Kondole

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In Australian Aboriginal mythology, Kondole was a mean and rude man. One night, the performers during a ceremony needed someone to keep a fire going; Kondole was the only one with fire, and he hid in the bush. The men argued with him, and one got frustrated and threw a spear into Kondole's skull. All the men then turned into animals, including kangaroos, possums, fish and birds. Kondole became a whale and the hole in his head from the spear became his blowhole. The Kondole was the first whale according to Aboriginal myth.[1] [2]

Ian Milne wrote the book Kondole the Whale based on this story in 1992[3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Early Australian History". Bathurst Free Press And Mining Journal. 22 August 1890. p. 4. Retrieved 13 August 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ Cressey, Jason (September 1998). "Making a Splash in the Pacific: Dolphin and Whale Myths and Legends of Oceania" (PDF). Rapa Nui Journal. 12 (3): 75–84. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Whale book launched". Times. 7 July 1992. p. 3. Retrieved 13 August 2022 – via National Library of Australia.