HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Yuin nation, also spelt Djuwin, is a group of Australian Aboriginal peoples from the
South Coast South Coast is a name often given to coastal areas to the south of a geographical region or major metropolitan area. Geographical Australia *South Coast (New South Wales), the coast of New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney * South Coast (Q ...
of
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
. All Yuin people share ancestors who spoke, as their first language, one or more of the Yuin language dialects. Sub-groupings of the Yuin people are made on the basis of language and other cultural features; groups include the Brinja or Brinja-Yuin, Budawang, Murramarang, Yuin-Monaro, Djiringanj, Walbunja, and more. They had a close association with the Thaua people.


Name and identity

The
ethnonym An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and us ...
''Yuin'' ("man") was selected by early Australian ethnographer, Alfred Howitt, to denote two distinct tribes of News South Wales, namely the Djiringanj and the Thaua. In Howitt's work, the Yuin were divided into northern (Kurial-Yuin) and southern (Gyangal-Yuin) branches. The term "Yuin" is commonly used by South Coast Aboriginal people to describe themselves, although in a 2016 New South Wales
native title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism. The requirements of proof for the recognition of aboriginal title, ...
application for land overlapping Yuin country, "South Coast people" is used. The name is also spelt Djuwin and Juwin. The native title application depends on establishing the South Coast Aboriginal people as a distinct and continuing group that has existed since colonisation. South Coast Aboriginal people have identified 59
apical ancestor Common descent is a concept in evolutionary biology applicable when one species is the ancestor of two or more species later in time. All living beings are in fact descendants of a unique ancestor commonly referred to as the last universal comm ...
s that lived during the settlement of the region in 1810–1830; current South Coast Aboriginal people are either descended from these ancestors or integrated into families that descend from these ancestors. In 2018, the
National Native Title Tribunal The National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT) is an independent body established under the ''Native Title Act 1993'' in Australia as a special measure for the advancement and protection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (Indigenous Aus ...
ruled that the South Coast people represent a "single cohesive kinship population" going back to colonisation, governed by shared rules, with a "single system of religion" centred on the figure Darhumulan, a marine-based economy, sacred sites that continue to be recognised, exogamous marriage rules, and a male initiation ceremony called ''Bunan'' (remembered, but not practised since the 1920s).


Language

Dialects of the Yuin language group include the Djiringanj, Thaua, Walbanga, Wandandian and
Dhurga language The Dhurga language, also written Thurga, is an Australian Aboriginal language of New South Wales. It is a language of the Yuin people, specifically the Wandandian and Walbunja groups, but there have been no fluent speakers officially recorde ...
s, from north of
Moruya River The Moruya River is an open and trained mature wave dominated barrier estuary or tidal river is located in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. In its upper freshwater reaches, the river is known as the Deua River. Course a ...
to
Nowra Nowra is a city in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south-southwest of the state capital of Sydney (about as the crow flies). As of the 2021 census, Nowra has an estimated population of 22,584. Situated in t ...
.


