Status: Stock Laurence Gibson, Diwan (Scrub Turkey) In Kuku Yalanji language we call scrub turkey ‘Diwan’. When I was a young man I used to take my sons out hunting Diwan in the rainforest. We used to hunt them with a spear and cook them traditionally over an open fire. Diwan Read more…
Status: Stock Margaret Rocky, Ngunyin (Dillybag) Design Dillybags played a vital part in Kuku Yalanji culture. Women used them to carry food when out hunting and gathering or soak bitter yams in creeks before cooking them. Dillybags were also used to hold personal and sacred items.
Status: Stock Lorna Shuan, Birmba (White Cockatoo) Birmba (White Cockatoo) is my family totem. It has been passed down from generation to generation. They always remind me of my grandfather, my sister and other family members who have passed on. White Cockatoos are like protective spirits for me and my Read more…
Status: Stock Lorna Shuan, Kurriyala (Carpet Snake) The carpet snake used to be an important food animal for our ancestors. They wrapped the meat in native ginger leaves and cooked it on the hot coals of the ground oven. They also used the skin to make head bands or skillfully sewed Read more…
Status: Stock Vanessa Cannon, Makarr (Fish Trap) Fish traps are called Makarr in our language. They were made by men only. Our fathers and uncles used to make them with the lawyer vine. They stripped the stems and then soaked them in the river to keep them soft and bendy. They Read more…
Status: Stock Karen Shuan, 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 Read more…
Status: Stock Laurence Gibson, Kirbaji (Dugong) Kirbaji (Dugong) is an Ancestral Spirit Being (Totem) that I inherited it from my mother’s side. It is my Totem. The dugong was also an important food source for my ancestors. Only men were allowed to hunt them, and only men had the right Read more…
Status: Stock Margaret Rocky, Ngunyin (Dillybag) Design Dillybags played a vital part in Kuku Yalanji culture. Women used them to carry food when out hunting and gathering or soak bitter yams in creeks before cooking them. Dillybags were also used to hold personal and sacred items.
Status: Stock David Bosun Dugongs are usually able to reproduce by the age of nine or ten years though/ sometime not until as late as 15 years. A female Dugong can only have one calf every 3-7 year and the pregnancy lasts 12-14 months. to keep the new born calf Read more…
Status: Stock Solomon Booth Dhangal Urgnu Tidiak relates to the herd of dugong moving between feeding grounds when the tide is right.