In Tiwi ancestral memory Japarra is Purukaparli’s deceitful brother. He and his sister-in-law Bima become lovers, and during one of their bush rendezvous Bima and Purukaparli’s baby son dies of heatstroke, bringing mortality to the world.

Following the tragic discovery of his son’s death, Purukaparli fights his brother with the rage of grief, striking him with spears and throwing sticks. Japarra is critically injured, and flies up to become the moon, always reminding Tiwi of the life and death cycle (full moon, no moon, new moon).