DJABUGAY PEOPLE

The BULURRU ancestors " put" things in place, creating all the different varieties of rna: and minya (non-flesh and flesh foods) for the people's sustenance and showing them how to procure them.

 

The ANCESTORS endowed the people with the material culture which mediated their survival as hunters and gatherers.

 

THEY had the knowledge of how to make weapons, traps, tools, utensils, shelters and so on, the techniques for hunting various types of game and for preparing a diversity of food-stuffs, including some like BADIL the cycad nut and YIWURRA the black bean that are dangerously toxic unless processed correctly.

 

ANCESTORS endowed the people with a way of life founded on an intimate knowledge of the environment, knowing where to find sustenance at different times of the year.

Traditional fire-stick

 

Following up the country's seasonal resources the DJABUGANYDJI followed in the tracks of their ancestors who had revealed the way to them and established the laws and customs of social life.

 

The BULURRU ancestors instituted the social institutions that regulated marriage, enabling society to reproduce itself, the Law which guided it and the aesthetic by which that life was celebrated in art, song and dance.