Bundjalung people
The Bundjalung people (aka Bunjalung, Badjalang & Bandjalang) are those Australian Aborigines who are the original custodians of northern coastal areas of New South Wales (Australia), 554 km northeast of Sydney: an area that includes the Bundjalung National Park and Mount Warning (known to the Bundjalung people as Wollumbin.[1])
Bundjalung people all share in common descent from ancestors who once spoke as their first, preferred language, one or more of the dialects of the Bandjalang language.
Country
Norman Tindale 's (1974) Catalogue of Australian Aboriginal tribes identifies the identifying Baryulgal dialect (Badjalang) country as follows[2]:
"From northern bank of Clarence River to Richmond River; at Ballina; inland to Tabulam and Baryugil."
Religious Beliefs
People believe the spirits of wounded warriors are present within the mountains, their injuries having manifested themselves as scars on the mountainside, and thunder storms in the mountains recall the sounds of those warriors' battles.[1]
Wollumbin itself is the site at which one of the chief warriors lies, and it is said his face can still be seen in the mountain's rocks when viewed from the north.[1]
Much of the Bundjalung peoples culture and heritage continues to be celebrated..[3]
And people, these days, now gather annually in the Bundjalung national park as a community to celebrate as a Bundjalung People's Gathering[3].
"We want to celebrate our Aboriginal traditions and customs. We want to share them with other people an show them our beliefs and our culture is still alive today, it hasn't been lost" - Chris Phillips, event organizer"
On these occasions traditional garments are often worn by the Bundjalung peoples, who partake in custodial dances and other performances.[3]
Nationhood or Linguists Description of a Dialect Chain?
In November 2007 the Federal Court made a positive determination regarding the existence of native title within Githabul country. [4]
More recently, following successful native title determinations, some local descendants are formally questioning the extent to which the 'Bundjalung' are, or have ever been, a people or a nation [5]
See also
External links
- Badjalang portion of Norman Tinadle's Aboriginal Tribes of Australia map Accessed 21 May 2008
- Bundjalung portion of Aboriginal Studies Press' Aboriginal Australia Wall Map Accessed 21 May 2008
- ABC Radio's Spirit of Things (October 2002) Australia's Sacred Sites Part 5 - Byron BayAccessed 21 May 2008
- ABC Radio (December 2004) A Walk in the Park Series: New South Wales - Arakwal National ParkAccessed 21 May 2008
- AusAnthrop Australian Aboriginal tribal database entry for Badjalang Accessed 20 May 2008
- Bunjalung of Byron Bay (Arakwal) Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA)Accessed 21 May 2008
- New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change Aboriginal cultural heritage webpage Living on the frontier Accessed 21 May 2008
- New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change November 2007 Media Release Wollumbin Aboriginal Consultative Group Accessed 21 May 2008
References
- ^ a b c Crossing the Great Dividing Range from the Australian Government's Culture and Creation Portal, retrieved May 16, 2008
- ^ Tindale, Norman (1974) "Badjalang" in his Catalogue of Australian Aboriginal Tribes. South Australian Museum
- ^ a b c Celebrating Indigenous Spirit from Echo News retrieved May 16, 2008
- ^ National Native Title Tribunal (2007) "Githabul Federal Native Title Determination Brocjure"
- ^ Northern Star (14 May 2010 "Arakwal & Bundjalung nations don't exist".