The people of the valley of lagoons, the Gugu Badhun, pass down creation stories about the eruption of what will become Kinrara Volcano in North Queensland.
One story, explaining how the Gugu Badhun universe was formed and informing their peoples’ cosmological knowledge, begins with two creator beings, Bunbunba (a pheasant) and Numunali (a bronzewing pigeon).
Bunbuna and Numunali were human-like at the time.
They had a disagreement that escalated into a fight.
Numunali (pigeon) was very quick on his feet and Bunbunba couldn't keep up.
Bunbunba (pheasant), out of anger and spite, set the country on fire.
The fire became out of control and so hot it melted the rocks, causing lava flows.
The lava flows form the watercourses that’ll become the Burdekin River.
Gugu Badhun ancestors pass down an intergenerational oral history of the ash cloud and toxic gases that followed the volcanic eruptions.
Following the eruption, a Djumbumurri (wicked sorcerer/cleverman) was creating magic and dug a giant pit in the ground.
His digging filled the air with a lot of dust.
There was great devastation.
People in the area who breathed in this disturbed dust became disoriented, asphyxiated and many passed away.
Dingos fed off the dead bodies strewn throughout the country.
Evidence of the lava flow along the river there will remain for thousands of years.
The melted lava is the most striking form in the landscape, unique in the way it channels and holds water.
Many hidden springs feed the river providing huge volumes of water that keep Burdekin River flowing throughout the driest seasons, never running dry.
The laws of natural resource management and consequences of greed are embedded in stories about the waterways.
The Yamani are serpent beings who oversee the Gugu Badhan watercourses.
The eel-like Black Yamani of the river is described as unfriendly.
In contrast, the Red Yamani of the lagoons is considered a friend.
However they are not considered good or bad by Gugu Badhun peoples.
The Yamani ‘just are’ and have purpose attached to their being, understood as acting on behalf of balance.
It is known that if anybody that is greedy enters the river, the Black Yamani takes them.
One day, a man was taking too many water lilies when the Black Yamani swallowed him whole and took off with him up country.
A group of men, led by one of the Gubimurri (clevermen), chased the Yamani but found it difficult to keep up.
They travelled through the ranges, lakes and lagoons until finally the cleverman caught up to him.
The Yamani exhausted, they were able to tie him down with ropes made from lawyer cane.
When the group woke him up by poking him, the Yamani fought and he fought, twisting, turning and thrashing.
His tail made a big waterhole, Djilbalamba.
Djilba means eels/fish tail.
When they killed Yamani it was decided they would share his meat with all the adjoining tribes.
They cut the Yamani open revealing the man that was swallowed.
He was still alive but learnt his lesson about being greedy.