DARUG PEOPLE & HISTORY

The Dreaming

Traditional Aboriginal knowledge suggests that Aboriginal people have been in Australia since the Dreaming, the time when the world was created. Their history and laws were not written down in books - they were passed on in story and song from generation to generation.

Hunting and Gathering

The Aborigines who lived in the Sydney area had a diverse range of foods available to them and an intimate knowledge of what could be eaten and where and when it could be found. This is one of the reasons that Aboriginal bands did not remain at the same place for long periods, since the food resources would be available in different areas at different seasons.

Burial

There were a number of different burial practices carried out, depending on the status of the dead person. The important people of the Gundungurra and the Dharawal were wrapped in bark and placed in trees, often surrounded by carved trees. Other people were buried in an upright position. The coastal Darug buried young people, but cremated older men. Many burial mounds existed along the banks of the Nepean and Hawkesbury Rivers.

Death

The coastal Darug believed that Aborigines came from the clouds, and that when they died they returned to the clouds.

The Darug also believed that if a boy or a girl looked at a rainbow, it would cause the death of their uncles.

In the event of an unexplained death, it was often assumed that this had been caused by magic. An avenging expedition was often undertaken to bring justice to those concerned.

When a man was killed by open violence, it was necessary for his relatives to avenge his killing. The elders and warriors would assemble, with their heads, shoulders and chests painted with white pipeclay. When the camp of the man they were looking for was found, they would wait until morning and then the headman of the party would call out to the headman of the camp, asking for the surrender of the man who was to be punished. The law was clear, and no-one would interfere with this process. The accused man would be told by his leader to prepare to defend himself. He would pick up his shield and stand alone to parry the spears. He would do this until he was wounded.

Initiation Ceremonies

The secret and sacred parts of male initiation ceremonies were not shown to Europeans, and are known only to initiated Aboriginal men. These initiated men did not talk about the details of their ceremonies, but a number of accounts by Europeans document the parts of the ceremonies which were not secret.

When a youth passed through his first initiation ceremony, he was forbidden to eat male koala, kangaroo, possum and short-nosed bandicoot. He could not eat either sex of emu, echidna, pelican or ducks, snapper, groper and eels, but other fish could be eaten, He was not allowed to eat any animal which burrows in the ground or which has sharp teeth.

At least two types of ceremonies were carried out before a youth was fully initiated, but there were almost certainly other smaller steps during initiation which have not been recorded. to scratch any part of his body. He drew out the bone and used it for the purpose, because he was not allowed to scratch himself with his finger nails. A kangaroo or possum skin rug was adjusted over each novices head in such a manner that he saw only the ground at his feet.

The Kooringal, the band of stong active men who were responsible for certain portions of the ceremonies, also painted their bodies with powdered charcoal, or burnt grass, mixed with emu fat. On the completion of the painting of the boys and men, the party proceeded to a camp, called bun'numbeal, in a secluded part of their hunting grounds. On the way the novices were told to hold their hands on their stomachs, which after a time became very tiring to the muscles of the arms. When the party came to a deep rut of dry watercourse, the novices had to walk down into the bottom and up the other side, even though it was so narrow that they could easily jump over it. If however, there was any water in the bottom of the channel, the guardian carried his boy over it on his shoulders, the novices not being allowed to go into the water until after they had been initiated. If a log, or fallen tree, obstructed their path, the boys could not step over it, but had to make a detour round either end. If a youth's belt worked loose and dropped to the ground, his guardian took off his own belt, and gave it to the boy, because it was considered unlucky to hand him the belt which had fallen off.

On succession each novice had one front upper incisor punched out, this was held up to public view, the men shouted the names of sacred places in the novices country, and the totems of his family. The tooth was then handed to one of the boys relatives. The following morning the bullroarers were shown to the novices, who were warned against revealing what they have seen and been taught during their time in the bush.

Marriage

The selection of a wife or husband was determined through the grandparents to the marriage. The male elders of a group would gather and assign a particular woman (sometimes several women) to have a special relationship, called nanaree by the Dharawal, with a young boy. The boy would also be nanaree to the women. A boy and a woman who were nanaree to each other were theoretically future mother-in-law and son-in-law respectively. The boy was forbidden to speak to or even look at this woman, and she could not look at him or speak to him. This prevented the possibility of the boy becoming the father of his own wife. When a young girl was nanaree to a man before she was born or when she was a small child, it was customary to tie a ligature around the top joint of the little finger on the left hand when she was a baby. This would cause the joint to drop off, and at least along the coast, this would indicate her status as a betrothed woman. The removal of the finger tip was practiced along the coast at least as far north as Coffs Harbour.

Aboriginal Regulations for food collection

Each of the tribes had regulations regarding what foods could be eaten, and what the obligations were regarding sharing the food.

The Dharawal believed that certain foods where prohibited to certain people, and these prohibited foods were known collectively as mugu. In some tribes, an uninitiated boy could eat only female animals he caught, and the males he would take back to the camp and gives them to the old people.

When a youth was undergoing his initiation, his mother and father had to eat only the same foods as their son. When a boy was released from a taboo, so were his parents.

A pregnant woman could not eat schooling fish, but could eat rock-cod, flathead, leather, jacket, but not snapper, groper and bream.

Sheltered Sites

Many sites provide evidence for the way of life of Aboriginal people in the Sydney region before the arrival of Europeans. In the places where sandstone occurs, it often weathers to produce rock overhangs and shelters, which were frequently used as cooking and camping places.

The oldest rock shelter sited in the Sydney area is not along the coast, but at the foot of the Blue Mountains close to the Nepean River.

Depopulation from Smallpox

The reason many aboriginal population estimates for the Sydney region are so low is that a smallpox epidemic ravaged the population within the first few years of European settlement. The epidemic seems to have spread rapidly throughout Australia.

Women's Business

Some traditions the Darug shared with other groups. For example, when a woman was menstruating she was required to sleep at a separate fire away from the main camp, and was not allowed to associate with other people.

Only females were allowed to be present during birth. One helper would pour cold water onto the abdomen of the mother-to-be, while another tied the end of a line around her neck and rubbed her own lips with the other end until they bled. This was to help relieve the pain. When the baby was born, a helper cut the umbilical cord and then washed the baby. The remnants of the umbilical cord were removed with the help of a small leg bone of a kangaroo, heated near the fire, which was used to deaden the tissue near the navel.