May 2025

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Kakan (Black Palm) Dillybag.

Our ancestors used Kakan (Black Palm) dilly bags to carry food when out hunting and gathering or soak bitter yams in creeks before cooking them. They were also used to hold personal items.

When I was a young girl my grandmother would teach me how to make Black Palm dillybags. We used to set up camp with other Kuku Yalanji women at a creek near Helenvale. It is very hard work. The men would help us cutting down the palm trees and separate the crownshaft from the trunk and the leaves. Then the women used to peel away the outer leaves until they felt strong threads they could pull out. They cleaned these threads from pulp with a mussel shell. When we moved away from Helenvale I forgot how to make them. Luckily years later I asked a relative of mine, Wilma Walker, who is great weaver, if she could refresh my memories. From then on I kept making dillybags as long as my health allowed it. I really enjoyed making them.

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Warru Warru Murruku (Men’s Business)

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Warru Warru Murruku (Men’s Business)

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Diwan (Scrub Turkey)

Many years ago, our ancestors lived in harmony with the rainforest and other parts of the land, they knew many different ways of hunting and gathering for food. Diwan (Scrub Turkey) was an important food source for us. The women used to collect the eggs in a special way. They danced around the big nests while other women dived into the big nest with their arms. The eggs are found very deep down, in the warmest area of the nest. Diwan (Scrub turkey) is deeply connected with the Kuku Yalanji clans. It is an important Totem that is still sung and danced in public ceremonies today.

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Kurranji (Cassowary)

The cassowary is one of the major totems (Ancestral Spirit Beings) for our Kuku Yalanji people. He is a big, dangerous bird that rules the rainforest. The cassowwary can attack people but at the same time he helps growing many of the plants we used to collect for food, medicine and tool making.

I inherited the Cassowary Totem and all the cultural stories relating to it from my mother’s side. When I was four years old, my mum taught me how to dance the story of the female cassowary, who is protecting the chicks and the eggs from the carpet snake and goanna.

As a young women, I took on the role of my mum and began teaching our cultural dances to the younger generation at the Mossman Gorge community as well as children that live in Mossman town. I still do this today.

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Yindili (Kingfisher)

The Kingfisher, known as Yindili in Kuku Yalanji language, is according to our culture one of the significant messenger birds.  The Kingfisher will let us know when to expect a visit from families living in another community, And when we see a Kingfisher close by, we know that something good will soon happen in our personal life.

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Yindili (Kingfisher)

The Kingfisher, known as Yindili in Kuku Yalanji language, is according to our culture one of the significant messenger birds.  The Kingfisher will let us know when to expect a visit from families living in another community, And when we see a Kingfisher close by, we know that something good will soon happen in our personal life.

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Kudi (Barramundi)

Kudi (Barramundi) is of great cultural importance for our Kuku Yalanji families. It is a major food source for us. We hunt them when they are fat. Kudi (Barramundi) is also one of a group of totem names that our elders give to a newborn child of the younger generation. A child who receives, for example,  Kudi (Barramundi), as a totem name will be protected by the barramundi’s spirit their entire life.

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Ngujay (Freshwater Turtle)