Indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....

 have distinct ways of dividing the year up. Naming and understanding of season

Season

A season is a division of the year, marked by changes in weather, ecology, and hours of daylight.Seasons result from the yearly revolution of the Earth around the Sun and the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the plane of revolution...

s differed between groups, and depending on where in Australia the group lives. Below are a few examples of different groups and their seasons.

North coast — Yolngu seasons

The Yolngu

Yolngu

The Yolngu or Yolŋu are an Indigenous Australian people inhabiting north-eastern Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. Yolngu means “person” in the Yolŋu languages.-Yolŋu law:...

, Indigenous Australians of North-East Arnhem Land

Arnhem Land

The Arnhem Land Region is one of the five regions of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around 500 km from the territory capital Darwin. The region has an area of 97,000 km² which also covers the area of Kakadu National...

, identify six seasons. Europeans currently living in the Top End

Top End

The Top End of northern Australia is the second northernmost point on the continent. It covers a rather vaguely-defined area of perhaps 400,000 square kilometres behind the northern coast from the Northern Territory capital of Darwin across to Arnhem Land with the Indian Ocean on the west, the...

 identify two— the Wet

Wet season

The the wet season, or rainy season, is the time of year, covering one or more months, when most of the average annual rainfall in a region occurs. The term green season is also sometimes used as a euphemism by tourist authorities. Areas with wet seasons are dispersed across portions of the...

 and the Dry

Dry season

The dry season is a term commonly used when describing the weather in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which oscillates from the northern to the southern tropics over the course of the year...

. (Arguably, the build-up period between dry and wet is coming to be identified as a distinct third season.) The six Yolngu seasons, and their characteristics, are:

Season name	Period	Weather	Flora and fauna	Seasonal activities
Mirdawarr	Late March, April	End of wet season with scattered showers. Wind in south-east quarter but air still hot & humid.	Vegetable foods becoming plentiful. Fish numerous.	People generally sedentary & living in big camps. Nomadic movement restricted by floodwaters. Long rank grass & mosquitoes. Macassar Macassar -Places:*Makassar, a city in Indonesia**Makassar Strait, a strait in Indonesia*Macassar, Western Cape, a town in South Africa*Macassar Village, Western Cape, an informal settlement in South Africa*Macassar, Mozambique, a village in north-eastern Mozambique...  traders used to depart at this time with south-east winds. Goose-hunting expeditions into swamps. Fishing, especially large-scale communal fishing operations and drives where floodwaters receding; including basket traps in weirs, nets and the gurl in use only in the valley of the Glyde River.
Dhaarratharramirri	Late April, May, June, July, August	South-east or dry season. Wind in east and south-east		People nomadic; big wet-season camps breaking up. Systematic burning Fire-stick farming Fire-stick farming is a term coined by Australian archaeologist Rhys Jones in 1969 to describe the practice of Indigenous Australians where fire was used regularly to burn vegetation to facilitate hunting and to change the composition of plant and animal species in an area.Fire-stick farming had...  of all extensive grassed areas, communal drives for kangaroo Kangaroo A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country... , bandicoot Bandicoot Bandicoots are a group of about 20 species of small to medium-sized, terrestrial marsupial omnivores in the order Peramelemorphia.- Etymology :... s, goanna Goanna Goanna is the name used to refer to any number of Australian monitor lizards of the genus Varanus, as well as to certain species from Southeast Asia.There are around 30 species of goanna, 25 of which are found in Australia... . Fishing still important, with nets, grass barriers, in shallow waters on plains & salt pans. August to November (inclusive) is the most important period for ceremonial activities.
Rarranhdharr	September, October	Hot dry season. Hot periods towards close of dry (south-east) season. Wind chiefly north-east, lightning frequent and first thunder heard.	Stringybark Stringybark A stringybark can be any of the many Eucalyptus species which have thick, fibrous bark. Like all eucalypts, stringybarks belong to the Myrtaceae family. In exceptionally fertile locations some stringybark species A stringybark can be any of the many Eucalyptus species which have thick, fibrous...  in flower.	Nomadic activities lessen after burning of grass. Poisoning of fish in waters now concentrated by evaporation. Fish spearing continues in estuarine & coastal waters. Important ceremonial time.
Worlmamirri	Late October, November, December	The 'nose of the wet season', with or bringing thunder - late October. Period of maximum heat and humidity immediately before the rain season, characterised by violent thunder storms of increasing frequency.		Nomadic activities much restricted. People generally in camps near permanent water.
Baarramirri	Late December, January	Short season with wind in north-west; breaking of the wet. Also called munydjutjmirri from the fruit of munydjutj. Two kinds of north-west wind recognised: (i) Baarra yindi, the big, or gurrkamirri (male), baarra; (ii) Baarra nyukukurniny, the small, or dhuykun (female), baarra. The first refers to the more boisterous north-west gales, the second to the gentler breezes from the north-west.		Macassar fleets used to arrive with north-west winds (baarra) and disperse to regular sites for trepang fishing. People concentrated in wet season camps leading almost sedentary life. Inland travel restricted by floods and dense growth of rank grass.
Gurnmul or Waltjarnmirri	January, February, March	Wet season proper. Two phases, the first, girritjarra is again subdivided into three.		People concentrated in camps. Inland travel restricted by floods.