Country

The country the Yuin ancestors occupied, used, and enjoyed reached across from
Cape Howe Cape Howe is a coastal headland in eastern Australia, forming the south-eastern end of the Black-Allan Line, a portion of the border between New South Wales and Victoria. History Cape Howe was named by Captain Cook when he passed it on 20 A ...
to the
Shoalhaven River The Shoalhaven River is a perennial river that rises from the Southern Tablelands and flows into an open mature wave dominated barrier estuary near Nowra on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. Location and features The Shoalha ...
and inland to the
Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...
. Their descendants claim rights to be recognised as the
traditional owner Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...
s of the land and water from
Merimbula Merimbula is a town on the Merimbula Lake, located on the Far South Coast or Sapphire Coast of New South Wales, Australia. At the , the population was 3,544. The population within 10 km of the Merimbula Post office is over 18,000 people ...
to the southern head of the sea entrance of the Shoalhaven River. The Yuin people consisted of 12 clans at the time of European arrival in the area. The Yuin groups include: *
Walbanga The Walbunja, also spelt Walbanga and Walbunga, are an Aboriginal Australian people of New South Wales, part of the Yuin nation. Language The Walbunja language may be a dialect of Dhurga. Country Walbunja Country covers a region from Cape Dr ...
, or Walbunja, north of present-day
Moruya River The Moruya River is an open and trained mature wave dominated barrier estuary or tidal river is located in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. In its upper freshwater reaches, the river is known as the Deua River. Course a ...
* Murramurang, north of Deua River to south of Lake Conjola * Dyiringanj, or Djiringanj, from Corunna Lake, south to Bega and west to the top of the range *Brinja from South Kianga to Moruya River.Catalogue entry
*Budawang *Murramarang *Yuin-Monaro The Yuin are set out as follows by Howitt (1904): * Guyangal Yuin (South-Yuin)               (1) Thauaira, east of Mallacoota Inlet.               (2) Tadera-manji,- in the Bega district.               (3) Bugelli-manji, in the Moruya district * Kurial-Yuin (North-Yuin)               (4) Name not ascertained, in the Braidwood district.               (5) Name not ascertained, in the Ulladulla district.               (6) Gurungatta-manji, in the Lower Shoalhaven River district. Contemporary sources report that the Brinja-Yuin people's traditional lands extended along the "Lagoon Coast", south of the
Moruya River The Moruya River is an open and trained mature wave dominated barrier estuary or tidal river is located in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. In its upper freshwater reaches, the river is known as the Deua River. Course a ...
to South Kianga, or further south to the Wagonga Inlet at
Narooma Narooma is a town in the Australian state of New South Wales on the far south coast. The town is on the Princes Highway, which crosses the Wagonga Inlet to North Narooma. The heritage town of Central Tilba is nearby to the south. The name Naro ...
. The Bugelli-manji people lived around
Moruya Moruya is a town located on the far south coast of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Moruya River. The Princes Highway runs through the town that is about south of Sydney and from Canberra. At the , Moruya had a population of 4,29 ...
. During the push in the late 1970s and early 1980s to protect Mumbulla Mountain, Wallaga Lake people led by
Guboo Ted Thomas Edwin "Guboo" Ted Thomas (29 January 1909 – 19 May 2002), a Yuin man, was a prominent Aboriginal leader. He toured Australia with a gumleaf orchestra during the Great Depression of the 1930s, played rugby league and became a respected eld ...
described the Yuin tribe as "shar ngthe one
walkabout Walkabout is a rite of passage in Australian Aboriginal society, during which males undergo a journey during adolescence, typically ages 10 to 16, and live in the wilderness for a period as long as six months to make the spiritual and traditiona ...
from
Mallacoota Mallacoota is a small town in the East Gippsland region in the state of Victoria, Australia. At the 2016 census, Mallacoota had a population of 1,063. At holiday times, particularly Easter and Christmas, the population increases by about 8,000 ...
in the south to the
Shoalhaven River The Shoalhaven River is a perennial river that rises from the Southern Tablelands and flows into an open mature wave dominated barrier estuary near Nowra on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. Location and features The Shoalha ...
in the north". In 2016, 12 applicants representing South Coast Aboriginals lodged a
native title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism. The requirements of proof for the recognition of aboriginal title, ...
claim in the Federal Court for Yuin country in New South Wales. The claim is made by 52 family groups and was approved by more than 500 Aboriginal people. The claim extends into the ocean and includes traditional fishing rights. In 2018, the registration was accepted.


History

The population before 1788 has been estimated at about 11,000 between
Cape Howe Cape Howe is a coastal headland in eastern Australia, forming the south-eastern end of the Black-Allan Line, a portion of the border between New South Wales and Victoria. History Cape Howe was named by Captain Cook when he passed it on 20 A ...
and
Batemans Bay Batemans Bay is a town on the South Coast region of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Batemans Bay is administered by the Eurobodalla Shire council. The town is situated on the shores of an estuary formed where the Clyde River meets th ...
. The population was reduced to only 600 by the mid nineteenth century due to
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
epidemics in 1789 and 1830, as well as tribal battles and the spread of
venereal disease Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and ora ...
from whalers. The
Eurobodalla Shire Council Eurobodalla Shire is a local government area located in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located in a largely mountainous coastal region and situated adjacent to the ''Tasman Sea'', the Princes Highway and the ...
signed a Local Agreement with the Northern Yuin people in 1998. In 2001, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Bega, Eden and Merrimans Local Aboriginal Land Councils, the Native Title Holders and the Bega Valley Shire Council. The Yuin at
Twofold Bay Twofold Bay is an open oceanic embayment that is located in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The bay was named by George Bass, for its shape of two bights. The northern bight is called Calle Calle Bay; while the souther ...
near Eden had mutual cooperation with the killer whales of Eden.


