Bäru | Victoria Olt

In the Dreaming, Bäru was once a man of great authority, keeper of sacred knowledge and bound by ancient law. He lived among his people, but his power made him proud, and his temper was fierce. In some tellings, he was wronged, betrayed by kin or disrespected during a sacred act. In others, his transformation was a deliberate choice, a way to embody the strength and danger he carried within.

One day, overcome by rage or resolve, Bäru waded into the water, his skin rippling and hardening, his body stretching and reshaping. His jaw lengthened into a snout, his teeth sharpened into weapons, and scales formed where skin had once been. The man vanished, replaced by the first crocodile.

From then on, Bäru lived in the rivers and billabongs, a spirit of both protection and punishment. To see him was to be reminded of the law; its strength, its dangers, and the consequences of crossing it. People feared his bite but honored his presence, for he had become part of the land and water, a living ancestor whose power endures in every crocodile today.