Central — Anangu Pitjantjajara seasons

The Anangu

Anangu

Anangu, more accurately "Aṉaŋu" or "Arnangu" is a word found in a number of eastern varieties of the Western Desert Language , an Australian Aboriginal language of the Pama–Nyungan family, spoken in the desert regions of western and central Australia. Before the arrival of non-Aboriginal people in...

 Pitjantjatjara of northern South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

 and the southern part of the Northern Territory

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

, live in Central Australia

Central Australia

Central Australia/Alice Springs Region is one of the five regions in the Northern Territory. The term Central Australia is used to describe an area centred on Alice Springs in Australia. It is sometimes referred to as Centralia; likewise the people of the area are sometimes called Centralians...

. Where white people name four seasons here, they name more. Examples of some of their seasons include.

Season name	Period	Weather	Flora and fauna	Seasonal activities
Wanitjunkupai	April, May	The beginning of the cold weather. Tjuntalpa (clouds) start around April but usually don't bring rain. They come from the south, brought mainly by westerly winds, and sit low over the hills till late in the day.	Reptiles hibernate. (Wanitjunkupai literally means "hibernate").
Wari	Late May, June, July	The cold time when there is nyinnga (frost) and kulyakulyarpa (mist or dew) every morning, but little rain.
Piriyakutu/ Piriya-Piriya	~August, September	This is when the priya comes – a warm steady wind from the north and west.	Animals breed. Food plants flower, fruit and seed. Hibernating reptiles come out and the honey grevillea Grevillea Grevillea is a diverse genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the protea family Proteaceae, native to Australia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, and Sulawesi. It was named in honour of Charles Francis Greville. The species range from prostrate shrubs less than 0.5 m tall to trees...  is in bloom.	A good time for hunting malu (kangaroo).
Mai Wiyaringkupai / Kuli	~December	Hottest season. Ngangkali (storm clouds) and wangangara (lightning), but little rain. Lighting strikes can start fires.	Not much food around at this time.
Itjanu / Inuntjji	January, February, March	Utuwari (overcast clouds) usually bring rain.	Food plants flower. If rains are good there is plenty of fruit and seed.

