There was a drought in the country. Almost all the rivers have dried up. The grass was dead, even the trees were dying. No one lived in the Dardur huts anymore. They collapsed and rotted. After all, the Daens take refuge in huts only in damp weather, and in hot weather they live under canopies made of branches.
The youth of the Nunga-barra tribe, first secretly and then openly, began to grumble:
“Didn’t our fathers tell us that Virinun can, if he wants, make it rain?” Look at our country - the grass is scorched by the sun, there is no grain; kangaroos are dying, and emus, ducks and swans have moved to distant lands. Soon there will be no food, we will die, and Nunga-barra will no longer be visible on the Narran River. Why doesn't Virinun cause rain if he can do it?
Old Virinun heard these conversations. He didn’t say anything, but the young men noticed that for two or three days he went to the pond and lowered into it a long wilgu-vilgu stick with white cockatoo feathers at the end. Near it he placed two large magical Gabber stones. He usually kept these transparent stones in the folds of his wave belt, in a headband or net on his head. He hid these stones especially carefully from women.
On the third day, Virinun said to the young people:
— Take your kambu and cut the bark. We will build new Dardur huts for the entire tribe.
The young men did what they were told. When they cut and brought the bark, Virinun said:
- Go and find a high place with an anthill. Prepare some bark and wood for the fire there. And wherever you start to build a dardur, let the base of the hut be an anthill approximately thirty centimeters high.
When the huts were built with high floors made of anthills and roofs made of bark impenetrable to rain, Virinun ordered all the inhabitants of the camp to go with him to the reservoir. Everyone had to go - men, women and children.
Everyone headed to the pond where he left Wilga-Wilga and Gabber. Virinun jumped into the water and ordered the entire tribe to follow him. Everyone splashed and played in the water. After some time, Virinun began to approach each dayen in turn and pull out a coal from his head, which he then threw into the water.
Having bypassed everyone, Virinun came out of the water, but one of the young men pushed him back. This was repeated several times until the virinun began to tremble. This served as a signal, and everyone got out of the water.
Virinun sent the young men under a canopy of branches and told them to sleep, while he himself remained outside with two old men and two old women. They loaded all their things onto their backs, including the deyurl millstones, as if preparing to leave. Then the old men began to impatiently pace around the shed, as if waiting for a signal to leave.
Soon a large black cloud appeared on the horizon, and behind it others appeared from all sides. They quickly approached, grew - and now there was a large black cloud above Virinun’s head. The old people immediately entered under the canopy of branches, woke up the young people and invited everyone to go out and look at the sky.
Then Virinun ordered to collect all things and, without wasting time, take refuge in bark huts.
They barely had time to enter the huts and hide their spears when a deafening clap of thunder was heard and lightning cut through the sky, illuminating the road from earth to sky. And again such terrible thunder followed that the Da-en thought that their camp had been destroyed. But lightning struck only a tree nearby.
The Daens stood in their huts, huddled closely together, afraid to move. Children screamed in fear, dogs huddled close to their owners.
- He will kill us! - the women shouted. The men were silent, but also scared. Only Virinun did not feel fear.
“I will go out and not let the storm harm you,” he said.
And the old Virinun came out and began to walk in front of the huts. He stood naked, face to face with the storm, and in the light of lightning and the sounds of thunder, he sang a song that was supposed to turn the storm away from the camp:
Harry moray, moray,
Darry moray, moray, moray.
Soon the thunder died down, and only a light breeze shook the trees. Then came an oppressive silence, the rain began, followed by a downpour that lasted for several days.
When the old people were inspecting the canopy of branches, Virinun went to the pond and took out the wilga-wilga and Gabber, since he saw from the clouds in the sky that these things had done their job.
And then the rain stopped, and the country was covered with greenery again. The Daen held a great corroboree and sang the art of the old Wirinun, who brought rain to the Nunga-barra tribe.
Virinun sat quietly, not paying attention to praise, just as he had not paid attention to reproaches before. He decided to show everyone how great his power is. Virinun invited a rainmaker from a neighboring tribe and, after talking with him, ordered the tribe to go to Gugurevon. In those days, Gugurevon was a dry valley, framed by sparse dried trees. These trees were daens before the Baiame forest.
When everyone was positioned along the edges of the valley, Virinun and his fellow rainmaker caused heavy rain to fall, and the valley filled with water.
When the valley was covered with water, Virinun said to the youth of his tribe:
- Take your nets and catch fish.
“How can that be,” they answered. “After all, this is rain water, not river water.” The valley was covered with water only yesterday, what kind of fish could there be here?
“Go,” objected Virinun, “and do what I told you.” If your nets turn out to be empty, then the virinun will no longer talk to the people of his tribe, but will only collect honey and yams with the women.
The young men took their nets and went to the lake, rather in order to please the man who had transformed their country from a desert into a paradise for hunters. When the fishermen pulled out the nets, they were heavy with cod, bream and other fish. They caught so many fish that there was enough for everyone, even the dogs.
Now there was plenty of everything, and the old men decided to arrange a bora so that the boys could become young men. To do this, it was necessary to prepare a place on one of the ridges, far from the camp, so that the women would not know about it.
And then a great bora took place in Gugurevon, famous for the fact that it followed the triumph of the old Virinun - the rainmaker.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru