Yuendumu Dog Tales

Abstract

For every Warlpiri myth, fable, or folktale about a child left in camp by its parents while they go hunting, a child who then gets adopted by dingoes, who treat it as one of their own, there is a myth, fable, or folktale about a dingo pup left behind in camp by its parents, who are off hunting, a pup who then gets adopted by Yapa (Warlpiri people), who treat it as one of their own. These stories beautifully reveal the close bonds between Yapa and dingoes (and later, dogs). As Eunice, a senior Warlpiri woman, puts it, “Dogs look after you, they are family, warlalja. They get upset, they cry when someone passes away, they are like people in that way, they grieve. They worry for their humans, and they are happy when you are happy, they are relatives for you. They make us happy like family.”