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The perentie man and the tjilkamata woman (goanna and echidna)

The Perentie man walked all the way from Warburton, Western Australia to Wattaru in South Australia to meet and marry his promised wife the Echidna woman. After they were married they started to head back to the man’s country in the west with the echidna woman walking at a distance from her husband. Even though they were married at every camp the Echidna woman sat with her legs crossed and slept away from her new husband on the other side of the camp fire.

When they reached the sand hill country south of Winboll the husband raped the echidna woman on a rock in the middle of a sand dune and inflicted a deep wound from which she bled profusely. Afterwards the man continued walking until reaching the limestone country where he looked back expecting to see his wife, but she had bled to death at the rock. From then on the rock stained the sand red with her blood.

Janet Forbes said they can’t find that rock and the rock hole at the bottom anymore. She thinks it has been covered in sand or vegetation.