Following Phyllanthus on Yingilit’s Yarning Biddi
Day 30 Phyllanthus calycinus , a plant a day Lowlands Reserve ,
Phyllanthus calycinus is a happy soft leaved and soft petalled plant growing in profusion to the east of Tennessee South Road on the rolling hills or South Downs. It is sometimes called false boronia. Phyllanthus is a sweet plant like boronia, but the two are not closely related. Phyllanthus has separate male flowers and female flowers, often on the same plant, so can be classed as monoecious, but not hermaphrodite. I find the terminology around plant sexuality very confusing. Here’s a diagram from Wikipedia
On 11 November 2020, I walked East through South Downs to the Bibbulmun Hut in West Cape Howe National Park. You can do a circular walk of 8 km or so by first walking along the fire access track, and then returning by the Bibbulmun. This is one of my favourite walks, rich with land stories, which reminds me of many things , including the tiger orchids featured in my Day 18 story, the rolling hills song , Aboriginal land management, Yingilit’s yarning to Daisy Bates about biddi …. to name a few.
I got a copy of Yingilit’s map from the National Library in 2014, when I was researching lizard traps. Yingilit guided Daisy Bates on the placenames from Albany (or Kanggilirup, near Albany) to Kooroobup (Denmark). I think Daisy Bates watched and listened while Yingilit was yarning. Yingilit may have been singing his songlines, telling his tales of the land and drawing the biddi (tracks) of the places in the sand which Daisy Bates then copied to make the mudmap. Pauly has also told me about some of the old people from one of the West Kimberley mobs singing up their country while on a helicopter survey, which was entrancingly wonderful. Yingilit would have memorised a large amount of knowledge which would be associated with each place. Over the years Aboriginal elders , and occasionally researchers such as Bruce Chatwin, Douglas Lockwood, Margo Neale and Lynne Kelly have explained in books and articles how knowledge is encoded in the land stories. The dance and art and the stories of the song lines enabled Aboriginal people to recall and pass on a vast body of wisdom. On 3 May 1928, Daisy Bates had an article published in the Western Mail, describing Yingilit’s connection with places around Youngs Siding.
Hoping the place names from Yingilit’s map can be revived and assigned to the correct locations . Yingilit also known as Bob Starlight was born at Tiliup (currently the name Tillerup is used). Maggie Starlight and her siblings were the children of Samuel Piggott and his Aboriginal partner Starlight. Descendants of the Starlight clan still live in Albany and Gnowangerup (there is a Starlight family grave in Gnowerangerup cemetery). Yingilit (Bob Starlight) spent time in prison at Rottnest, at the same time as Johnny Kuj-jel (Cudgel)
Johnny Cudgel was a household name in around 1904 — he made a dramatic escape from Albany Jail and after evading the police for days was finally captured dramatically near Mt Barker. He spent many years on Rottnest after that, and lived out his days on the Moore River settlement, dying in 1929. It was discovered he was an amazingly talented artist. He drew and painted ships that he saw around Rottnest Island, as well as cartoons , including one of Kaiser Bill
Stories of Johnny’s exploits and notoriety must have been popular with the old Whadjuk Noongar people. He became associated with Kadjil, the Crow Man. They believed he had escaped from Rottnest in the guise of Kadjil and camped at Mudurup Rocks performing sacred ceremonies.
There is no record of Johnny escaping from Rottnest (though he tried), but he did once escape from Breaksea island down near Albany, and this was regarded as a daring and courageous feat. Myths and legends are often a mix of fantasy and fact, and it is not surprising that Johnny became a legendary figure.” https://anthropologyfromtheshed.com/kudjil-the-crow-man.../ https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/76444417?searchTerm=johnny%20cudgel&searchLimits=l-state=Western+Australia|||sortby=dateDesc https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/26871351?searchTerm=johnny%20cudgel&searchLimits=l-state=Western+Australia|||sortby=dateAsc
Roe’s descriptions, on his 1831 travels around Youngs Siding, include “beautiful valleys”, “grassy plains”, “open downs”, testament to the efficacy of Aboriginal land management practices
Writing this daily blog featuring a plant a day and walking daily is my fundraising effort for Bush Heritage #groundworkchallenge . To join my team or donate go to https://www.groundworkchallenge.org.au/fundraisers/sheilamurray/2020?fbclid=IwAR2HbNn0YsCCc3tiSK-_lbF5xLsssaD8wjGHaUwVYrRqYxM-kdJkijoj2N0
Lowlands Coastal Reserve is on Menang Boodja — country. I celebrate the strength, resilience and capacity of the Menang Noongar people who are the traditional owners of the land.
Lowlands Coastal Reserve is managed by the local community and the City of Albany. Bush Heritage Australia manage many other wonderful reserves.
