3

The Falcon and the Raven – according to Aboriginal mythology from southeastern Australia, the institution of marriage was created by two men. Supposedly, the Falcon (also called Biljara) and the Raven (or Wagu) established the institution of marriage by defining the degrees of kinship within which marriage was permissible. These two men appear in stories as rivals, with the Raven often trying to outwit or trick the Falcon. For example, in one story, the Falcon burned the Raven and transformed it into the bird for which it bore his name. The Falcon itself became a bird when the Raven tricked it into soaring into the sky.

First of all, darkness, primeval existence.

Purukupali – an ancestral god responsible for morality among the Tiwi people of Melville and Bathurst Islands. Purukupari was one of the first humans, the son of Mudungkal, a blind, old ancestral heroine from the Dreamtime. Purukupali married, and his wife bore him a son. They lived in the same camp as the Moon Man, Tjapara, a bachelor who desired Purukupali's wife. One day, they went into the forest together, leaving her son in the shade of a tree. However, while they were away, the shade shifted, and the child died from the heat. Purukupali became angry and declared that from now on, people would die. Tjapara promised to bring the child back to life. The two began to fight over the body, but eventually Purukupali took it and went out to sea. Tjapara transformed into the moon. The marks on the moon are scars from wounds inflicted in battle.

Rata is a hero appearing in Maori and other Polynesian mythologies. His father, called Wahieroa, was killed by monstrous lizards that served his enemy, Puna. Rata set out to find his father's body. He eventually found his head in the entrails of the great Matuku shark and recovered the rest from the monstrous lizards. However, on his way home, Rata himself was cut to pieces by the lizards.

Rona - a greedy cannibal from Tahitian mythology. Rona, also known as "Long Teeth," had a beautiful daughter named Hina, who fell in love with a man named Monoi. However, Rona captured Monoi and devoured him. Hina turned to No'a-huruhuru (meaning "Hairy Chief") for help, and Rona was killed.

The Seven Sisters—seven wandering tribal heroines from the Dreamtime, also known by their Aboriginal name, Kungarankalpa. The sisters' full journey has been reconstructed from stories told by various Aboriginal clans along the route. The sisters journeyed south from central Australia to escape a debauched man named Nyiru. Their escape is marked by various peculiarities of the landscape: for example, the low cliff is a windbreak they built while camping there one night. Upon reaching the southern coast, the seven sisters entered the sea and then leaped into the sky. Once in the sky, they transformed into the star constellation Kurialya (or the Plaiades).

The Wawilak Sisters – two ancestral heroines from the Dreamtime. According to the mythology of the Ylongu Aboriginal people of Arnhem Land, the Wawilak sisters traversed the primeval landscape, shaping the natural environment and giving names to creatures and plants. Both gave birth to sons. The older sister inadvertently caused her menstrual blood to fall into a pool, angering the serpent Yurlunggur who lived there. The serpent caused a great storm and flood. To appease it, the sisters sang songs, but Yurlunggur swallowed the women and their sons and then retreated to the sky in the form of a rainbow. When the floodwaters receded, Yurlunggur returned to earth, to what became the first initiation ground of the Ylong people, and then returned the sisters and their sons. Two men passed by, learned the sisters' song, and then performed the first initiation rites of the Ylongu people, which were the rites of passage for boys into adult life.

Tawhaki – a famous hero from Maori myth. Tawhaki and his brother Kariki were the sons of the demigod Hem and the sky goddess. After Hem was killed by monsters, Tawhaki set out on a journey to the place where his father had perished to avenge him. Along the way, the hero experienced numerous adventures that became the basis for a cycle of myths. In many of them, the foolish and lazy Kariki is contrasted with his heroic and noble brother. During his wanderings, Tawhaki married and had a son, Wahieroa, whose son Rata is another hero in Polynesian mythology