The tribe I met today were called the Gumbaynggirr tribe. The map above shows how small their land is but this doesn't reflect on the size of the tribe. They are one of the largest tribes in New South Wales. They have been there for many thousands of years. They were first discovered by Clement Hodgkinson in March 1841. Overall there is about 10,000 to 18,000 people in the tribe. In 1986 the elders of the tribe started a scheme to revive the traditional language of the Gumbaynggirr tribe called Muurrbay. This also began the tribes co-operative culture. They started this scheme to revive and strengthen traditions, culture and self-esteem.
They believe in a thing called the Rainbow Serpent. The Rainbow Serpent is seen by most as the creator God. They believe the Serpent controls the cycle of seasons and the importance of water in human life. They believe it is the giver of life unless angry when it becomes a destructive force. They also believe that at the start the world was created by great spirits and totems in human and animal form under the control of the rainbow serpent, and that they molded and formed the earth. They believe that after that the Rainbow Serpent appeared and created huge ridges, mountains and gorges. They believe it is the ultimate creator of everything in the universe.
It was amazing to meet these people an see how their lives had changed and developed. It was yet another amazing civilization.
thank you for this report, i have an assignment to make on a painting whose author is a member of the Gumbaynggirr tribe, and this helped me understanding it !
ReplyDeleteI was going to reply to say thank you for the support a while ago but I seem to have forgotten until now so please except my late thanks! :)
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