The Witchetty Grub People – Part 1

When I first arrived at my new home here on the bend of the brown river, I wasn’t exactly in good shape. You could say, my spirit had gone walkabout. I was sick, mentally and spiritually. I had no connection to anything, and it had been that way for a very long time.

https://central.digitalschools.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Wurundjeri-woiwurrung-Collage-New-Final.mov#t=1

Welcome to Country

For the next few weeks, take a walk with me through the place of the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung. I will help you see what I see as I walk the banks of the ‘River of Mists’.  It is where I have begun to learn what it means to have a place ‘on country’  here in Melbourne and how it finally feels to be connected to where I live – from the ground up. This place is where I have started to heal my spirit by connecting to land, ancestry and nature. From bush medicine and edible weeds, the Manna Gum and Birruang, I will show you what I know so far to be –  Wurundjeri. Welcome to Country!

The Manna Gum

It was the blue, grey-green of the eucalypt, the Manna Gum trees that soaked up my attention the first time I stood there on that river. It was February of 2021, and it was only two weeks into my new life here. Speckled with tiny creamy bush blossoms, their salty bark and perfect colour palette drowned out the noise of the industrial world in the background; as I zoomed into the trees like a camera does , I was enamoured. I inspected the textures, the smell, the details and the life attached to those trees nearly every day for two months. My hyper focus on the landscape,  the colour of the gum leaves and the smell of the trees and the warm earth began to dominate my subconscious. I would come home in the dark from my new place, write and paint, and closely inspect the pictures and film I collected from the small world that was now my own. At night, alone in my apartment, when the world was silent, my mind would go quiet with it, and I would dream of the gum trees. I would wander to the forest over the road from me,  following the ridge along Birruang like I was hypnotised. All I would see were the Manna Gum trees and heard the word ‘Wurundjeri’. It was like this weeks on, I would dream the Manna Gums and hear Wurundjeri, and I wanted to know why?

We are the Land

As it seems, Wurundjeri are Manna Gums, the people of Wurundjeri land take their name from them. The Manna Gum, or’ Eucalyptus Viminalis’ is a ceremonial symbol of the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung ‘Welcome to Country’. The Manna Gum is sacred to the people of this land, it represents their connection to their country and to the River of Mists. Perhaps my dreaming was the beginning of my welcome to country, as there was no Wurundjeri Human available, it seems as though the trees had done it instead. From understanding one word, Wurundjeri I became much more connected to this place. From then on, the small patch over there which hugs the curves of Birruang (the brown river), became my place. And I love that land now as home. To the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung thank you for keeping culture alive. With the deepest respect, I hope this body of work will help to educate the people of the world, about the wealth and beauty of this land and its traditional owners. Guest Contributor: Emily Rack Business Name: Horatio’s Jar Publisher: Digital Schools Emily Rack is a  freelance creative writer and researcher, visual content creator and designer. She is the head of the content production, publication and editing for Upschool+ Guest Contributors. She designs and produces her own graphics and illustrations and is a seasoned photographer and digital content creator.  Emily is schooled in traditional yoga, ancient cultural dance from the east, and mindfulness practices from the ancient and new world. She has dedicated her life to researching and understanding matters of the mind, body and the human experience and cultivating ways to educate and communicate how to live well here on earth. Communicating the urgent need for the human community to pay attention to the decline of native and endangered species is the primary focus of her recent content. Her research and dialogue also include how to self regulate and manage one's emotions in times of trauma and stress. Gratitude, forgiveness, compassion and awareness are the keystones to all that she does. Namaste.    ——- PUBLISHER’S DISCLAIMER: The publisher of this blog post (Digital Schools PTY LTD) works in partnership with the school as a 3rd party provider to help build and maintain the school website. Digital Schools sources a range of experts who provide products and/or services to educational institutions and we work with them to produce and publish topical information in the form of blog posts that we think  may be relevant, interesting or topical to families within the community. The views, opinions and content listed in this blog post are that of the guest contributor and/or publisher (Digital Schools). It should be noted that whilst the publisher and guest contributors are acting with the best intentions and in the best interests of the school and their community to provide helpful or interesting information, sometimes the content may not necessarily reflect the views of the school. The information in this blog post is not meant to be used, nor should it be used, to diagnose or treat any medical condition. For diagnosis or treatment of any medical problem, consult your own physician.  The school and the publisher of this blog post  are not responsible for any person reading or following the information in this article who may experience adverse effects. Any references to external websites or sources are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement by the school or publisher in any way and the publisher and/or school cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information listed. If you have feedback on any content on this platform, you can submit it to the publisher using the feedback link provided at the bottom of this page.