Janbal (Quandong)
Janbal (Quandong) is good bush tucker. We gather the fruit from August to January when they are sweet and soft. The kernel of the fruit is very pretty and we often use it to make body adornments such as necklaces and earrings.
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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.
225182360785
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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Ngawiya (Sea Turtle)
In the past, sea turtles were an important food source for Kuku Yalanji people. Only men were allowed to hunt them. The men were also responsible for cooking them in a ground oven and distributing the meat to all the families.
We ate turtle meat on special occasions such as the birth of a new born baby and during funeral ceremonies. Our ancestors used the shell of sea turtles carrying, storing and serving food as well as making damper.
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Ngangkin (Echidna)
Long time ago our ancestors used to hunt echidnas for their meat and fat. The fat was used as bush medicine. They rubbed it onto sore muscles to relieve pain.
The echidna also appears as part of a rock formation on one of the high mountains of Manjal Dimbi (Mossman Gorge). The rock formation represents a number of significant Ancestral Beings in their animal form and Kubirri, a man who came to help Kuku Yalanji when they were persecuted by the evil spirit, Wurrumbu.
225182360761
Ngangkin (Echidna)
Long time ago our ancestors used to hunt echidnas for their meat and fat. The fat was used as bush medicine. They rubbed it onto sore muscles to relieve pain.
The echidna also appears as part of a rock formation on one of the high mountains of Manjal Dimbi (Mossman Gorge). The rock formation represents a number of significant Ancestral Beings in their animal form and Kubirri, a man who came to help Kuku Yalanji when they were persecuted by the evil spirit, Wurrumbu.
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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 to cook and distribute the meat to all the families. My uncles and cousins showed me how to hunt dugongs and they passed down to me the cultural knowledge about them.
My ancestors used to wrap the dugong meat in ginger leaves for flavour, close the wraps with a vine and cook them in the ground oven. Dugongs were only hunted on special occasions such as births, weddings and funerals to provide food for large family gatherings.Dugong fat was also melted to make oil which was used as a medicine for skin and hair ailments or as ointment to treat an upset stomach.
225182360759
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 to cook and distribute the meat to all the families. My uncles and cousins showed me how to hunt dugongs and they passed down to me the cultural knowledge about them.
My ancestors used to wrap the dugong meat in ginger leaves for flavour, close the wraps with a vine and cook them in the ground oven. Dugongs were only hunted on special occasions such as births, weddings and funerals to provide food for large family gatherings.Dugong fat was also melted to make oil which was used as a medicine for skin and hair ailments or as ointment to treat an upset stomach.
225182360758
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 to cook and distribute the meat to all the families. My uncles and cousins showed me how to hunt dugongs and they passed down to me the cultural knowledge about them.
My ancestors used to wrap the dugong meat in ginger leaves for flavour, close the wraps with a vine and cook them in the ground oven. Dugongs were only hunted on special occasions such as births, weddings and funerals to provide food for large family gatherings.Dugong fat was also melted to make oil which was used as a medicine for skin and hair ailments or as ointment to treat an upset stomach.
225182360757
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 to cook and distribute the meat to all the families. My uncles and cousins showed me how to hunt dugongs and they passed down to me the cultural knowledge about them.
My ancestors used to wrap the dugong meat in ginger leaves for flavour, close the wraps with a vine and cook them in the ground oven. Dugongs were only hunted on special occasions such as births, weddings and funerals to provide food for large family gatherings.Dugong fat was also melted to make oil which was used as a medicine for skin and hair ailments or as ointment to treat an upset stomach.