Bamanga Bubu Ngadimunku Aboriginal Corporation

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Kurranji (Cassowary)

The cassowary is one of the most important animals for our Kuku Yalanji people. The cassowary is the boss of the rainforest. He is dangerous but he also helps grow many of the plants we used to collect for food, medicine and tool making.

How does he do this? He eats many different fruits, digests them in his stomach, and then drops his dung mixed with the leftover seeds onto the ground. This way seeds grow into new plants wherever he walks. This helped us Kuku Yalanji in the past to survive.

The cassowary is a spirit bird and celebrated to this day in public ceremonies with song and dance. You must be very careful of them because they can attack. Never feed them. You must always be alert when walking in the rainforest.

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Yinjul (Rainforest Parrot)

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Diwan (Scrub Turkey)

Diwan are bush food – an important source of meat. We also eat the eggs. They are a delicacy. The male bird looks after the nest and will not go far, as he has to protect the nest from bush goanna’s. If they come around, he will send out an alarm call to other Diwan to alert therm. The nesting time for Diwan is September to December. The bush goanna knows when the eggs will be ready to hatch. When the goannas start hanging around, this is a good sign that the eggs are ready. We dig for eggs with digging sticks or by hand. The nest is very deep and when you can feel the warmth with your hands, you know that the eggs are close-by. The eggs are very good for health and make you strong.

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Yinjul (Rainforest Parrot)

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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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Jarruka Bulka (Scrubfowl Nest)

Jarruka Bulka (Scrubfowl Nest) and the Diwan Bulka (Brush Turkey Nest) is essential to the survival of our hunting and gathering practices, as the women and girls collect the eggs from these nests, every season.The Jarruka Bulka is more sought after and is the larger of these nests.

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Kubarr (Freshwater Eel)

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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 blankets to keep the families warm and dry at night.

The carpet snake also has spiritual significance for me.  I inherited the carpet snake Totem and related cultural knowledge from my father’s side. According to our Kuku Yalanji creation stories, the carpet snake was an Ancestral Being that travelled in its human form across the country creating waterways wherever it went, including on my father’s clan lands.

In my upbringing I was taught to respect our elders who prepared me for my future role as carrier of cultural knowledge and spiritual traditions. I was also taught the values of taking responsibility for caring for our traditional clan country and help maintain it for the younger generations so they can become strong leaders.

Art is my way of keeping the cultural knowledge of my ancestors alive and passing it down to my children and grandchildren. Sharing this body of knowledge creates strong family ties and gives me my strength.

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Walkarr (Bush Goanna)

Walkar (Bush Goanna) is found in eastern and western Yalanji land both in rainforest country and inland plains. Walkarr was an important food source to our Kuku Yalanji ancestors. Goannas are great tree climbers and sometimes hard to catch.
Walkarr was hunted with spears and brought back to prepare and cook in earth ovens or over a fire. Once it was cooked it was laid on paperbark and a mussel shell was used to scrape the outside of the skin and to cut up the meat to share. The oil from the Walkarr was also used as a liniment and to make cooking oil.