Aboriginal Seasons

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Like most western countries mainstream Australia has four distinct seasons, summer, autumn, winter and spring, with each of these beginning on a specific date marked on the calendar. But does this system accurately reflect the different weather experienced around the year in different parts of our vast and diverse country?

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities seasons are based on thousands of years of detailed observation of the surrounding environment. By studying the night sky and cycles of water, plants and animals communities were able to identify variations and accurately predict recurring seasonal changes. The seasons identified varied according to geographic location, ecological context and cultural interpretation. This knowledge of nature was recorded into stories, song, dance and ceremony and passed along to ensure sustainability for land and general well-being.

For the people of Dharawal Country, southwest of Sydney, there are six distinct seasons, Gadalung Marool (January-March), Banamurraiyung (April-June), Tugarah Tuli (June-July), Tugarah Gunyamarri (August), Murraiyunggory (September-October) and Goraymurrai (November-December). Each of these seasons is marked by changes to weather, plants and animals. This can be seen with Gadalung Marool, also known as the time of Burran, when male burra (kangaroos) become aggressive as the female burra start having babies.

To learn more about the different animal changes and weather patterns that signify seasons in the Dharawal calendar with your students download our Aboriginal Seasons Dharawal Language Group activity.

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