The following text is from Aunty Doreen Garvey-Wandin (Wurundjeri-Wandoon Senior Elder)
Traditional clans and boundaries
Many thousands of years ago, mountains and rivers created the boundaries between traditonal clans. Our people would trade skins,traditionl medicines and stone axe tools across the rivers.
Each clan knew their boundaries and clan members were not permitted to enter other clan territories unless they were given permission. The men would meet and hold ceremonies. Through these ceremonies, they spoke about men's business which was told very secretly.
Nurturing country with wiiñ (fire)
Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung learnt the ways of nurturing biik (country) with wiiñ (fire). Reading the signs within the soil, plants, winds, and seasons, Wurundjeri would burn the land to keep it healthy. biik (the land) would regenerate with new life after each cycle of wisely applied fire.
With this stewardship of cool, cultural burning, Wurundjeri gained another important way of upholding the laws of bundjil. biik (country) flourished under this care, and it enabled all parts of the circle of life to also flourish.
wiiñ (fire) is a tool of Wurundjeri that allows growth, health, balance, and life to ripple and echo through our many understandings of existence for humans and our more than human kin.
The story of waa and biik
waa (crow), a protector of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung, was cunning, intelligent, and a cheeky trickster. He had smelt the lovely cooking smells coming from the camp of the seven karatgurk (sisters) and decided to investigate.
He was fascinated to see their use of fire to cook food and bring warmth and light after the sun had gone down. When he asked the sisters, they pretended to not know what he was talking about. So waa worked out a plan, so he could get some hot coals from the tops of the sisters’ digging sticks.
waa carefully placed snakes inside a hollowed-out ant mound. He offered the mound to the sisters, telling them it contained delicious ant larvae. When the women happily started to break the mound apart with their digging sticks, they disturbed the snakes, and a big commotion broke out.
In the mayhem, they threw their digging sticks down and waa quickly scooped up some glowing coals. The sisters recovered but were later swept up into the sky to form the Pleiades constellation above Wurundjeri biik (country).
Being new to the ways of wiiñ (fire) waa didn’t understand its ability to transform what it touched. It wasn’t long before waa became blackened. bundjil (Wedge-tailed eagle) saw this happening and stepped in to stop the fire getting out of control. bundjil knew that wiiñ (fire) could be devastating but also a useful tool for humans. So, he carefully taught Wurundjeri people to be skillful fire stick practitioners.