7/27/2019 Darug Information for the Gift

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The most ancient civilization in the world is that of the Australian Aboriginie (at least 60,000 years). Based on sustainable sharing of nature it was simple inmaterial requirements but very rich in spiritual, social and personal meaning. As our world plunges toward the extinction of natural resources and personal identitythere has never been a more important time for the message stick of the Aboriginal dreaming to be handed on. Message stick- a stick engraved with symbols toremind the messenger of the important points of the message. Walkabout A mostly lone journey of self-fulfillment and transformation that completes each initiationceremony of new knowledge. Darug-( yam eaters) Language name of the Blue Mountains Aboriginals whose land extended all the way to Botany Bay in Sydney.There was once over 250 different language groups in Australia and over 500 different dialects. None of these languages can be linked to any others in the world.The words in the funky bold font are all from the Darug language. Nangami Dyarralang- The Dreaming which is the understanding that past, present &future are the same. That man, animal & land are the same. That all these things are the same not separate. They share the same spirit. The dreaming has not diedfor some it is flourishing and for others it lies dormant waiting to be found inside of them. The rainbow serpent- She is spirit energy. Represented by water, shecreated thelandforms & she gave life to the dreaming. Baiami (creator of the cosmos) & Daramulan (son of Baiami) are special sky people whocame down from

the stars & gave us Kooris (south eastern aboriginals)the Lore (a collective wisdom that is a holistic sustainable discipline of sharing all things with dueconsideration to all things living & non living. This had to be done with; responsibility, respect and reciprocation. Corroboree- A regular ritual of song, dance andstory telling involving other clans (extended family groups approx - 60 people) to celebrate the dreaming, to foster a reverence for all things and to take advantageof sharing any seasonal abundance of important food e.g. The cicada (a large noisy insect full of protein) and the barradhun (wood grub) the highest fatcontent at 35%.Totem symbols of the clan, family and personnel were painted on your body with ochres to reinforce your connection with the plants, animals and the land. Italso showed your relationship to all your relatives which was most important. Their kinship system meant that you had many close relatives to look after youand share gifts e.g. all your mothers sisters were also your mum. Food was extremely diverse and was consumed by a sustainable system (the lore) where byplanned seasonal nomadic movement of the camp would take advantage of seasonal abundance and prevent any resources declining. Their diet was 60%vegetarian with the dyin(women) collecting most of it (yams ,berries, nectar, seeds, insects, lizards and snakes) using a colomin (wooden bowl) and a kunni(digging stick). Like all facets of Darug life food was divided up carefully according to the protocol of the lore with the choicest pieces going to the oldest.Dhulli (Men) hunted (kangeroo, emu, small marsupials, wood grubs, honey, birds and eggs) using mogo (edge ground axe), wari (spear), womra(spear thrower) boomerang and fire the most important tool. Fire was used for maintaining the land by regular burning in a rotating patchwork fashion. Thispractice insured there would always be enough cleared open woodlands with good grass cover for; camping, kangaroos, emus, songlines (pathways that lead to

ceremonial grounds that require particular songs ofpreparation) and trade routes. Since this systematic controlled burning has stopped the Australian bush nowsuffers from huge horrendous wildfires. Fire was also used for; smoking bandicoots and possums out of their holes, ceremony and keeping away mosquitoes.When it came time for decision making the elders ( people considered to be the wisest ) would sit in a circle on the ground. This was because we had no oneleader or royal family and everyone was born equal. If someone got sick we would ask theKarraji (Clever man or spiritual doctor) to fix them especially if itinvolved spirits because they had the ability to talk with them. A Karrajis apprentiship would take up to 30 years. Pemulwuy- a charismatic Darug karraji

who led a 12 year resistance to the Brittish invasion. He was eventually shot dead and his severed head was sent in a bottle to England where it remains to thisday. Within 2 years of settlement (1788) smallpox had killed more than half the Darug people. This catastrophe caused a cultural collapse. Their land was stolenand they suffered retaliatory massacres when they tried to take from the farmers crops. Within just 30 years some 50,000 years of traditional occupation of theBlue Mountains had ceased. By the late 1800s the last of the full blood Darug people had died. Recently however their descendents have formed groups suchas the Darug Custodians to bring this special spiritual culture back to life by moo-tang ngalaringi namgami dyarralang (living ourdreaming).Yanna Muru (walk your pathway) to achieve whatever you want in life. Happy walkabouts and spirit dreaming from Evan Yanna Muru.