BARRAMUNDI LOVE STORY
An Aboriginal Folk Tale
Long ago in the dream time there were no fish, so the
people lived on animals, roots and berries. They were all content. That is,
except for Boodi and Yalima; young lovers who wanted to marry but were forbidden because their tribe requried
Yalima to marry an elder so she could take care of him. Determined to be
together, Boodi and Yalima ran away, knowing that to go against the Elders was
punishable by death.
They ran far and wide, but were relentlessly chased by the
tribal elders. Eventually, they came to
the edge of the land where the water began, and they knew that in order to
survive, they would have to stand their ground.
With the angry tribe descending upon them, they gathered wood and made as many
spears as they could. But the tribesmen were too numerous, and soon the lover’s
spears were all spent. Boodi turned to his beloved Yalima and said, "For
us to be together, we must go into the sea to live." And so they jumped
off the cliff and descended into the water.
Boodi and Yalima are still there, in the shape of the
Barramundi hiding amongst the mangroves.
And the spines on the fin of the barramundi
are said to be the spears thrown at them by the tribe.
