Karatgurk facts for kids
The Karatgurk are important figures in the Australian Aboriginal mythology of the Aboriginal people from south-eastern Victoria. They are seven sisters who represent the constellation known as the Pleiades in Western astronomy.
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The Karatgurk Sisters and the Secret of Fire
According to a legend told by the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation, in the ancient time called the Dreamtime, only the Karatgurk sisters knew the secret of fire. Each sister carried a live, glowing coal on the end of her digging stick. This allowed them to cook the yams (called murnong) they dug from the ground.
The Karatgurk sisters refused to share their fire with anyone else. However, they were eventually tricked into giving up their secret by a clever bird named Crow.
Crow buried several snakes in an ant mound. Then, he called the Karatgurk women over. He told them he had found ant larvae that were even tastier than yams. The women began digging into the mound. This angered the snakes, which quickly attacked them.
The Chase for Fire
The sisters shrieked and struck the snakes with their digging sticks. They hit them so hard that the live coals flew off the ends of the sticks. Crow, who had been waiting for this moment, quickly gathered the glowing coals. He hid them safely in a kangaroo skin bag.
The women soon realized their fire had been stolen and chased after Crow. But the clever bird simply flew out of their reach. This is how fire was finally brought to all people.
The Karatgurk in the Sky
After these events, the Karatgurk sisters were swept up into the sky. Their glowing fire sticks became the bright Pleiades star cluster. This constellation can still be seen in the night sky today.
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