Mutjinga Analysis

Although Mutjinga upheld a prominent position in her society because of the power she sustained through her ability to speak with the sacred spirits Aboriginals worshiped, the story also explains her abuse and often times, egregious misuse, of this power. Because Mutjinga could speak with the spirits, she could many things which the men could not; she could “send the spirits to frighten away game, to waylay people at night, or to cause a child to be born without life.” From the beginning of the story, it becomes evident that Mutjinga has multitudes of immense power, and can exploit this power in various ways, one of which is her ability to turn into a gonna (a lizard). This ability becomes ever more prevalent when the story establishes that Mutjinga …show more content…
The granddaughter implores Mutjinga to not harm her father and brother, but Mutjinga uses her power to threaten the young girl, making a plan to trap the two men. Mutjinga says, “I crave their flesh. If you trick me again i shall eat you, as well as your father and brother.” She goes on to trick the men into burning a fire to drive the goanna out, so that they could then use their spears to kill it. However, it is Mutjinga who then turns herself and her granddaughter into goannas, and creates a hole in the ground to trap the father and his son, where she waited at the bottom with a club raised for the kill. This illustrates that Mutjinga had the power to transform into a lizard and manipulate the ground, but abused this power in order to trap the men and then eat them, all for her own gratification. Mutjinga’s egregious use of her powers, as exemplified throughout the story, portray and give reason behind the men’s attempts to relinquish her of these abilities, and give meaning and reason to the spiritual influence present in early Aboriginal