Kondole Explained

In the Australian Aboriginal mythology of the Ramindjeri subgroup of the Ngarrindjeri people, 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]

Notes and References

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