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Trove machine transcript below, I’ll get round to doing an edit soon:
THE FIRST GROUPS. J
Old Bibbulmun Areas. j
(By Daisy M. Bates.) |
it ifi a very intercnting circumstance’
1 that our juvfent-iiay group settlement*!
are in a mmse ana!«’Rous to the old group
i arcan of thc Bibbuhuuu we have- nup>
! planted.
1 Every portion of tlie south-west bail its
i little (Troup of ‘Vcttlerii” to whom it be-
longed, and itu boundaries-thong!) appar-
ently undefined-were kuowu to ite own
residents and to the .neighbouring groups,
no that a blackboy tree or a jaiuwood tree
or a small rock hole alone the boundary
had definite group ownership, and iutcr
‘fcrencc with it, or u« of it, had to he re-
compensed by some equal means. j
The Wackboy tree produced gum and
grubs. Any other group than its own
collecting these was a treHpaeser, and was
j obliged to return in kind what he had
! stolen.
,. Every little landmark within the group’s
I boundaries had its name. There were no
epcc.ial names for any of thc rivera of the
south-west, the southern general term for
all rivers being “heel”; but every pool and
‘ hilt und slope and haunt of special animal,
bird or reptile within the group wart
namcd.^
The following list gives the names of the
native Yingilit’s Kuliup (“home ground”),
Ptarting from Albany towards the mouth
of the inlet called Warerup. Along this
coastal area .Yiugilit’p fathers hail lived
for eountless generations. They were a
Munitch mat or White Cockatoo group,
thnir women being VTordungmat or “Crow”
etock.
Decent was paternal, and the children
of thc Manitch fathers and Worduug
mothers were all Mauitchmat. (“Mat”
menus, “log,” “family,’’’ “branch,’’
“stock”).
Starting from Kang-gïïirup (near Al-
bany) Yingilit took me along the “coast to
Doggcrdirup, Jinjanup and Wong’ganup
to Bwounaitch (near Torbay Junction),
aud thou to Boorangalup, where hiß grand-
father, a Mauitch. “eat down.” South of
Booiarup; Koolyahup, Ko-ri-crrup and
Bihbilyerrung Bwok (“hwok”-Blope, back,
hill, saddle of hill), and South of Booran-
galup was Ngooloowálup, Kwokkalup,
Kolyerungup and Tiliup. (where Yingilit j
was born). Bij-hij-up was another grande
father’s Kallup and was inland from the
coast, hut not far from a pool in a small
heel (river) named Ngammalup. Mwari
wilyilnp Boy-boy, Noonilip and Koojoop
mat, were places on thc road to Kooroobup
(l)enmark),’ Ngammalup pool being near-
by. Koorinjib Kat (Kat-head), Je’ynb, ;
Meerunup, Kappuk. Bitnauit, Neiiim,
NgwabbaUip and Minjerdup were all round
about. Warcfup Darba (Warerup Inlet).
The totem- of Yingilit’s . Kallecp-gur ;
Qipmc people, group) and their principal
food was the Merderung (salmon)! which
was very plentiful round thia part of the
coast. They were Wadda’rugur-sea people
ami called thc_ great seas round their area
Mama Waddarn (father sea) for their
great Mama gave them abundance of food
all thc year round.
Many a Kening (corroboree) was danced
and many a song tung to the greiit Wad
dam Mama, aud when the great ehoal«
of Merdnrnng rushed into heel (river)
and durbai (estuary), the Merderung
Borung-gur (elder brother “totem kin”)
invited their neighbouring groups and per-
formed thc ceremonies duè to the Merder-
ung before they distributed their totem
to the visitors. At those special ‘ times
Vinpiüi’s own people fasted from Merder
ung and \m.ly ate ibo foods brought by
their visitor«, or hm] foods of some, kind
i for ou these great oeoiisions the Herder-.
iung wiis held «uered arid all the totem laws
whieli their fathers had handed down to
them must he obeyed as np more Alerder
|ung_ would’ come to Warerup.
; Witggal, tho great magic snake, thc’
j over-Lord of all totems, watched to see
I that the borung-gur performed the proper
. ceremonies and íAstéd ínwi their totem
? at tliece time«. And should a youug aud
I hungry Bibbulmun break this food law.,
and “ partake of Mordornng during thosp
fasting periods.. Wogga! caused his stomach
to swell and swell so that all the Mer-
der ung Borung-gur should know he had
broken the totem food law. and very soon
the law-bleaker died.
‘ Thc “saered”’ songs to the Merderung.
sung only at those, speeial times, were all
sung in a miuor key, beeuuse Waddarn.
.their seii father.’told them that Merdcr
Fix this textdid not like shouting and high singiug.
! Very sad indeed these songs sounded as
\ they were sung by Vhigilit in the quiet
j still ‘ evening, for all his brothers^ and
J mates, his fathers and mothers aud sisters,
j had passed through. their Mama Waddarn
! to Kurnimup. ibo home of all dead Bib
! buJmnn, beyond the great sea.
