Yolngu culinary culture with Sylvia Gukurda Mununggurr

This is a short clip of a hunting expedition for Dhukuray mussels, tasty marine morsels cherished by Yolngu. Yolngu culinary culture is an enjoyable thing to learn and to participate in. Learning about the environment, totemic animal and plant species, clan group connections, food preparation, seasons indicator species, and hunting methods never ceases to amaze me. Sylvia Gukurda Mununggurr, sister of the late M*lk*y Mununggurr, and family show how it is done. This was a time for reflection and contemplation when we heard of the news of Sylvia's brother passing away, and there was no better way to take Sylvia's mind off the sad news than to take her out for a day trip... the land is alive and provides spiritual and nutritional nourishment for those in need. My two little sisters, Sylvia's granddaughters, give us a bit of light-hearted entertainment and something to laugh about at a time of great sadness.

Gukurda and her late husband William W*t*rr* were kind enough to accommodate me in their home for a year in 1995 whilst I undertook anthropological research in their community. As then chairman of the community council, W*t*rr* provided the support and encouragement that paved the way for a successful field trip that year. He will not be forgotten for his leadership and kindness.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• hunting
• yolngu
• mununggurr
• djapu
• dhukuray

[Linguiphile]

@ididjaustralia Thank you as always for making and posting these videos. It is through clips like this that we see how vibrant some native Australian languages are, still used in traditional settings, in daily conversation, and learned by children. Keep up your work.

[ididjaustralia]

@Linguiphile thank you!

[ididjaustralia]

little girl that is!

[WhiteTiger333]

Great video and lively, charming children. (Perhaps a tad less charming if one must withstand that energy level all day long - snirtle).

Was that a cell phone I saw at the very end? ;)

[ididjaustralia]

The kids are like that 24 hours a day! Yup, that was a cell phone at the moment... Yolngu had them before I did!

[pseudolithos]

Yow...! Nice "windows" on the everyday Yolngu life. This video is from Yirrkala? Where you have do this video?

Thank you Guan.

Luca

[ididjaustralia]

No, not Yirrkala. Can you understand the talking Luca? It is simple Yolngu Matha and everyone speaks clearly which helps.

[Melizarra3]

Great - outdoor, open fire cooking with the ingredients fresh from the source. Food preparation is one of my favourite activities, especially when cooking for family. When the food's good everyone's smiling - then I'm happy too.

[TripleXstcy]

still cute.. reminds me of my lil cuzins

[sonofthedestroyer]

That little boy is too cute. Reminds me of my cousin when he was about the same size!

[Preciousmomentsonly]

I so wish to come and live with you lot, life in balanda mainstream is really not that good, I would come and visit any day and maybe not stay, good to see. Loe the clip