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.
G'day you mob I'm Rulla Kelly-Mansell,
I'm in
Gunbalanya, West Arnhem Land and I'm here to learn about the seasonal calendar
and why it's important to the local mob here.
So come with me!
Gunbalanya is approximately 300
kilometers east of Darwin in the Northern Territory
one of the closest towns to Kakadu National Park.
They share similar flora and fauna and both follow
the Kunwinjku seasons.
There are six seasons in the Kunwinjku seasonal calendar.
Each play a role in telling us something about country.
Kudjewk, is monsoon time.
Heavy rains, bring Kudjarr,
flooding and flowing water,
and Kunmayorrk, strong winds.
During Kudjewk,
Yukkuyukku, the fireflies, flash at night to signal the fruits are ripe
and ready to collect.
Bangkerreng is when Nakurl,
the knock ‘em down storms, come from the
east and flatten the spear grass.
In Bangkerreng,
the clouds turn orange-red and signal the time for collecting
Manimunak wirlarrk, magpie goose eggs.
Yekke, is the time when the rains
have finished. The cool wind blowing from the north-east signals
the start of the dry time. Dragonflies also tell us
Yekke is beginning.
It is beautiful that we are on country.
What season are we in at the moment?
Yekke, yekke, yeah.
And what are some things we're going to say in Yekke?
Yellow kapok,
and Woollybutt.
These two here, hey? Yes.
Helena, what's the most important part about eating food on country?
We follow the seasons,
so we know what to eat, in quantities.
Following the food chain is important so we can
eat our omega oils
in our fish, turtle and vitamins, in our plums, and yam.
It's important to us so our children can be healthy
and our old people can be healthy.
It’s been practiced from generation after generation.
And it is important for us to eat it, to keep healthy eating alive.
What are some other important things we might say here on Country?
Bush tucker.
Water lily, Water Lily
One of the edible plants
found in Gunbalanya this time of the year is the water lily.
And they are very, very nutritious.
The Barrdjungka,
seed head, of the water lily are collected to eat.
But that's not the only part you can eat.
Is this in season at the moment? Yes.
And what do you do with it when it's in season?
We eat the stem part.
What does that's like? Celery. Celery, ooh!
Can we try some?
Yes. Beautiful, tastes like the top end!
Exactlty.
Do you have a favourite season?
My favorite season is Kurrung,
where it's really dry and I go turtle hunting.
That's the time when I go out and
hunt and find lots of turtle.
I hunt with a crowbar,
not before a long time, old people used to hunt with a stick.
They still look only for the special tree
that would make, turn out to be like a digging stick
but used for looking for turtle.
Hitting the turtle in the shell, when we go searching for it in the mud.
Then we would find it , if you hit the turtle shell
and we know it's a turtle and find it.
We know the season of Wurrkeng
has arrived when the dry winds blow from the East.
Lots of Kanguybun, plants, are flowering and the native bees are busy.
After Wurrkeng comes Kurung.
The hot and dry time
where the air is pregnant from the many flowering plants.
This happens around September and October.
This is the season where the humidity builds
the clouds and wind gather together
from all directions.
I have dug
my feet into the beautiful country here in Gunbalanya.
I've enjoyed trying the local food.
I've enjoyed going to some local spots and learning some local language.
And with the local elders and the younger generations, I've learned a lot
about the seasons here in West Arnhem Land.
And I'm looking forward to coming back
and experiencing all the seasons on the Kunwinjku calendar.