Strict laws, regulations, and lore

The Yuin were closely tied together they had a number of ceremonies including Bunneye Ceremony, keeparra ceremony, ngarra washing ceremony and many more. The Bunneye ceremony was a fairly important occasion an important elder would be allocate the responsibility to manage and control a Bunneye ceremony. if you're going to use the analogy to day this important elder had judicial oversight to make and control laws. This elder maybe a king or a serious warrior and having judicial oversight meant that he had to make sure this important lore ceremony was carried out to the letter of the law. Different musical instruments we used for different occasions. The Bar-ro-wa ... a large bullroarer was used in the keeparra ceremony. The ngarra was a cleansing and washing ceremony. The Djiringanj, Brinja and Walbunja tribes lived under very strict laws and regulations and lore's as we would turn them today, it was for the control and betterment of society and for the management of their allodium type lands. Land could not be traded or given away when a person moved from one tribe to another such as a woman being given in marriage. The land was a heritable possession not necessarily for the most important person in the tribe but for the whole tribe and along with that went all the laws and regulations. An important point to remember here, a woman retained where she came from, she had to adopt the new tribe when married and all its lore's and laws and regulations, all her children would belong to the new tribe, but she retained where she originally was born


Places

The Yuin are considered as the traditional owners of
Wallaga Lake Wallaga Lake is an estuarine lake in Bega Valley Shire in New South Wales, Australia, the largest lake in southern NSW. It is located between Bermagui to the south and between Tilba Tilba to the north, situated beneath Mount Gulaga, in the tra ...
land. The former Wallaga Lake National Park is incorporated into Gulaga National Park. Gulaga Mountain, in the Gulaga National Park, is described by Aboriginal people as the place of ancestral origin for Yuin people. Gulaga itself symbolises the mother, and has several
sacred sites Sacred space, sacred ground, sacred place, sacred temple, holy ground, or holy place refers to a location which is deemed to be sacred or hallowed. The sacredness of a natural feature may accrue through tradition or be granted through a bless ...
relating to places where the women went for storytelling and to participate in
ceremonies A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secula ...
and to give birth. Umbarra, aka Merriman Island, in Wallaga Lake is a particularly sacred place for the Yuin people. On 25 November 1977, it was the first place in New South Wales to be declared an Aboriginal Heritage site by the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). The island was named after Umbarra, aka King Merriman, leader of the Yuin, who died in 1904. His wife was Queen Narelle. Mumbulla Mountain, located in the middle of
Bega Valley Shire The Bega Valley Shire is a local government area located adjacent to the south-eastern coastline of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire was formed in 1981 with the amalgamation of the Municipality of Bega, Imlay Shire and Mumbulla Shire, w ...
, was named after "King" Jack Mumbulla, a leader of the Yuin people. Mumbulla Mountain is the central place of significance in
Biamanga National Park Biamanga National Park is a protected area in New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney and north of Bega. The park forms part of the Ulladulla to Merimbula Important Bird Area because of its importance for swift parrots. Its name derives ...
, and is known for its importance in men's initiation ceremonies. On 6 May 2006 the
freehold title In English law, a fee simple or fee simple absolute is an estate in land, a form of freehold ownership. A "fee" is a vested, inheritable, present possessory interest in land. A "fee simple" is real property held without limit of time (i.e., per ...
s to Gulaga and Biamanga National Parks were handed back to the Yuin people by the
New South Wales Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governme ...
. Freehold title of Gulaga National Park are held in trust for the Aboriginal owners by Merrimans and Wagonga Local Aboriginal Land Councils, while that of Biamanga are held in trust by Merrimans and Bega Local Aboriginal Land Councils. Both parks are co-managed by the
traditional owners Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have right ...
and the NPWS. Barunguba / Montague Island ( dual-named in November 2021 Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
licence.
) is known to the Yuin people as Barunguba (sometimes spelt Barranguba). Barunguba is regarded as being the son of Gulaga, along with Najanuga; Barunguba being the oldest son and allowed out to sea, whereas Najanuga had to stay close to his mother.


