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women were on their journey, Briggs was the only one to complete the ritual and return home
after the pilgrimage. Nonetheless, the author documents that the other women did not return
because they suffered an attack from the ‘selaers,’ who made the women, work for them. I find
the account puzzling since it does not explain the return of an individual out of the entire group. I
believe a majority were kidnapped because the sealers overpowered those regarding numbers and
tactics. It makes the survival of Louisa a mystery.
Conversely, the community bears the responsibility of protecting one another. As a result,
the kidnapping of the women should have facilitated a response from the men of Boonwurrung.
How would they allow the sealer to hold their women captive without reason? Besides, to
facilitate togetherness, the community should ensure that they guard one another in the best
possible ways. The absence of action and the mysterious return of an individual out of the group
of the bargguk that journeyed for the event peg questions on the integrity of the story.
However, the age of the narrator enhances the originality of the story. According to the
account, she lived for over 100 years. The period illustrates difference in lifespan between the
context of the story and the modern world. Furthermore, I find the story eccentric through when
it describes the uncertainty that the women faced when fulfilling their spiritual rites.
Nonetheless, they understood the risks but sought to proceed with their ritual (Briggs, 2008). The
devotion provides a similarity between the period and the current generation. Spiritual beliefs
and responsibilities overweigh logic in both instances. Therefore, the story is essential I
facilitating the understanding of human behavior pertaining the mystery of faith.
In the story of the Barraeemal, the author identifies the essence of division of labor.
According to the account, the barggurk, bubup, and guleeny (women, children, and men) had