South-west coast — Noongar (Whadjuk) seasons

Season name (Whadjuk Whadjuk Whadjuk, also called Wadjuk, Whajook and Wadjug, is the name according to Norman Tindale for the Aboriginal group inhabiting the Western Australian region of the Perth bioregion of the Swan Coastal Plain, and extending below Walyunga into the surrounding Jarrah Forests... /Perth Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....  Noongar Noongar The Noongar are an indigenous Australian people who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the south coast... )	Period	Weather	Flora and fauna	Seasonal activities
Bunuru	February, March	Hot, dry, easterly and north winds.	Fish — tailor Bluefish The bluefish , called tailor in Australia, is a species of popular marine gamefish found in all climates. It is the sole species of the Pomatomidae family....  and mullet Mullet (fish) The mullets or grey mullets are a family and order of ray-finned fish found worldwide in coastal temperate and tropical waters, and in some species in fresh water. Mullets have served as an important source of food in Mediterranean Europe since Roman times...  — in shallow water. Macrozamia riedlei Macrozamia riedlei Macrozamia riedlei is a species of plant in the Zamiaceae family. It is endemic to Western Australia.Found on lateritic soils and in Jarrah forests.... fruiting. Wattle (Acacia Acacia Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not... ) and banksia Banksia Banksia is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting "cones" and heads. When it comes to size, banksias range from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up...  in blossom.	Trapping fish (coasts and estuaries). Collecting kooyal (frog Frog Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail... s), marron Marron Marron is a name given to two closely related species of crayfish in Western Australia. Formerly considered a single species, it is now thought to comprise two species, the critically endangered Cherax tenuimanus, and the species which is outcompeting it, Cherax cainii.Marron make excellent eating,... , gilgies (freshwater crayfish), tortoise Tortoise Tortoises are a family of land-dwelling reptiles of the order of turtles . Like their marine cousins, the sea turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace, the underside is the plastron, and the two are connected by the bridge. The tortoise... s from wetlands. Climbing trees for possum Possum A possum is any of about 70 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi .Possums are quadrupedal diprotodont marsupials with long tails... s. Collecting Macrozamia Macrozamia Macrozamia is a genus of 38-40 species of cycads, in the family Zamiaceae, endemic to Australia. The majority of the species occur in eastern Australia in southeast Queensland and New South Wales, with one species in the Macdonnell Ranges of Northern Territory and three in southern Western...  fruit and removing toxin. Pounding the horizontal rhizome Rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes... s of the bulrush Bulrush -Wetland plants:* Bolboschoenus, a genus in the sedge family * Cyperus, a genus in the sedge family * Scirpus, a genus in the sedge family * Schoenoplectus, a genus in the sedge family... (Typha domingensis Typha domingensis Typha domingensis Pers., also known as Southern Cattail or Cumbungi, is a perennial herbaceous plant of genus Typha.It is found throughout temperate and tropical regions worldwide... ) into a cake and roasting it. Collecting the bulb of Haemodorum spicatum and roasting for a spice Spice A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours... . Collecting wattle and banksia blossoms and various roots.
Djeran	April, May	Cooling, south-west winds.		Group fishing at lakes and weirs (inland). Continued fishing at estuaries. Collecting edible bulbs and seeds.
Makuru	June, July	Cold, rain, westerly gales.	Kuljak (Black Swan Black Swan The Black Swan is a large waterbird, a species of swan, which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. The species was hunted to extinction in New Zealand, but later reintroduced. Within Australia they are nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon climatic... s) begin moulting, making them unable to fly.	Moving inland to hunt, when the watershed Drainage basin A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean... s fill. Hunting Kuljak (Black Swans). Collecting Tribonanthus tuber Tuber Tubers are various types of modified plant structures that are enlarged to store nutrients. They are used by plants to survive the winter or dry months and provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing season and they are a means of asexual reproduction... s. Keeping warm by holding smouldering Bull Banksia branches (Banksia grandis Banksia grandis Banksia grandis, commonly known as Bull Banksia, Giant Banksia or Mangite, is a common and distinctive tree in South West Western Australia.... ) beneath bookas (skin cloaks).
Djilba	August, September	Warming.		Collecting roots (meen and djakat). Digging out Platysace cirrosa tubers from under wandoo Wandoo Wandoo is the common name for a number of Western Australian Eucalyptus species, all of which have smooth white bark.The original "wandoo" is Eucalyptus wandoo. Other species have been given this name because of a perceived likeness with E. wandoo... . Hunting of waitch (emu Emu The Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the largest bird native to Australia and the only extant member of the genus Dromaius. It is the second-largest extant bird in the world by height, after its ratite relative, the ostrich. There are three subspecies of Emus in Australia... s), quenda (Southern Brown Bandicoot Southern Brown Bandicoot The Southern Brown Bandicoot , also known as the Quenda from the local Noongar tongue from South Western Australia, is a short-nosed bandicoot found mostly in southern Australia.... ), yonga (kangaroos), koormul (possums).
Kambarang	October, November	Rain lessening.	Astroloma Astroloma Astroloma is an endemic Australian genus of around 20 species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae.The majority of the species are endemic in Western Australia, but a few species occur in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.... and Desert Quandong (Santalum acuminatum Santalum acuminatum Santalum acuminatum, the desert quandong, is a hemiparasitic plant in the Sandalwood family Santalaceae, widely dispersed throughout the central deserts and southern areas of Australia.... ) fruiting.	Movement to the coast. Sweet gum gathered by removing the bark from the moodjar or WA Christmas Tree (Nuytsia floribunda). Collection of yam Yam (vegetable) Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea . These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania... s (Dioscorea hastifolia and Platysace cirrosa). Collection of eggs from waterfowl Waterfowl Waterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, geese, and swans....  and other birds. Catching of yaarkin (tortoises), kooyal (frogs), gilgie (freshwater crayfish). Trapping of possums and kangaroos.
Birak	December, January	Hot, dry, daytime easterly breezes, late afternoon south-west sea breezes.	Banksia in flower.	Gathering banksia flowers for honey. Catching bronzewing pigeon Bronzewing pigeon The bronzewing pigeons are a group of pigeons native to Australia which have distinctive iridescent wing patches that appear bronze or green-brown in dull light, but flash in many bright colours in the sun as the bird moves.... s. Controlled burning for hunting, and to assist regrowth.

Source: Swan River System, Landscape Description (Report No 27/28 1997), 6. Resource Inventory, 6.2 Cultural Context pp41–42 Lisa Chalmers (Waterways Management Planning, Water and Rivers Commission

Water and Rivers Commission

The Water and Rivers Commission is a defunct agency of the Government of Western Australia. Established on 1 January 1996. It was set up under the Water and Rivers Commission Act 1995, to administer the Act and other legislation relevant to development and conservation of Western Australia's water...

), for the Swan River Trust. The section references Hunters And Gatherers, Landscope Volume 8, 1, 31–35, (P. Bindon & T. Walley, 1993) and Broken Spears: Aboriginals and Europeans in the South West of Australia, Perth: Focus (N. Green, 1984). Portal page for the entire report. Retrieved 9 June 2007.

See also: Noongar seasons

External links

• Indigenous Weather Knowledge — Bureau of Meteorology (Australia)

Sources

• Thomson, D., & Peterson, N., 1983, Donald Thomson
  Donald Thomson
  Donald Fergusson Thomson, OBE was an Australian anthropologist and ornithologist who was largely responsible for turning the Caledon Bay crisis into a "decisive moment in the history of Aboriginal-European relations." He is remembered as a friend of the Yolngu people, and as a champion of...
  
   in Arnhem Land, Miegunyah Press, Melbourne. Revised ed. publ. 2003, ISBN 0-522-85063-4, pp172–3.
• Uluru—Kata Tjuta National Park Visitor guide, Welcome to Aboriginal land, Colemans Printing, Darwin, January 2006, pp24–25.