Kinship and marriage

The exact arrangement of Yuin
kinship In anthropology, kinship is the web of social relationships that form an important part of the lives of all humans in all societies, although its exact meanings even within this discipline are often debated. Anthropologist Robin Fox says that ...
before colonisation is not clear, although early ethnographers reported that they did not have a
moiety Moiety may refer to: Chemistry * Moiety (chemistry), a part or functional group of a molecule ** Moiety conservation, conservation of a subgroup in a chemical species Anthropology * Moiety (kinship), either of two groups into which a society is ...
or section system (where a people are split into two or four intermarrying groups). Instead, Yuin kinship would have involved "extensive networks of relatedness within and between
exogamous Exogamy is the social norm of marrying outside one's social group. The group defines the scope and extent of exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. One form of exogamy is dual exogamy, in which two groups ...
intermarrying country groups". Marriage should be exogamous between family groups, as determined by the spiritual connections of those families. However, these family connections are no longer a "a strong element" of contemporary Yuin kinship. To the extent that they are known, family spiritual connections are inherited, and there are still some Yuin families associated with certain animals. Yuin typically do not marry people with connections to the same personal or family beings (see below, Relationship with the natural world).


Skin groups

Multiple Yuin have described a system of "skin groups" (subsets of language groups) that would "govern social behaviours and interaction, determining those with whom individuals can (and cannot) talk, marry, trade, as well as identifying their natural enemies". However, most Yuin these days are "not familiar with this level of the system".


Relationship with the natural world

Yuin people had, and in many cases still have, spiritual, mutual relationships with an aspect of the natural world. These spiritual connections are represented by animals, and these connections come with obligations and relationships, not just to the animal but to other humans and to places and things associated with that animal. Anthropologist
Alfred William Howitt Alfred William Howitt , (17 April 1830 – 7 March 1908), also known by author abbreviation A.W. Howitt, was an Australian anthropologist, explorer and naturalist. He was known for leading the Victorian Relief Expedition, which set out to es ...
briefly described Yuin spiritual connections with animals in 1904, in ''The native tribes of south-east Australia''. Howitt, and other early ethnographers, used the
Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
term "totem" to describe these spiritual connections, as they saw commonalities between Aboriginal Australian spiritual connections to animals and those of
First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...
and Native Americans. The term is not widely used by Yuin and the term "totemism" is not well-regarded by them, but Yuin authors often use the term "totem" in works for wider audiences. Yuin believe these spiritual animals to have been made in the
Dreamtime The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Gillen, quickly adopted by his co ...
by an ancestral creator, although not all spiritual animals have Dreamtime stories associated with them (or those stories have been lost). Dreamtime stories for the creation of the diving birds and the black swan are recorded by Susan Dale Donaldson. The best known Yuin spiritual animals are the
Pacific black duck The Pacific black duck (''Anas superciliosa''), commonly known as the PBD, is a dabbling duck found in much of Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and many islands in the southwestern Pacific, reaching to the Caroline Islands in the no ...
(''Umbarra'') and the
Black swan The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon ...
. The Black Duck was the ''moojingarl'' of King Merriman, who is named Umbarra after it, and a duck-shaped island in
Wallaga Lake Wallaga Lake is an estuarine lake in Bega Valley Shire in New South Wales, Australia, the largest lake in southern NSW. It is located between Bermagui to the south and between Tilba Tilba to the north, situated beneath Mount Gulaga, in the tra ...
is named Merriman Island. Umbarra was believed to communicate with black ducks, who would warn him of danger. In 2003, Rose, James and Watson identified six levels of "interacting beings" spoken of by the Yuin, also described as "families within families" by Yuin woman Mary Duroux. The six families described (and, in brackets, the alternative terms used by Yuin elder Randall Mumbler) are: # Beings interacting with the Yuin nation ("tribal totem") # Beings interacting with tribes or named groups (N/A); # Beings interacting with families (operating like clans) ("family totem"); # Beings interacting with skin groups (N/A); # Initiation totems and names ("ceremonial totem"); # Beings interacting with specific individuals ("personal totem"; also called "individual totem" or ''moojingarl'' in other sources). A Yuin's responsibilities to these beings, and their responsibilities to that Yuin, varied depending on the level of the relationship. For example, while a Yuin is expected to protect animals of their ''moojingarl'',
Guboo Ted Thomas Edwin "Guboo" Ted Thomas (29 January 1909 – 19 May 2002), a Yuin man, was a prominent Aboriginal leader. He toured Australia with a gumleaf orchestra during the Great Depression of the 1930s, played rugby league and became a respected eld ...
described no obligation to protect the black duck as his relationship with it was only on a "nation" level. Donaldson also briefly mentions "gender totems". Some animals, including the Black Duck, can have spiritual connections with Yuin at any of these levels. Yuin typically do not eat animals with which they have a spiritual connection, which are considered part of their extended family – restrictions which may extend to related animals (all ducks, for example, because of the Black Duck connection). Yuin elder Randall Mumbler describes the significance of the different levels of connection: Susan Dale Donaldson has assembled a preliminary list of Yuin spiritual connections, consisting of 20 birds, two marine animals (
bream Bream ( ) are species of freshwater and marine fish belonging to a variety of genera including '' Abramis'' (e.g., ''A. brama'', the common bream), '' Acanthopagrus'', ''Argyrops'', '' Blicca'', '' Brama'', '' Chilotilapia'', ''Etelis'', '' L ...
and whale), seven terrestrial mammals and three reptiles.


