When Bayame left the earth, going to live in the distant land of peace Bullima, located above the sacred mountain Ubi-Ubi, all the flowers withered and died. And new ones no longer grew in their place. The earth, without the flowers that adorned it, looked bare and desolate. The flowers became a legend that the elders of the tribe told to the youth.
Following the flowers, the bees disappeared. It was in vain that the women took their virri to collect honey in them - they always returned empty-handed. There were only three trees left on the whole earth where bees lived and worked. But Baiame put his seal of ma on them, declaring them his forever, and people did not dare to touch them.
The children asked for honey with tears, and their mothers grumbled - after all, the Virinuns did not allow them to touch the sacred trees of Baiame.
When the all-seeing spirit discovered that the tribe did not touch the sacred trees, although they really wanted honey, he told Baiama about their obedience.
Baiame was delighted and said that he would send them something as sweet as honey.
And so, when the earth was languishing from drought, white grains of sugar appeared on the leaves of the eucalyptus trees (the Daen children call them gunbin), and then clear juice flowed down the trunk like honey. The juice froze on the bark in lumps, which sometimes fell to the ground, where the children collected them and ate them.
The hearts of the people rejoiced, and they gratefully ate the sweet food sent down to them. However, the Virinuns longed to see the land again covered with flowers, as it was before Baiame's departure. This desire became so strong that they decided to go to him and ask him to make the earth beautiful again. Without telling the tribes anything about where they were going, the Virinuns hurried to the northeast.
They traveled for a long time until they came to the foot of the great mountain Ubi-Ubi, the top of which was lost high in the sky. Its bare slopes seemed steep and inaccessible. But then they noticed a step carved into the rock, then another and another, and, looking up, they saw a staircase.
They began to climb the steps, but at the end of the first day the top of the mountain was still inaccessible. This happened on the second and third days, for the road was long, and only on the fourth day did they reach the top.
Here they saw a stone depression from which a spring of fresh water flowed. They drank greedily, and the water refreshed them so much that all fatigue disappeared.
Not far from the spring they saw piles of stacked stones. Approaching one of them, they heard the sound of the gyandi - a sacred buzzer - and the voice of Walla-garun-bu-ana. Walla-garun-bu-an was Baiame's messenger. He asked the Virinuns what they wanted here, because those who want to learn the sacred teachings of Baiame come here.
Then the Virinuns told Walla-garun-bu-an how sad the earth looked after Baiame left it, how all the flowers died. Although Baiame sent them eucalyptus juice instead of honey, they would like to see slander grace the earth again.
Walla-garun-bu-an ordered the spirits of the sacred mountain to raise the Virinuns to the heavenly camp of Bullima, where unfading flowers bloom forever. The Virinuns will be able to collect as many of them as they can hold in their hands. After this, the spirits will take them back to the sacred circle on top of Mount Ubi-Ubi, from where they must return to their tribes.
When the voice fell silent, the Virinuns were lifted through the hole in the sky and taken to a wonderful place. The flowers grew there as magnificently as they had ever seen: whole stripes of bright colors, like hundreds of rainbows laid on the grass. The Virinuns were so shocked that they began to cry, but these were tears of joy.
Then, remembering why they were here, the Virinuns quickly gathered large armfuls of flowers, and the spirits again lowered them into the stone circle at the top of Mount Ubi-Ubi.
The sound of the gyandi was heard again, and Walla-harun-bu-an said:
- When you bring these flowers to your tribes, tell them that there will always be flowers on earth now. Every season the winds will bring some flowers. The east wind of Yarraga Meira will bring them to every tree and bush; there will be as many flowers on the plains and mountains as there are hairs on the skin of a possum. When the fragrant wind does not blow, bringing first rain and then flowers, and the bees can collect honey only for themselves, then sweet juice will again drip from the trees. And so it will be until Yarraga Meira again brings rain from the mountains and opens flowers for bees. Now hasten to your people with these unfading flowers, and let them be the pledge of my promise.
The voice fell silent, and the Virinuns went to their tribes with flowers from Bullim. They descended the stone staircase carved by the spirits for Baiame, passed through plains and mountains, back to the camps of their tribes. People crowded around them, following with surprised eyes the flowers carried by the Virinuns. They were fresh and filled the air with aroma.
When the tribes had had enough of the flowers and listened to the promise made to Baiama through their messenger Walla-garun-bu-ana, the Virinuns scattered gifts from Bullima everywhere. Some flowers fell on the treetops, others on the plains and ridges. There they are still growing.
The place where the Virinuns showed and scattered flowers is still called Girrawin, or the place of flowers. When Baiame's bees force the east wind of Yarraga to bring rain from Mount Ubi Ubi to soften the frost-bound earth, green grass and bright, fragrant flowers appear. Once again the trees and bushes are covered with flowers, and the ground is covered with cool grass, as in the days when Baiame walked on it.
And Baiame's bees must force Yarragh to bring rain from the mountain so that the trees can bloom and the earth's bees can collect honey. Yarraga willingly fulfills the will of the bees, illuminating the face of the earth with the smile of rainwater - is it not because the bees are his relatives. And during drought, black ants and small gray birds called dallura bring liquid sugar paste to the trees.
When she appears, the Daens say:
“The time has come for drought, a great drought throughout the entire earth. There are few flowers, grass seeds have disappeared. But the drought will pass, the sweet sap on the trees will disappear, and flowers and bees will appear again. This has always been the case since the Virinuns brought flowers from Bullim.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru