by
means of choices, for example gaze, angle and social
distance (ACELA1764)
Identify and explain how analytical images like figures, tables,
diagrams, maps and graphs contribute to our understanding
of verbal information in factual and persuasive texts
(ACELA1524)
Expressing and
developing ideas

and the seven pamanui
Literature
Responding to
literature
Reflect on ideas and opinions about characters, settings
and events in literary texts, identifying areas of agreement
and difference with others and justifying a point of view
(ACELT1620)
Analyse and evaluate similarities and differences in texts on
similar topics, themes or plots (ACELT1614)
Creating literature Create literary texts that adapt or combine aspects of texts
students have experienced in innovative ways (ACELT1618)
Discuss aspects of texts, for example their aesthetic and
social value, using relevant and appropriate metalanguage
(ACELT1803)
Reflect on ideas and opinions about characters, settings
and events in literary texts, identifying areas of agreement
and difference with others and justifying a point of view
(ACELT1620)
Create literary texts that adapt stylistic features
encountered in other texts, for example, narrative
viewpoint, structure of stanzas, contrast and juxtaposition
(ACELT1625)
Experiment with text structures and language features and
their effects in creating literary texts, for example, using
rhythm, sound effects, monologue, layout, navigation and
colour (ACELT1805)
47

Literacy
Interacting with
others
Participate in and contribute to discussions, clarifying and
interrogating ideas, developing and supporting arguments,
sharing and evaluating information, experiences and opinions
(ACELY1709)
Use interaction skills, varying conventions of spoken
interactions such as voice volume, tone, pitch and pace,
according to group size, formality of interaction and needs
and expertise of the audience (ACELY1816)
Plan, rehearse and deliver presentations, selecting and
sequencing appropriate content and multimodal elements for
defined audiences and purposes, making appropriate choices
for modality and emphasis (ACELY1710)
Interpreting,
analyzing,
evaluating
Select, navigate and read texts for a range of purposes,
applying appropriate text processing strategies and
interpreting structural features, for example table of contents,
glossary, chapters, headings and subheadings (ACELY1712)
Use comprehension strategies to interpret and analyse
information and ideas, comparing content from a variety of
textual sources including media and digital texts (ACELY1713)
Creating texts Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and
persuasive texts, choosing and experimenting with text
structures, language features, images and digital resources
appropriate to purpose and audience
Identify and discuss main ideas, concepts and points of
view in spoken texts to evaluate qualities, for example the
strength of an argument or the lyrical power of a poetic
rendition (ACELY1719)
identifying, discussing and interpreting ideas and
concepts that other individuals and groups value
identifying key evidence supporting an argument in a
discussion between two speakers
Use interaction skills when discussing and presenting
ideas and information, selecting body language, voice
qualities and other elements, (for example music and
sound) to add interest and meaning (ACELY1804)
Use comprehension strategies to interpret, analyse and
synthesise ideas and information, critiquing ideas and
issues from a variety of textual sources (ACELY1723)
48

and the seven pamanui
Arts
In the early adolescence band of development, students have opportunities to understand and learn about:
7EA1 the ways in which artists develop ideas and feelings through artistic works
7EA4 the formal language used for discussing, reading and writing about the artistic works of others and for describing and
evaluating their own works
7EA5 the traditions associated with different artistic works appropriate to the art form
In the early adolescence band of development, students have opportunities to learn to:
7EA8 discuss the different ways artistic elements and concepts are used to convey meaning
7EA9 plan, prepare and present artistic works for particular occasions and audiences, and evaluate them
7EA10 reflect critically on the artistic works of others, including their peers, using specific criteria and the language of the
art form
7EA12 interpret some artistic works and/or artists in the context of the society in which they lived and the dominant ideas
of the time.
49