The Yalukit or Yalukit-willam people are a constituent
clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...
of the
Boonwurrung
The Boonwurrung, also spelt Bunurong or Bun wurrung, are an Aboriginal people of the Kulin nation, who are the traditional owners of the land from the Werribee River to Wilsons Promontory in the Australian state of Victoria. Their territory ...
peoples. The Yalukit are the earliest
Aboriginal inhabitants of the central bay-side region of
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
(Birrarung-ga). The Yalukit have inhabited the central bay-side areas of Melbourne for thousands of years.
Country
Yalukit territory extends eastwards from the
Werribee River
The Werribee River is a perennial river of the Port Phillip catchment that is located on the expansive lowland plain southwest of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The headwaters of a tributary, the Lerderderg River, are north of Ballan near ...
, through to
Williamstown,
Sandridge
Sandridge is a village and civil parish between the city centre of St Albans ( to the south-west) and Wheathampstead in Hertfordshire, England, forming part of the contiguous built-up area of St Albans.
History
The original name was "Saundruag ...
and
St Kilda.
Etymology
The name Yalukit-willam means "river home" or "people of the river", referring to the
Yarra and
Maribyrnong River
The Maribyrnong River is a perennial river of the Port Phillip catchment, located in the northwestern suburbs of Melbourne, in the Australian state of Victoria.
Course
The Maribyrnong River draws its headwaters from near Mount Macedon within ...
.
Traditional life
The Yalukit traditionally practised tool manufacturing,
ochre
Ochre ( ; , ), iron ochre, or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colou ...
collection, and
burning of the landscape to allow for renewal of the flora and fauna. The Yalukit land currently occupied by Central Melbourne is a major meeting place for the Kulin Nation where social events, ceremonies, marriages, initiations, trade, and judicial matters are conducted. Yalukit people are of the
Bundjil moiety
Moiety may refer to:
__NOTOC__ Anthropology
* Moiety (kinship), either of two groups into which a society is divided
** A division of society in the Iroquois societal structure in North America
** An Australian Aboriginal kinship group
** Native Ha ...
and so were required to marry outside of the clan to people of the Waa moiety in the surrounding
Kulin nation
The Kulin nation is an alliance of five Aboriginal nations in the south of Australia - up into the Great Dividing Range and the Loddon and Goulburn River valleys - which shares Culture and Language.
History
Before British colonisation, the ...
; married Yalukit women would move away from Yalukit lands to live with other clans. Yalukit people hunted kangaroo, birds, eels and other seafood, and gathered edible plants such as wattle gum. While men primarily hunted the large game, women were also capable of doing so. The work required to sustain the clan could take as little as five hours a day. Food was shared freely with those less able within the clan.
Decision-making within the clan was conducted by a senior council which met to discuss serious issues such as clan movements, inter-tribal business, or to resolve interpersonal conflict. As winter approached, the clan would move upstream to drier areas that were less prone to flooding.
Clothing was sewn from animal skins and furs including possum and kangaroo and also woven from plant materials. Hair was kept long and decorated with claws, animal teeth, earthenware, and other accessories. The ears and nose could be pierced with animal bones and the face painted with ochre.
Place names in Melbourne from the Yalukit dialect
* Williamstown: ''Kertbooruc / Koort-boork-boork'' - (a clump of she-oak trees at that site)
*
Kororoit Creek
The Kororoit Creek is a watercourse of the Port Phillip catchment, rising in the outer north western suburbs of Melbourne, in the Australian state of Victoria.
Location and features
The Kororoit Creek rises below Mount Kororoit, northeast of ...
: ''Kororoit'' - male kangaroo, said to be from ''kure'' (kangaroo)
Notes
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
*
Aboriginal peoples of Victoria (state)
{{IndigenousAustralia-stub