Aboriginal Myths, Legends & Fables
Publisher: Reed New Holland
Type: Soft Cover
Pages: 412
Genre: non-fiction (myths,legends)
Published: 2013 (first:1982)
ISBN: 9781876334291The book is well made, it is a little under eight inches tall, five inches wide and almost an inch thick. There are no pictures.
This is a book documenting the many legends and myths of Australias Aboriginal people, so of course it is an important work and the author has done an amazing job.
I sadly found a lot of the entry's a little dry, and a bit repetitive. The myths are documented but i feel a lot of the magic is lost, i found myself longing to just go outback and plead with an Aboriginal elder to let me sit around the fire while they told me their story's in their own voice.
There is a part in the book that kind of implies that monotheism is somehow more advanced than polytheism, a view that i disagree with. Though the author later seems to accept that other religions can be difficult to translate to ones own culture.
Interestingly for Cryptozoology fans there are examples of such creatures as Yowee described as a dark monster that climbs trees.
I would recommend this book for those interested in Australian history, Aboriginal culture, or religions. It should be a must for every school library. I would warn though that it is far more of a history book then a story book. The myths are well documented but not really brought to life in the telling.
I would suggest anyone who isn't a scholar read perhaps only one or two myths at a time. It is a difficult book to give a score to, as i think it is an incredibly important work, but was not exactly an enjoyable read.
Also its NAIDOC week so why not click on over and see what that is all about. Hint; its a celebration of Aboriginal culture.
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