Recommended listening: Aboriginal Australian music
Story
Older women among the Wiradjuri people of southwestern Australia were traditionally all called guni, or "mother". The personal name of any individual Wiradjuri woman from a thousand years ago is not recorded, in part because there are no written records dating back to the time, but also because in most aboriginal Australian cultures, it is taboo to depict or name deceased persons. For this reason, this illustration seeks to reconstruct a Wiradjuri woman from a thousand years ago without relating the story of a particular individual. Aboriginal Australian cultures are generally very conservative, with some groups' oral history linking back to geological events thousands of years in the past, so while this reconstruction remains speculative, it is rooted in research into pre-colonial Wiradjuri cultural practices that may well stretch back tens of thousands of years.
The Wiradjuri people's traditional territory is the "land of the three rivers", the area between the rivers known in English as the Murrumbidgee, Lachlan, and Macquarie Rivers (Murrumbidgee, Gulari and Womboy in Wiradjuri). They were once the largest nation in the area known today as New South Wales, with an estimated 12,000 speakers of their language. They have occupied the land here for at least 40,000 years. Their neighbours called them wiradjuri after the unusual construction in their language for expressing the word "no". This illustration in set in the winter, when the Wiradjuri went inland from the rivers in search of food. Guni is wrapped in a possum skin cloak, which was gradually added to throughout her lifetime as she grew. The designs of a possum skin cloak were unique to each individual, and she may have ultimately been buried in the garment. The patterns all have meaning: the cross hatches represent travel, the crosses stars, and the swirls water, which I designed to represent her life travelling between the three rivers. Joining her beneath the cloak is a dingo puppy, huddled up for warmth. Dingoes were never fully domesticated by the Wiradjuri, but aboriginal Australians in general often enjoyed relationships with the puppies.
We find Guni sitting outside her mia-mia, or lean-to shelter, on a clear winter's night. The constellation she gazes upon is known in the western world as the Pleiades, seven sisters in Greek mythology who are named after the stars. The Wiradjuri also see seven sisters in the sky here. They are called the Mulayndynang, and they run through the sky fleeing Baiame, the creator god represented by the constellation known in the western world as Orion. Wiradjuri people used the stars to guide their seasonal migrations around their large territory. Like the rest of the figures from her religion and mythology, Guni's relationship with the beings represented in constellation was experienced as a very direct one, accessed through a complicated religious system known as the Dreaming. It is difficult to explain the Dreaming in western terms because it operates on a fundamentally different understanding of time. The Dreaming is the ancient past when the spirits dictated the laws of the land, but also the experience of relating to these beings through rituals and practices in the present day. As Guni gazed up on the Mulayndynang sisters, always keeping one step ahead of Baiame, she may have sensed the presence of the spirits very close at hand.
The Wiradjuri people's traditional territory is the "land of the three rivers", the area between the rivers known in English as the Murrumbidgee, Lachlan, and Macquarie Rivers (Murrumbidgee, Gulari and Womboy in Wiradjuri). They were once the largest nation in the area known today as New South Wales, with an estimated 12,000 speakers of their language. They have occupied the land here for at least 40,000 years. Their neighbours called them wiradjuri after the unusual construction in their language for expressing the word "no". This illustration in set in the winter, when the Wiradjuri went inland from the rivers in search of food. Guni is wrapped in a possum skin cloak, which was gradually added to throughout her lifetime as she grew. The designs of a possum skin cloak were unique to each individual, and she may have ultimately been buried in the garment. The patterns all have meaning: the cross hatches represent travel, the crosses stars, and the swirls water, which I designed to represent her life travelling between the three rivers. Joining her beneath the cloak is a dingo puppy, huddled up for warmth. Dingoes were never fully domesticated by the Wiradjuri, but aboriginal Australians in general often enjoyed relationships with the puppies.
