Showing Bunjil's cave : myths, legends and superstitions of the Aborigines of south-east Australia by Aldo Massola

Aldo Massola, an anthropologist and the acknowledged authority on the Aborigines as they were, has spent years collecting myths and studying all aspects of Aboriginal life in the various "Nations" once throughout Australia.
The five Victorian Nations and the Murray River Tribes have always held a particular fascination for him, with their myths, superstitions and beliefs, their explanations for the strange landmarks and even stranger animals in the surrounding country.
In BUNJIL'S CAVE he retells these south-east Australian myths, capturing their beauty, their dream-like quality, their simplicity and understatement. Humorous, tender, fantastic, sometimes cruel, they tell of how the world came into being, men and animals helping each other and killing each other; all part of the ordering of the world when "men and animals were one".
In the second part of the book, Mr. Massola gives an insight into the complex "spirit world", the powerful beliefs, fears and superstitions of those who told and listened to the legends. Comparing the five Nations, he discusses medicine men, mythical beings, cosmography and attitudes to the dead, as well as ideas on the Great Man and man's spirit. He concludes: "The Aborigines of Victoria were on the verge of momentous changes in their spiritual beliefs. They were approaching organized religion, of which their medicine men could easily have become the priests."
Scientific, yet immensely readable, this book is a remarkable study of a people with a rich imagination and poetical sense. Of great value to those seeking information on Aboriginal anthropology, it will also be a delight to all interested in folklore.
It is profusely illustrated, with maps, line drawings, and the brilliant photographs of John Gollings, which show landmarks referred to in the legends.