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The Tiddalik comes from Australian mythology and is connected to a popular creation myth. Specifically, this creature comes from the Australian Indigenous Dreaming Stories, which some people call ‘Dreamtime’. To be honest, I couldn’t figure out if some of these terms were correct or born from brutal colonization. That’s not what this post is about, so let’s get to the creature.
Long ago, Tiddalik the frog woke up with a great thirst. He ended up drinking every drop of freshwater in the world, which caused plants and animals to start dying. In some stories, this is what turned him from a small frog into a bloated, gigantic one. The owl suggested that they get Tiddalik to laugh and release all of the water. All of them tried and failed until an eel started dancing. He twisted his body into different shapes, which caused Tiddalik to laugh and release all of the water back into the world. Other versions have it be a platypus dancing and tumbling around to cause the laughter.
Another version has this plan resulting in a great flood, which killed many animals. A pelican set out to save as many as he could. For some reason, the story has it that he got aggressive when a human woman refused to be his bride. So, he painted his all black feathers white as a sign of war. He ended up being killed by another pelican who didn’t recognize him. Pelicans have black and white feathers in his honor. This creation myth definitely tries to cover a lot of ground.
As for Tiddalik, he shrunk to his former size, but had laughed so hard that he could only croak. It’s said that he was based on the ‘water-holding frog’, so his descendants practice every night to try and regain their voice. They also attempt to repeat what Tiddalik achieved on a smaller scale.
Another story with Tiddalik has him discovering that Echidna was hording water. After his tale, he was used an animal who despised those who kept water for themselves. So, he followed Echidna and dove into the secret stash. He also shouted that the water was for everyone even though he had lost his voice at the end of the creation myth. Either way, the other animals arrived and threw Echidna into a nearby thorn bush, which is how he got his spines.
As I stated, it is believed that Tiddalik is based off the ‘water-holding frog’. They burrow underground and only emerge during the rain to drink a lot of water, breed, and find some food. The interesting thing is that the story is usually connected to the Gunai Kurnai people, who don’t live in the water-holding frog’s territory. The two possibilities are that Tiddalik is based on a different type of frog OR the tale comes from a time thousands of years ago when this frog had a broader territory.
Like many mythological stories, the tale of Tiddalik does have a lesson. It may be two-fold this time. One is that a person shouldn’t keep all of a precious resource to themselves in a time of need. This pushes the idea that a community needs to work together to survive. It can also be a way to tell people about the water-holding frog. People would dig them up and use them as a water source during times of drought. Not a bad survival lesson to learn.
Legends of Windemere 
Wow. Kind of a nightmarrish looking creature. I’ve seen big toad-like creatures also in anime. So maybe others cultures also have this type of creature in their mythology?
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Toads are definitely a popularity myth creature. I wonder if the ones being toxic or hallucinogenic is why they appear in so much folklore.
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It might be the aborigines way of explaining why their lands changed from forests and grasslands to mostly desert (which could have happened because of the last glacial period which began about 100,000 years ago and lasted until 25,000 years ago. The Aborigines arrived in Australia about 60,000 to 70,000 years ago)
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That’s a good point. Surprised I didn’t find that theory during my search.
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A horrible-looking monster with a great mythology. I agree with Chris – mythology is created to explain the unexplainable and the Aborigines undoubtedly did this!
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Reminds me of Kipling’s ‘Just So Stories’.
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I like the idea of explaining away drought with a frog. Australian toads are enormous.
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Everything seems to be big, scary, or both there.
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That is so true.
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Yes. Everything there seems to be put to scare or kill you.
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Creation stories are so fascinating, and they often feature animals that are rather looked down upon.
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I guess they use the stories to explain why certain animals are disliked.
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It’s a cute-sounding name for a not so cute-looking animal.
Sounds as if the water hoarding frog and the desertification of Australia are the source for this monster.
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Seems that way. Wonder if Tiddalik was cuter before he drank all the water.
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Perhaps he was.
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I love this one. The visual suggests many stories, and toads are serious predators in their weight class.
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I’ve read that toads are big predators. If they can fit it in their mouth, they’ll eat it.
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