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Master of the Ghost Dreaming: A Novel
In the first years of the 19th century a small Aboriginal tribe reels under the threat of white invasion of their ancestral lands. Fada, a missionary from London, is attempting to impose a Christian God over their ancient beliefs. Fada and his wife Mada bring with them disease and despair, along with a message of hope - the result of their own Cockney dreaming.
This novel by Mudrooroo Nyoongah (Colin Johnson), author of the acclaimed Wild Cat Falling, is a story of survival - physical, metaphysical and magical. It is also the story of Jangamuttuk, the custodian of the Ghost Dreaming, and his shamanistic efforts to will his tribe back to its own promised land.
This novel by Mudrooroo Nyoongah (Colin Johnson), author of the acclaimed Wild Cat Falling, is a story of survival - physical, metaphysical and magical. It is also the story of Jangamuttuk, the custodian of the Ghost Dreaming, and his shamanistic efforts to will his tribe back to its own promised land.
- GenresFiction
148 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
100 people want to read
About the author
Mudrooroo
30 books10 followersBorn Colin Johnson in 1938, Mudrooroo grew up in institutions without his parents, before becoming a petty criminal and spending time in Fremantle Prison.
From the 1950s to the 1970s, Mudrooroo spent time living in India, the United States, and the UK, during which time he published his early novels, including "Wild Cat Falling", a political novel drawing on his own experiences as a former convict without a sense of purpose.
On returning to Australia in the late 1970s, Mudrooroo began a full-time career as a writer, lecturer, and literary advocate, publishing several volumes examining the loneliness and isolation of Australian life, with a focus on Indigenous Australian existence. By the 1990s, he added speculative fiction and young adult fiction to his repertoire. He was recognised as one of the most well-known Indigenous writers in the country, at a time when Indigenous literature was finally gaining recognition in the country.
In 1996, however, journalists revealed that Mudrooroo had no Indigenous ancestry. His background was English and African-American, and his family did not view themselves as Aboriginal. In the resulting furore, Mudrooroo argued that he had been treated as Aboriginal due to his dark skin, and had in many ways lived an Aboriginal life. The scandal divided observers: some felt that Mudrooroo's contribution to Aboriginal writing, and his identification with Australia's First Peoples, gave him some claims of kinship. Many others felt that he had used stories that were not his, and actively lied, at a time when Aboriginal authenticity and identity were already under attack from white nationalists and cultural conservatives.
Although he published some final volumes through to the year 2000, Mudrooroo's reputation was sullied and he subsequently left Australia for Nepal. His writings have largely vanished from the school curriculum, with the prevailing cultural attitude of the modern era that Indigeneity comes from bloodlines and acceptance by the broader Indigenous community, rather than from self-identification.
In 2011, Mudrooroo returned to Australia with his wife and son, publishing a semi-autobiographical novel "Balga Boy Jackson" in 2017. He died in Brisbane in 2019.
From the 1950s to the 1970s, Mudrooroo spent time living in India, the United States, and the UK, during which time he published his early novels, including "Wild Cat Falling", a political novel drawing on his own experiences as a former convict without a sense of purpose.
On returning to Australia in the late 1970s, Mudrooroo began a full-time career as a writer, lecturer, and literary advocate, publishing several volumes examining the loneliness and isolation of Australian life, with a focus on Indigenous Australian existence. By the 1990s, he added speculative fiction and young adult fiction to his repertoire. He was recognised as one of the most well-known Indigenous writers in the country, at a time when Indigenous literature was finally gaining recognition in the country.
In 1996, however, journalists revealed that Mudrooroo had no Indigenous ancestry. His background was English and African-American, and his family did not view themselves as Aboriginal. In the resulting furore, Mudrooroo argued that he had been treated as Aboriginal due to his dark skin, and had in many ways lived an Aboriginal life. The scandal divided observers: some felt that Mudrooroo's contribution to Aboriginal writing, and his identification with Australia's First Peoples, gave him some claims of kinship. Many others felt that he had used stories that were not his, and actively lied, at a time when Aboriginal authenticity and identity were already under attack from white nationalists and cultural conservatives.
Although he published some final volumes through to the year 2000, Mudrooroo's reputation was sullied and he subsequently left Australia for Nepal. His writings have largely vanished from the school curriculum, with the prevailing cultural attitude of the modern era that Indigeneity comes from bloodlines and acceptance by the broader Indigenous community, rather than from self-identification.
In 2011, Mudrooroo returned to Australia with his wife and son, publishing a semi-autobiographical novel "Balga Boy Jackson" in 2017. He died in Brisbane in 2019.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 13, 2021
excellent. looking forward to his book Wild Cat Falling, which was actually the title recommended to me for this author, but I’m still waiting to get a used copy of.
October 28, 2022
Mudrooroo's use of magical realism in this story really brought alive a concept I have previously struggled with in Aboriginal storytelling, where different times (past, present and future) and different places (within conventional geography and within the dreamtime) all exist at the same time. The seamless movement between different realms was easier to understand and, once I settled into accepting the transitions, it made for smooth reading. I hasten to add that it won't be changing my usual reading preferences for more realistic here and now stories. This technique, together with other aspects of the story, such as the juxtaposition between the Christian minister and the Sharman, highlighted the vast cultural gulf between the first Australians and the white settlers. The story recounts an incident from the early settlement of Tasmania from an indigenous perspective and it certainly added a whole new perspective on colonisation. The book is only short, but it raises lots of issues for a reader to consider and delivers a satisfying ending. If only the real world had delivered better endings, I'm sure our country would be a better place today.
August 2, 2015
I first read this in University as part of an Aboriginal Literature course and fell in love with this story then. It's not a fairly tragic tale, but the resolution at the end is more than satisfactory. The difficult part of the story is in understanding dreamtime and the dreamtime companions. It's almost as though there is a place between sleeping and waking that the aboriginal characters can roam with the aid of their animal companions that are larger than life. I remember my classmates finding this very difficult to grasp because, like a dream, it isn't tangible or logical. You have to simply 'go with it.' I somehow accepted what was on the page as true, though not entirely clear and was taken away on their journey.
The story isn't anything new - white man comes in and tries to convert the aboriginals while diseases they had never been exposed to ends up killing scores of them in process. They 'submit' in order to find peace - but the way that it is told is fresh, bringing with it the horror of the situation and also a touch of comedy as we get to see the white people or ghosts through the eyes of the natives. With these shifts in point of view we get to see the situation from many different angles and see how everyone believes that they are in the right. The real gem was Jangamuttuk who bides his time, always working on his plan to take care of his people.
The characters and their various plights remained with me for years and rereading it this year has only made me feel the need to read it more often. I think that every time I read it, the dreamtime will become clearer and clearer.
When the book ends you can't help but wonder what your dreamtime companion would be.
The story isn't anything new - white man comes in and tries to convert the aboriginals while diseases they had never been exposed to ends up killing scores of them in process. They 'submit' in order to find peace - but the way that it is told is fresh, bringing with it the horror of the situation and also a touch of comedy as we get to see the white people or ghosts through the eyes of the natives. With these shifts in point of view we get to see the situation from many different angles and see how everyone believes that they are in the right. The real gem was Jangamuttuk who bides his time, always working on his plan to take care of his people.
The characters and their various plights remained with me for years and rereading it this year has only made me feel the need to read it more often. I think that every time I read it, the dreamtime will become clearer and clearer.
When the book ends you can't help but wonder what your dreamtime companion would be.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews