Kulin
Encyclopedia
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, prior to European settlement. Their collective territory extended to around Port Phillip
Port Phillip
Port Phillip Port Phillip Port Phillip (also commonly referred to as Port Phillip Bay or (locally) just The Bay, is a large bay in southern Victoria, Australia; it is the location of Melbourne. Geographically, the bay covers and the shore stretches roughly . Although it is extremely shallow for...
and Western Port
Western Port
Western Port, is sometimes called "Western Port Bay", is a large tidal bay in southern Victoria, Australia opening into Bass Strait. It is the second largest bay in Victoria. Geographically, it is dominated by the two large islands; French Island and Phillip Island. Contrary to its name, it lies to...
, up into the Great Dividing Range
Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the third longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through...
and the Loddon and Goulburn River
Goulburn River (Victoria)
The Goulburn River is a major inland river in Victoria, Australia.The headwaters of the Goulburn River rise in the western end of the Victoria Alps, near Mount Buller. The Eildon Dam creates Lake Eildon, a major storage of water for irrigation...
valleys. To their east lived the Gunai
Gunai
The Gunai or Kurnai is an Indigenous Australian nation of south-east Australia whose territory occupied most of present-day Gippsland and much of the southern slopes of the Victorian Alps. The nation was not on friendly terms with the neighbouring Wurundjeri and Bunurong nations...
/Kurnai people of Gippsland. Five distinct languages were spoken in two groups. The Eastern Kulin group includes Woiwurrung, Bunurong, Taungurong, Ngurai-illam-wurrung. The western language group included just Wathaurung.
Nations
- Woiwurrung (Woy-wur-rung) – The WurundjeriWurundjeriThe Wurundjeri are a people of the Indigenous Australian nation of the Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin alliance, who occupy the Birrarung Valley, its tributaries and the present location of Melbourne, Australia...
People - Boonerwrung (Bun-er-rong) – The BunurongBunurongThe Bunurong are Indigenous Australians of the Kulin nation, who occupy South-Central Victoria, Australia. Prior to European settlement, they lived as all people of the Kulin nation lived, sustainably on the land, predominantly as hunters and gatherers, for tens of thousands of years...
or Boonerwrung People - Wathaurong (Wath-er-rong) – The Wathaurong People
- Daungwurrung (Tung-ger-rong) – The TaungurongTaungurongThe Taungurong people, also known as the Daung Wurrung, were nine clans who spoke the Daungwurrung language and were part of the Kulin alliance of indigenous Australians. They lived to the north of and were closely associated with the Woiwurrung speaking Wurundjeri people...
People - Dja Dja Wrung (Jar-Jar wrung) – The Dja Dja WurrungDja Dja WurrungDja Dja Wurrung, also known as the Jaara people and Loddon River tribe, is a native Aboriginal tribe which occupied the watersheds of the Loddon and Avoca Rivers in the Bendigo region of central Victoria, Australia. They were part of the Kulin alliance of tribes. There were 16 clans, which adhered...
or Jaara People
Diplomacy
When foreign people passed through or were invited onto tribal lands, the ceremony of TanderrumTanderrum
A tanderrum is a ceremony enacted by the nations of the Kulin people and other Victorian aboriginal nations allowing safe passage and temporary access and use of land and resources by foreign people...
– freedom of the bush – would be performed. This allowed safe passage and temporary access and use of land and resources by foreign people. It was a diplomatic rite involving the landholder's hospitality and a ritual exchange of gifts.
Languages
- Woiwurrung: spoken from Mount Baw BawMount Baw BawMount Baw Baw is a mountain in Victoria, Australia. Mount Baw Baw Alpine Resort is an Unincorporated area of Victoria surrounded by the Shire of Baw Baw.-Location:...
in the east to Mount Macedon, Sunbury and Gisborne in the west. The Wurrundjeri-willam were a clan who occupied the Yarra RiverYarra RiverThe Yarra River, originally Birrarung, is a river in east-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river is where the city of Melbourne was established in 1835 and today Greater Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches...
and its tributaries. Referred to initially by Europeans as the Yarra Yarra tribe. Other Woiwurrung clans include the Marin-Bulluk, Kurung-Jang-Bulluk, Wurundjeri-Balluk, Balluk-willam. WurundjeriWurundjeriThe Wurundjeri are a people of the Indigenous Australian nation of the Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin alliance, who occupy the Birrarung Valley, its tributaries and the present location of Melbourne, Australia...
is now the common term for descendants of all the Woiwurrung clans.
- Bunurong: spoken by six clans along the coast from the Werribee River, across the Mornington PeninsulaMornington PeninsulaThe Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south-east of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geographically, the peninsula begins its protrusion...
, Western PortWestern PortWestern Port, is sometimes called "Western Port Bay", is a large tidal bay in southern Victoria, Australia opening into Bass Strait. It is the second largest bay in Victoria. Geographically, it is dominated by the two large islands; French Island and Phillip Island. Contrary to its name, it lies to...
Bay to Wilsons PromontoryWilsons Promontory National ParkWilsons Promontory National Park, commonly known as Wilsons Prom or The Prom, is a national park in the Gippsland region of Victoria , 157 km southeast of Melbourne....
. Referred to by Europeans as the Western Port or Port Philip tribe. The Yalukit-willam clan occupied the thin coastal strip from Werribee, to Williamstown. BunurongBunurongThe Bunurong are Indigenous Australians of the Kulin nation, who occupy South-Central Victoria, Australia. Prior to European settlement, they lived as all people of the Kulin nation lived, sustainably on the land, predominantly as hunters and gatherers, for tens of thousands of years...
is now the common term used to describe all the people of this language group.
- Daungwurrung language : spoken north of the Great Dividing Range in the Goulburn River Valley around Mansfield, Benalla and Heathcote. Referred to by Europeans as the Goulburn River tribe. TaungurongTaungurongThe Taungurong people, also known as the Daung Wurrung, were nine clans who spoke the Daungwurrung language and were part of the Kulin alliance of indigenous Australians. They lived to the north of and were closely associated with the Woiwurrung speaking Wurundjeri people...
is now the common term used to describe all the people of this language group.
- Ngurai-illam-wurrung : spoken by the 16 clans of the Jaara or Dja Dja WurrungDja Dja WurrungDja Dja Wurrung, also known as the Jaara people and Loddon River tribe, is a native Aboriginal tribe which occupied the watersheds of the Loddon and Avoca Rivers in the Bendigo region of central Victoria, Australia. They were part of the Kulin alliance of tribes. There were 16 clans, which adhered...
people around MurchisonMurchison, VictoriaMurchison is a small rural village located on the Goulburn River in Victoria, Australia. Murchison is located 167 kilometres from Melbourne and is just to the west of the Goulburn Valley Highway between Shepparton and Nagambie. The surrounding countryside contains orchards, vineyards and dairy...
, the central highlands region, east to Kyneton, west to the Pyrenees, north to Boort and south to the Great Dividing Range. Referred to by Europeans as the Broken River tribe or Loddon Aborigines.
- Wautharong: spoken by 15 clans south of the Werribee River and the Bellarine PeninsulaBellarine PeninsulaThe Bellarine Peninsula is a peninsula located south-west of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, surrounded by Port Phillip, Corio Bay and Bass Strait. The peninsula, together with the Mornington Peninsula separates Port Phillip from Bass Strait...
to Streatham. Referred to by Europeans as the Barrabool people. The escaped convict, William BuckleyWilliam Buckley (convict)William Buckley was an English convict who was transported to Australia, escaped, was given up for dead and lived in an Aboriginal community for many years....
lived with this community for 32 years, between 1803 and 1835, before being found by John BatmanJohn BatmanJohn Batman was an Australian grazier, businessman and explorer who is best known for his role in the founding of a settlement which became Melbourne and the colony of Victoria.-Life:...
on 6 July 1835.
Kulin, or perhaps Kulinic:
- Madhi-Madhi (Muthimuthi), Ledji-Ledji , and Wadi-Wadi share 80% of vocabulary, suggesting they might have formed a group.
- Nari-Nari
- Wemba-Wemba and Baraba-Baraba