by W. Ramsay Smith (Author)
For many of their campfire tales, the aboriginal people of Australia looked to the skies, where they found a twinkling text of morals and stories within their own version of the zodiac. Today, the starry birds, fishes, and dancing men that provided a backdrop to life Down Under for thousands of years have found a new popularity beyond Australia.
With this colorful collection of oral traditions, compiled by an Australian physician, readers can savor the tales as they were told by their aboriginal narrators. Footnotes throughout the text clarify occasional obscurities, providing background on aboriginal life and customs as the need for explanation arises. For the most part, however, the author allows the myths to speak for themselves, without an attempt to support or disprove anthropological theories.
Of considerable interest to students and scholars of aboriginal cultures, this book will also appeal to devoted readers of folklore and mythology.