Case Study 6: The Boorong People

Case Study 6: The Boorong People (Mallee-fowl; Larvae bittur)

The Boorong tribe was a part of the Wergaia speakers of northwest Victoria alongside the Wotjobaluk, and Dja Dja Wurrung peoples within the Kulin Nation who share this language. The Boorong tribe no longer exists, but their descendants continue through the aforementioned groups and the continuation of their cultural connection can be seen through the continuing use of this language. Based near Lake Tyrrell, Tyrrell means ‘night sky’ in Wergaia, and fittingly, the name Boorong means ‘darkness’, showing their close connection between Country, and star gazing. Much of the knowledge we know about the Boorong tribe comes to us from William Stanbridge, a pastoralist who spent a few years alongside them, and later presented his findings, and writings, to various Institutions.

In 1858, William Stanbridge stated that:

“the Boorong tribe… pride themselves upon knowing more of astronomy than any other”.

The Boorong are also among the most adept Astronomers.

Neilloan (Vega)

The Mallee-fowl constellation (Lyra) appears in March, the Boorong people of Victoria know that the Mallee-fowl are about to build their nests, and when Lyra disappears in October, the eggs are laid and are ready to be collected.

Figure 1: Mallee Fowl (Leipoa ocellata). Photographer: Donald Hobern. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Used under Licence: CC BY 2.0

In the Wergaia language, Neilloan (the star Vega) is linked to the Mallee fowl (Leipoa ocellata), a chicken-sized, ground-dwelling bird. It builds its nest-mounds when Vega rises at dusk in mid-August. When Vega is high in the sky at dusk in mid-September, the birds are laying their clutches of eggs. When Vega sets at dusk in late October, the chicks begin hatching.

Marpeankurrk (Arcturus)

Figure 2: An ant nest. Myrmecia nest entry area 1665. Photographer: JarrahTree. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Used under licence: CC BY 2.5 AU.

In Wergaia traditions of northwestern Victoria, Marpeankurrk was a woman who lived in the mallee scrub. One day, she was in the bush desperately looking for food. It had not rained for a long, long time. Rivers and billabongs had disappeared – the bull-rushes had shrivelled up and died and her people were starving. She lifted up logs but could find no lizards or snakes. She looked around and saw that there were also no grass seeds or fruit to eat.

After walking for many hours, she saw a bittur (wood ant) nest. So desperate was she that she went to it and opened up the nest with her digging stick. In the nest, she saw thousands of larvae. She put one in her mouth and ate it. The larvae were delicious! She collected all that she could and hurried back to her people. The larvae of the bittur saved the people. It soon became their favourite food. When Marpeankurrk died, she went up into the sky and became the star, Arcturus. When Marpeankurrk rises in the northern sky after sunset, the Wergaia people begin collecting the larvae of the bittur. The larvae were an essential food source during the winter months of August and September. Later, when Arcturus sets just after the sun, the larvae are gone and Cotchi (summer) begins. This story shows how one person's choices and experiments can become encoded into cultural knowledge and the way that the stars are used as key signals for this.