Death to the Giant Snake single work   short story   Indigenous story  
Issue Details: First known date: 1978... 1978 Death to the Giant Snake
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

A retelling of a traditional story in which, following the death of his intended partner, a young man plots the death of the Giant Snake who killed her. With the aid of his friends and balls of beefwood gum, he succeeds in killing the snake and reducing the numbers of Bubbur in the region forever.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Aboriginal Legends : Animal Tales A. W. Reed , Sydney : Reed , 1978 Z1479347 1978 selected work short story Indigenous story

    A selection of Aboriginal legends about animals and men collected and retold by Reed, each prefaced by a non-fiction explanation of the content of the story. This book is not intended for children, but rather presents indigenous tales for general anthropological interest.

    These stories represent a broad range of traditional stories from across the continent. Reed acknowledges in his introduction that he writes from a Western perspective, that 'they are a product of the 1970s, written by one whose skin is a different colour, and whose environment is completely foreign to that of the Aboriginals who devised [the stories].'

    Reed organises the book into chapters with short introductions:

    • Chapter One : Reptile People
    • Chapter Two : Frog People
    • Chapter Three : Tree People
    • Chapter Four : Animal People
    • Chapter Five : Flower People
    • Chapter Six : Crocodile People
    • Chapter Seven : Star People
    • Chapter Eight : Crow People
         Sydney : Reed , 1978     pg. 15-19
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Last amended 25 Aug 2008 21:44:09
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