Specific animals

The black duck is the symbol for the Yuin people, and may be particularly significant for Yuin who may not have a ''moojingarl'' or do not know their family's spiritual connection due to dispossession and assimilation. Yuin have a spiritual connection (but not a "totem" one) with
Mount Gulaga Gulaga, dual-named as Mount Dromedary and also referred to as Mount Gulaga, is mountain located in the south coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It rises above the village of Central Tilba and is within the Gulaga National Park. At it ...
, believed to be the origin of the Yuin. From Gulaga, Merriman Island is visibly duck-shaped.
Genealogist Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...
and researcher Dave Tout, a relative of King Merriman, has identified at least four groups and their spiritual connection: * Wadthi-Wadthi (northern group):
Lyrebird A lyrebird is either of two species of ground-dwelling Australian birds that compose the genus ''Menura'', and the family Menuridae. They are most notable for their impressive ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environ ...
* Wadthi-Wadthi (southern group): Spotted owl * Yeerimbine (south of Twofold Bay):
Killer whale The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white pat ...
* Wandian (Mount Sassafrass):
Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...


Beings interacting with families

In 1904, the ethnologist Howitt described Yuin "totems" as
patrilineal Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritan ...
(i.e. inherited from the father), and gave ''budjan'', ''mura'' and ''jimbir'' as Yuin terms for these "totems". Errors in Howitt's account that have been identified by contemporary Yuin include his use of ''budjan'' for "totem" (it just means "bird") and that inheritance was only patrilineal, as there is also
matrilineal Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's lineage – and which can involve the inheritance ...
inheritance of family connections. There are still some Yuin families associated with certain animals. Many family connections are with birds – in which case they may be called "family birds".


Initiation totems and names

Howitt described a "medicine man" bestowing a "second totem" (additional to a family "totem") on a Yuin man at his initiation. Contemporary Yuin describe the process as a "discussion" between elder and initiand about which animal is personally significant, rather than a bestowal, and variously describe the spiritual connection as a "secret" or "ceremonial" one, or as a "personal" one. Donaldson says that ceremonial connections are earned by Yuin who "attain a certain ritual status". Many ceremonial relationships are with fish. Ceremonial connections are associated to the "specialised powers" that "clever people" have, such as Umbarra's power to turn into a whirlwind. Yuin women may receive up to four new names during their spiritual training. The first two level names are open but the third and fourth are secret. However, unlike other kinship relationships described here, the names are not those of animals; examples include plant names, sacred place names, spirit women names and the word for "female warrior".


