Bundjalung people


The Bundjalung people are Aboriginal Australians who are the original custodians of the northern coastal area of New South Wales, located approximately northeast of Sydney, an area that includes the Bundjalung National Park.
Bundjalung people all share descent from ancestors who once spoke as their first, preferred language one or more of the dialects of the Lower-Richmond branch of the Yugambeh-Bundjalung language family.
The Arakwal of Byron Bay count themselves as one of the Bundjalung peoples.

Language

is a Pama-Nyungan language. It has two unusual features: certain syllables are strongly stressed while others are "slurred", and it classifies gender into four classes: masculine feminine arboreal and neuter.

Country

According to Norman Tindale, Bundjalung tribal lands encompassed roughly, from the northern side of the Clarence River to the Richmond River, including Ballina with their inland extension running to Tabulam and Baryugil. The coastal Widje horde ventured no further than Rappville.

Initiation ceremony

According to R. H. Mathews, the Bundjalung rite of transition into manhood began with a cleared space called a walloonggurra some distance from the main camp. On the evening the novices are taken from their mothers around dusk, the men sing their way to this bora ground where a small bullroarer is whirled.

Musical instruments

The Bundjalung used a variety of instruments including blowing on a eucalyptus leaf, creating a bird-like sound. Clapsticks were used to establish a drumbeat rhythm on ceremonial dancing occasions. Emu callers were traditionally used by the Bundjalung when hunting. When striking the emu-caller at one end with the open palm it sounds like an emu. This decoy attracts the bird out of the bush making it an easy prey.

People

Internationally renowned artist Digby Moran was a Bundjalung man. His work was frequently exhibited in Germany, and his art is held in regional galleries in Tweed, Lismore and Grafton regional galleries. He was born in Ballina and raised on Cabbage Tree Island, and coastal themes predominated in his artwork. He developed a diamond shape motif in his work, inspired by Bundjalung hunting clubs. He won international awards, and the exhibition of his work in Grafton was the most-visited exhibition ever at the gallery.
Author Melissa Lucashenko is a Bundjalung woman, who won a Walkley Award for non-fiction in 2013 and Australia's most prestigious book award, the Miles Franklin Award, in 2019, the latter for her novel Too Much Lip.

Alternative names

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