Japangardi, Japanangka, Napangardi and Napanangka (Green Group)

Story: Karnka (The Crow)

A crow (karnka) appears and approaches the young birds who are gathered at Yinapaka. The crow, known for his cleverness, is quick to volunteer himself as a teacher. 

He says to the other birds “I am the one who should teach you how to fly. I am the smartest. I am clever and cunning. I can work out strategies. I can teach you how to move your wings to lift you higher”.

But the others are not convinced. They say to the crow “you may be smart, but you have broken the law. You stole a dog that belonged to a young girl. Then you lied about it. You said you found the dog wandering around your camp. When the girl came to pick up her dog, you trapped her there and wouldn’t let her leave. You may be smart, but we don’t trust you”.

It was clear to the young birds that although the crow was smart and clever, he used his cleverness in the wrong way. Instead of using his knowledge to help others, he used it to serve himself. 

Jupurrula, Jakamarra, Napurrula and Nakamarra (Red Group)

Story: Wirntiki (The Stone Curlew)

The next bird to approach the group is the wirntiki (stone curlew). He is confident within himself and certain he will be a valuable teacher to the young birds.

He says to them “I am the one who should teach you how to fly. I flew over the Mumingirri, the man-eating monsters. We flew higher than the rocks and boomerangs they threw at us. They cannot reach us. I know the way of fire. I can use it to light my way in the dark. I can use it to cook and prepare food for my family”.

Again, the other birds are not convinced. They reply “yes, you are a very skilled flyer. You can fly high and you can fly at night. You know the way of fire. But you are also careless. You flew with the fire and it burned your wings. Fire is important, you shouldn’t play with it”.

The stone curlew was capable of many things. But his carelessness was his downfall. The young birds understood that if you are careless with your knowledge, it can lead to trouble. If you play with fire, you might get burned.

Japaljarri, Jungarrayi, Napaljarri and Nungarrayi (Yellow Group)

Story: Winyiwinypa (The Spotted Harrier)​

Soon, a new bird approaches Yinapaka. This time it is a winyiwinypa (spotted harrier). He too believes he can offer his teaching to the young birds. 

He says to them “I am the one who should teach you how to fly. I am the best fighter. I can teach you to fly and drive out those who are trying to invade our hunting grounds. I can chase them off. I am a great warrior”. 

Once again, the young birds are unwilling to accept this bird as their teacher. They tell the winyiwinpa “you have accomplished great things. But you tell lies. Many times you have come back from hunting bloody and wounded, your weapons broken from the fighting. Each time, we have nursed your wounds so you can heal. We have given you food because you were too weak to go hunting yourself. But then we found out you were deceiving us to take our food. Your wounds were self-inflicted. The broken weapons you showed us were broken by you. You are a lazy hunter who lives off the hard work that others do.”

As skilful and strong as the spotted harrier was, he used his intelligence to deceive and take advantage of others.

Jangala, Jampijinpa, Nangala and Nampijinpa (Blue Group)

Story: Kirrkalunji (The Brown Falcon)

The group at Yinapaka are approached by one more bird, a kirrkalunji (brown falcon). A brave and fearless hunter, kirrkalunji is eager to share his wisdom and knowledge.

He says to the birds “I am the one who should teach you how to fly. I am community with fear. I can show you how to conquer your fear, and how to master it. I am the bravest hunter. I can fight and kill dangerous snakes. I picked up the rainbow serpent and put it around my head. With my knowledge, you can fly high, without fear.”

This is still not enough to win the trust of the young birds. They say to kirkkalunji “you may have put the rainbow serpent on your head but you couldn’t make him stay there. It slipped off and got away. Your bravery is only temporary. You can not sustain it.”

The brown falcon was brave and fearless. But he let his pride get the better of him. He acted foolishly to impress those around him, putting himself and others at risk.

Finale

Story: Warlawurru (Wedgetail Eagle) and Yankirri (Emu)

The wedge-tailed eagle returns from hunting with a friend. As they approach, it becomes clear the eagle’s friend is the emu. The eagle and the emu join the conversation.

The emu says to the young birds “I can be your teacher. I can show you how to fly high amongst the clouds and how to tame them.”

All the other birds burst out laughing. Mocking him, they say “you? You want to teach us how to fly? How can you teach us to fly when you can’t even fly yourself?”

They ridicule the emu relentlessly. They throw stones and sticks at him. They spit on him. They chase him away, humiliated and wounded. The poor Emu is heartbroken.

There is a sense of self-satisfaction now among the birds, yet they still haven’t found their teacher. Excitedly, they turn to the eagle and say “we have been waiting. Surely you are the one. You can teach us how to fly high and become master hunters, like you.”

Solemnly, the eagle replies “I myself was taught to fly, and taught to hunt. Before you can soar above the clouds, before you can become the ultimate hunter, you must first be ready to learn. The way you treated the emu, shows me you are not ready to learn. You must have respect for your teacher.”

“The one who taught me to fly and hunt was the one you chased away. He was my teacher. The one you see in the sky is his spirit. The emu teaches that if you are open to learning, you will fly. If you resist learning, you will be stuck on the ground. It is knowledge of the land that will help you fly.”