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Overview
Parker’s account calls the tree-house hunter Mullyan, an eagle hawk who lives apart from the surrounding community with his opossum wife, her mother and Buttergah of the flying-squirrel group. Carrying a spear about four times ordinary size, he kills solitary hunters and takes their bodies to the high dwelling. The women cook and share the flesh. These actions belong to the narrated household, not a claim about contemporary people or the real diet of eagle hawks.
The victims’ companions trace the disappearances to the tree but cannot climb it. A Bibbee and his climbing-rat companion Murrawondah secretly enter and hide a smouldering stick. After Mullyan returns, his great spear repeatedly falls; then the concealed fire breaks out. His arm burns away and the women are injured. Before they can escape, the roof falls, leaving charred bones.
The final statement nevertheless places Mullyan in the sky as Mullyangah, the morning star. A small star on one side represents his remaining arm, and a larger one on the other represents his opossum wife. The mother-in-law and Buttergah are not explicitly assigned stars in that conclusion. The account moves between bird names, humanlike household action and a celestial ending without describing a separate stage in which an ordinary eagle visibly grows human arms. Parker locates her collection among the Noongahburrah of the Narran region; no individual contributor is assigned this tale without a stated attribution.
Origins & earliest records
K. Langloh Parker, Australian Legendary Tales (1896), Mullyangah the Morning Star. Collection preface identifies the Narran-region Noongahburrah and acknowledges several contributors without attributing this tale individually.
Records & interpretation
The complete published English narrative supplies the stated events and ending. The collection is mediated by Parker’s recording and editorial framework; present-day community interpretation is not inferred from its colonial-era introduction.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Australian Legendary Tales: Mullyangah the Morning Star
Complete selected narrative; hosted digital text does not guarantee fidelity to one specified paper edition. Individual speaker not named for this story.
Family, evolution & connections
Mullyan’s two Moodai relatives — Parker’s Morning Star account
The complete Mullyangah the Morning Star narrative in Parker’s 1896 collection.
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- Elder Moodai, Mullyan’s mother-in-law
The opening distinguishes a wife from her mother, both called Moodai. The two women share a name without being one person. Mullyan is represented through the wife’s spouse annotation, not as the elder woman’s biological child. No children are stated, and Buttergah’s wider group connection is not converted into a personal pedigree.
Moodai, Mullyan’s opossum wife
The opening explicitly identifies one Moodai as Mullyan’s wife; the ending assigns her a star beside Mullyangah. The other Moodai is his mother-in-law, not a second wife.
The elder Moodai, Mullyan’s mother-in-law
A second Moodai is explicitly Mullyan’s mother-in-law. Buttergah’s distant connection is stated to a wider named group, so it does not supply a precise personal cousin relation to either woman.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary historical collected narrativeParker: Mullyangah the Morning StarResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.