Wurundjeri
Culture
Culture Wisdom respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, the WoiWurrung people of the Kulin Nation, and pays respect to their Elders, past and present.
Woiwurring people and their culture continue to play are a very important role in the history and future of the Melbourne community. As traditional owners of the land now known as Melbourne, Woiwurrung people play the role of passing on knowledge of traditional Aboriginal culture to the younger generations.
Traditions
Similar to how other Aboriginal tribes beliefs, the Wurundjeri did not ‘own’ the land they lived on, but belonged to, or were ‘owned by’ the land in a spiritual sense.
For the Wurundjeri community the natural world is also their cultural, this can be seen how Wurundjeri people have a special interest in preserving cultural objects and the natural landscapes around them.
One of Wurundjeri cultural objects is the skin of a possum. As a newborn, the child receives their first pelt of skin. this tradition continues as they grow and pass accomplishments until their small pelt has grown into a full cloak.
Language
"Language is the carrier of information about who we are, how we express ourselves and our culture, it defines our world around us”
The Wurundjeri's spoken language is known as Woi Wurrung. Here are some useful phrases and words:
ngurungaeta (elder/leader)
Wommonjeka Wurundjeri balluk yearmann koondee biik (Welcome to the home of my country)
Ngoon Godgin (thank you)
Walert (possum)
willam (people)
Food
Women were responsible for 90% of food collected for the tribe, the staple foods were majorly plants. All Wurundjeri people women carried a long fire hardened digging stick known as a kannan which helped then to find plants and vegetables.
The creek supplied the Wurundjeri-willam with a source of food such as eel, fish, and duck and shellfish.
Emu and kangaroo were also hunted in the surrounding grasslands.
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Where are they majorly located in Melbourne
The Wurundjeri people's territory extends from north of the Great Dividing Range, east to Mount Baw Baw, south to Mordialloc Creek and west to Werribee River.