Author's note: 'Dugong, which abound in Torres Strait, are an important source of meat and fat for Torres Strait Islanders. Indeed, were it not for dugong and turtle, the people would have very little meat and fat to eat, because there are no food-animals on their islands except a few pigs which are reserved for feasts. It takes all a man's strength and skill to capture a dugong, for these sea-mammals are big and heavy-bodied and, besides being very sky, have a keen sense of hearing.
'Everyone in Torres Strait knows the story of Gelam. Eastern Islanders, who speak a different language from the rest of the people in Torres Strait, call Gelam's mother Amer. in West Torres Strait and Central Torres Strait everyone calls her Usar.'
