Lust was Tjinimin’S downfall. He just could not resist trying to get into the feathers of those Green Parrot Girls, consorts of the Great Rainbow Snake.

He was driven off with bees, they tried to drown him by diverting a river, and his biggest downfall came when he was thrown off a high cliff onto jagged rocks. But he had magic powers which were never available to Humpty Dumpty, and managed to put himself together again. Just to double check, he cut his nose off and stuck it back again. Yep — no problem.

Then he made a magic spear and went off to vent his rage on the Great Rainbow Snake. He stabbed it in the side and watched as it writhed in agony creating an interesting new terrain. In its struggles the Snake must have felt burning sensations because the next thing anyone knew was that it had dived to the bottom of the sea taking every last scrap of fire with it.

Tjinimin gazed apprehensively at one last charred stick. This is where Pilirin the Kestrel God comes into the story. He was a bright spark and taught humans how to make fire using only two twigs.

Tjinimin went completely batty at this point and took to roosting upside down. Light and fire now scared him and he only wanted to look upwards at night. He decided he was never ever going to attempt sex again, and then his nose dropped off. This is why bats have snub noses.

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Article last revised on April 22, 2019 by Rowan Allen.
Editors: Peter J. Allen, Chas Saunders

References: Coming soon.

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