Beings interacting with individuals

The Yuin word for a personal spiritual connection with an animal, , literally means "my friend" (from , friend, and , my) and involves reciprocity with that animal and a place or places where it is commonly found. Yuin typically do not marry people with connections to the same personal or family beings. A ''moojingarl'' is believed to "appear" unexpectedly, with its behaviour variously indicating approval, that all is well or that danger approaches. A person's "spirit" is expected to return to their ''moojingarl'', so the appearance of a dolphin may remind viewers of a relative whose ''moojingarl'' was the dolphin. A ''moojingarl'' is believed to reveal itself to a Yuin person, rather than be chosen for them. King Merriman described to Howitt that his black duck ''budjan'' ("bird", translated by Howitt as "totem") resided in his breast, and that if it were killed, Merriman would die as well. Merriman describes an attack by a person of the lace-lizard "totem", who sent a lace-lizard to crawl down Merriman's throat; it almost managed to eat the ''budjan'' in his breast. Yuin elder Harrison says that your "personal totem" is "whatever comes near you when you are born".


Spiritual beliefs


Messenger birds

Some Yuin believe in "messenger birds" or "mail birds", who are believed to communicate with their calls. Mopokes calling from a particular direction indicate that people are approaching from a particular direction (if they sing "fast and happy") or that a death occurred in the direction from which they are coming (if they call while slowly approaching from a distance). Willie wagtails deliver bad news, like the death of a loved one, and swans flying north indicate approaching storms. Yuin woman Eileen Morgan identifies four messenger birds (curlews, mail-birds, black ducks and owls), but also two mammals (black dogs and black wallabies). When angered, "wind birds" (perhaps whip birds) are believed to make the west wind blow by whistling.


Dulagal

Some Yuin believe in ''dulagal'' (also rendered ''doolagarl'') or "hairy man", a powerful being that lives on
Mount Gulaga Gulaga, dual-named as Mount Dromedary and also referred to as Mount Gulaga, is mountain located in the south coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It rises above the village of Central Tilba and is within the Gulaga National Park. At it ...
or in the bush between Bermagui and Mumbulla, but travels down to the coast.
Guboo Ted Thomas Edwin "Guboo" Ted Thomas (29 January 1909 – 19 May 2002), a Yuin man, was a prominent Aboriginal leader. He toured Australia with a gumleaf orchestra during the Great Depression of the 1930s, played rugby league and became a respected eld ...
describes him as having red eyes, no neck and a long forehead, and walking "from side to side". Yuin children were warned not to stray from the campsite for fear of ''dulagal,'' and he was said to be able to draw people to him or put them to sleep, and to imitate bird sounds. People could escape ''dulagal'' by burning green bush leaves. Yuin woman Eileen Morgan (and a sister of Thomas) associates ''dulagal'' with the yowie, although that particular term was not used by the Yuin.


Notable Yuin

*King Paddy Nurrang, King of Bergalia or Baragalia(?), of the Brinja people * Umbarra (died 1904), aka King Merriman, leader of the Djiringanj for many years from the late 1800s **Queen Narelle (or Nerelle), wife of Umbarra * Biamanga (died 1919), aka King Jack Mumbulla, also written Mumbler and Mumbla, and also referred to as John Biamanga Mumbler, elder and leader after whom Mumbulla Mountain and Biamanga National Park are named. In 1912 white authorities declared him king of the Wallaga Lake tribe, and gave him a brass breast-plate. Biamanga was the son of an Aboriginal man with the surname Mumbler/Mumbla and Elizabeth Mumbla Turner, and married Rose Gunaal (Gunnal)) Carpenter (1880–1971). Biamanga took over the leadership of the Wallaga Lake clan from Umbarra (see below). ** Percy Mumbler (1907–1991), son of Biamanga and Rose, elder and land rights activist * Edwin "Guboo" Ted Thomas (1909–2002) *
Jimmy Little James Oswald Little, AO (1 March 19372 April 2012) was an Australian Aboriginal musician, actor and teacher, who was a member of the Yorta Yorta tribe and was raised on the Cummeragunja Reserve, New South Wales. Little started his profes ...
(1937–2012), on his father's side


Notes


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


AusAnthrop Australian Aboriginal tribal database entry for Thaua (aka Thurga, aka Yuin)


* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080725120515/http://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/page/default.asp?site=2&page=TIN_Tribal&level=3&code=4&item=E5 Portion of Norman Tindale's (1974) Tribal Boundary Map including ''Djiringanj'', ''Thaua'', ''Walbanga'', & ''Wandandian''] {{Authority control Aboriginal peoples of New South Wales Extinct languages of New South Wales South Coast (New South Wales) Yuin–Kuric languages