We find Guni sitting outside her mia-mia, or lean-to shelter, on a clear winter's night. The constellation she gazes upon is known in the western world as the Pleiades, seven sisters in Greek mythology who are named after the stars. The Wiradjuri also see seven sisters in the sky here. They are called the Mulayndynang, and they run through the sky fleeing Baiame, the creator god represented by the constellation known in the western world as Orion. Wiradjuri people used the stars to guide their seasonal migrations around their large territory. Like the rest of the figures from her religion and mythology, Guni's relationship with the beings represented in constellation was experienced as a very direct one, accessed through a complicated religious system known as the Dreaming. It is difficult to explain the Dreaming in western terms because it operates on a fundamentally different understanding of time. The Dreaming is the ancient past when the spirits dictated the laws of the land, but also the experience of relating to these beings through rituals and practices in the present day. As Guni gazed up on the Mulayndynang sisters, always keeping one step ahead of Baiame, she may have sensed the presence of the spirits very close at hand.
Artist's Comments
I started this illustration in March but was never satisfied with the pose, so I finally started over from scratch this week. I'm so happy I did since the new one is much better! I've learned a whole lot about historical and contemporary aboriginal Australian cultures while researching this picture. The illustration was challenging because it is a nighttime scene, which I find very difficult. However, I'm mostly happy with how this one turned out, even though the scanner completely changed the colour of the sky (it ate all the purple!). I'm really glad that through researching this picture, I've come to better understand the situation of aboriginal people within Australia today, and have developed an appreciation for the ancient cultural traditions they carry while navigating modern Australia. The Women of 1000 AD series is often a humbling experience for me, learning about parts of the world I didn't learn about in my formal education. I hope you also enjoyed learning about Wiradjuri culture by reading about Guni. ~ August 3, 2018
Resources
Want to learn more about Wiradjuri women and their culture? Here are some recommended resources.
Land of the Wiradjuri by Paul Greenwood
Very informative document about many different aspects of the Wiradjuri culture, including the role women have played in education, gathering food, and art production.
"Kindred Skies: Ancient Greeks and Aboriginal Australians saw Constellations in Common" by Duane W. Hamacher
This article by an astronomer explores the similarities between several Greek constellations familiar to the western world and constellations from various different aboriginal Australian astronomical systems. It features illustrations of the constellations, including drawings by Wiradjuri artist Scott "Sauce" Towney of Baiame and the Mulayndynang.
"Traditional Aboriginal Clothing" by Koorihistory.com
An introduction to different clothing types traditionally used in aboriginal Australia, including the possum-skin cloaks.
Wiradjuri Echoes
The Wiradjuri Echoes team work to educate people all around the world about the Wiradjuri culture today. You can watch a short video about their mission here and see some of the founder's contemporary Wiradjuri artwork here.
"Aboriginal Women" by Anna Haebich
A treatment of the theory and history of aboriginal Australian women's leadership and their resilience in the face of the challenges posed by colonial Australian society. (Please note there is violence referenced in this article.)
"What is the 'Dreamtime' or the 'Dreaming'?" by Jens Korff
A helpful guide to the concept of Dreaming in aboriginal Australian cultures. In general, this website provides lots of up-to-date information for anyone who feels they don't have a great grasp on aboriginal Australia.
Land of the Wiradjuri by Paul Greenwood
Very informative document about many different aspects of the Wiradjuri culture, including the role women have played in education, gathering food, and art production.
"Kindred Skies: Ancient Greeks and Aboriginal Australians saw Constellations in Common" by Duane W. Hamacher
This article by an astronomer explores the similarities between several Greek constellations familiar to the western world and constellations from various different aboriginal Australian astronomical systems. It features illustrations of the constellations, including drawings by Wiradjuri artist Scott "Sauce" Towney of Baiame and the Mulayndynang.
"Traditional Aboriginal Clothing" by Koorihistory.com
An introduction to different clothing types traditionally used in aboriginal Australia, including the possum-skin cloaks.
Wiradjuri Echoes
The Wiradjuri Echoes team work to educate people all around the world about the Wiradjuri culture today. You can watch a short video about their mission here and see some of the founder's contemporary Wiradjuri artwork here.
"Aboriginal Women" by Anna Haebich
A treatment of the theory and history of aboriginal Australian women's leadership and their resilience in the face of the challenges posed by colonial Australian society. (Please note there is violence referenced in this article.)
"What is the 'Dreamtime' or the 'Dreaming'?" by Jens Korff
A helpful guide to the concept of Dreaming in aboriginal Australian cultures. In general, this website provides lots of up-to-date information for anyone who feels they don't have a great grasp on aboriginal Australia.