You may
have heard of spring, summer, autumn and winter,
but did you know Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have their own
names and times for their seasons?
Our knowledge is unique to each community and their environment, and
has been passed down through generation to generation for over
65,000 years.
Welcome to Many Lands, Many Seasons.
We're heading to the community of Nauiyu,
Daly River
in the top
end of the Northern Territory to discover how they mark the seasons
by following the weather and the changes in behaviour of animals
and plants.
For us Aboriginal people
here in Nauiyu, Daly River
and in the Northern Territory, we've got
two seasons.
Southern states have got four.
We got the wet and the dry season,
but in between those two seasons, there are many seasons for us.
In fact,
there are 13 seasons on the Ngan'gi seasonal calendar.
And the subtle changes
observed by traditional owners within these seasons
tell them when to hunt, to fish,
and when the pick the fruit off trees.
You've got to be aware of things around you.
The seasons, the plant, which way the wind's blowing,
animals, trees that flower at certain time.
And people, everyone matters,
and without you being aware of all those things
you might not be as lucky
in being able to go and catch
whatever it is that you're going to be hunting that day.
One of the most important plants in the seasonal calendar is spear grass.
Following its cycle tells us so much
about the weather.
The start of the seasonal cycle is
when the spear grass seeds begin to shoot.
We call this season Wurr bengin tyerrfal.
We know that Misyawuni, the bush potato, is ready
for gathering, and Anganifinyi,
the echidna, and Anganfepinimbi, the rock python, are fattening up.
Then when the
Wurrmuy, spear grass seed heads, are swoolen and hanging heavily
this is Taddo - that's the sound
when the wurrmuy knock together and open up.
This means the rain is coming to an end
and the river is at its fullest.
Then it's Wudupuntyurrutu,
when the wurrmuy are puffing open, and when the river rises, it's
good time to collect fruit.
Not just fruit.
Other bush tucker, too.
We take this out here and we eat it.
We call this cabbage, bush cabbage yeah.
And we eat it.
With so many bush tucker choices out there,
it would be pretty hard to find a favourite.
My favourite bush Tucker is turtle.
Barramundi, turtle and...
Turtle and crab.
My favourite bush tucker is
turtle, barramundi and plum.
And then
when the spear grass start to die, they turn a reddish brown.
It is Wurr wirribem filgarri.
This tells us that the dry season is coming.
It's now
Wurr bengim miyerr, when the spear grass seeds start to fall.
And that big black kangaroo, Agurri,
that lives in the hills, wakes with the arrival of Ayiwisi.
The arrival of the dragonfly
not only tells us dry season is coming,
it's also a great time to hunt for fish,
especially barramundi.
All righty, I'm going fishing.
Who is coming?
Let's go!
After school today,
we went to a little creek next to Butterfly Creek
and we came here with our hand lines
and rods, fishing, looking for barramundi
and catching them.
After the barra fishing season is over and the spear grass seeds
have fallen, the electrical storms come and knock the plants down
and the spear grass is dead, dry, ready for burning.
Wirirr marrgu is the dry season and burning grass time.
This is
a good time for turtle hunting as you don't get too hot,
and also the time to collect the red lotus lily.
The dry season is followed by monsoons
and the cycle starts again.
As you can see, there are many seasons.
I wonder if you have a favourite?
My favourite
weather is dry season because I like to hang out with friends.
Go fishing, go hunting, get goose.
Go swimming.
In the dry season time we get python
and we cook it up on the fire and it's yum.
At the end of the dry season, I like to go fishing for turtle.
We like to go hunting, fishing, pigging.
I love the dry season, I do flips
fishing,
play sport, that's it!
So that's how the Nauiyu
Community mark the 13 seasons on the calendar.
Pretty deadly hey?