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7. 1 M U N G O REPORT the Statement of Significance of the Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area to Aboriginal People of Western New South Wales statements contributed between 1985 and 2024 production and editorial content by Western Heritage Group CHAPTER 8 COUNTRY, ANCESTORS AND RESPONSIBILITYA lot of our people who didn’t speak up about Mungo thirty years ago would speak up now. Look at how far Aboriginal people have come since the oppression of the mission and welfare days. Look at how far we’ve come in the last thirty years! Brenda Mitchell (Broken Hill, 2014) COUNTRY , ANCESTORS AND RESPONSIBILITY CONTENTS Tracing our cultural journey, 1985-2023 Relevant issues and events in the 1980s Ways of belonging to the Willandra Lakes Country Aboriginal culture and archaeology Relevant issues and events in the 1990s Relevant issues and events, 1999-2020 Cultural considerations, 2021-2022 The reburial of Mungo Woman and Mungo Man The Willandra Lakes and Aboriginal people: looking towards the future Belonging to the Willandra Lakes: deeper knowledge through a sacred story Sharing some thoughts about Country, 2024 A final word, for now7.47. 5 TRACING OUR CULTURAL JOURNEY 1985 - 2024 This final chapter of The Mungo Report traces a cultural journey of reflection and action about heritage and belonging in the Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area. Our documentation of this began in 1985, when the Department of the Environment and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service commissioned the Western Regional Aboriginal Land Council to do a report on Aboriginal ties to the Willandra Lakes within living memory. The research for the report was done by the Land Council’s Heritage Working Group (later renamed The Western Heritage Group) during a series of trips to relevant Aboriginal communities between 1985 and 1991. The scope of the report was extended to include Aboriginal responses to archaeological practices in the Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area and the need for Aboriginal control of all cultural heritage in the region. After submitting this report, the Western Heritage Group decided that the issues involved were so important that we should do further consultation and research about traditional ties to the Willandra Lakes and about the present-day sense of belonging to that Country. We also decided to document the continuing Aboriginal demand for the repatriation of the ancient Ancestors, now known as Mungo Woman and Mungo Man, who had been removed from their burial places on the lunette at Lake Mungo for scientific study, in 1968 and 1974 respectively. We begin this chapter by restating some of the beliefs, thoughts and memories shared by people in the 1985-91 consultation, then we trace some issues and events in the following decades that intensified the beliefs, thoughts and feelings of Aboriginal people about cultural heritage in the Willandra Lakes region. This includes the anger and frustration about the slow response from both the government and the scientific community to these important cultural demands. We also record some positive steps forward - most significantly, the return to Country of Mungo Woman (1992) and Mungo Man ( 2017). This chapter also records the on-going debate among Aboriginal people about whether ancient Ancestors, whose graves have been exposed by erosion, should be reburied or whether a Keeping Place should be constructed at Mungo. Because this debate was unresolved, Mungo Woman and Mungo Man were locked in a safe at Mungo for many years after their return to Country. This inappropriate treatment of ancient Ancestors distressed many people and finally led a group of Mutthi Mutthi, Ngiyampaa and Paakantyi people to secretly rebury Mungo Woman and Mungo Man in 2022. We present reasons given by Aboriginal people who support and who oppose these reburials. While The Mungo Report has its own historic importance, it would be valuable if a new report could be done, commissioned by an autonomous regional Aboriginal body and recording what a wide range of Aboriginal people with ties to the Willandra Lakes are now saying about Aboriginal cultural heritage in the Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area. - The Western Heritage Group, 2023 The spelling of tribal names: For Paakantyi, Parrintyi, Yitha Yitha and Ngiyampaa, we have used the spelling preferred by linguists. We have been asked by Mutthi Mutthi contributors to use the spelling preferred and used in their community. RELEVANT ISSUES & EVENTS IN THE 1980s Renewed regional strength through Aboriginal Land Councils The 1980s saw a reassertion of self-determination by Aboriginal people in the far west of New South Wales. There was optimism and cultural revival, spurred on by the Local Aboriginal Land Councils. There was also a decision by Regional and Local Land Councils to use funds from the Land Rights Act to buy back land. These Land Councils also used their new-found power to claim Aboriginal rights in matters concerning Ancestral burials, significant cultural sites and other aspects of cultural heritage. This was the atmosphere of that time, reflected in people’s words in The Mungo Report. 1981: The Willandra Lakes inscribed on the World Heritage list The World Heritage importance of this region is largely due to the 42,000-year-old Aboriginal burials that had eroded out of the lunette at Lake Mungo, which were of great scientific interest. The boundaries of this World Heritage Area include the Willandra Lakes themselves but only a a small portion of Willandra Creek where it runs into the lakes at their northern end. But in Aboriginal tradition, the Willandra Lakes and the entire length of Willandra Creek belong together inseparably. In ancient times this Creek was a substantial river, flowing into the lakes as their main source of water. Significant sites in sacred story which link the entire Creek and the Lakes, are a precious Aboriginal heritage.7. 7 The Willandra Lakes ancestral remains represent the largest series of modern human fossil remains outside of Africa dating to the late Pleistocene period. Fossil remains of modern humans in large numbers dating to the Ice Age are exceedingly rare, survival is often against all odds. By carefully burying their ancestors of tens of thousands of years ago in sediments that were perfect for fossilisation, a record globally recognised as being of World Heritage significance was unconsciously created by the ancestors of today’s communities in the Willandra Lakes region. Michael Westaway, archaeologist, 2022 The World Heritage importance of this region is largely due to the 42,000-year-old Aboriginal burials that had eroded out of the lunette at Lake Mungo. Although many Aboriginal people are interested in the scientific dating of their ancestral presence in the Willandra Lakes region, there are also strong beliefs about not disturbing burials, which are sacred in Aboriginal law. So the study of ancient Ancestors is a more complex issue for the Aboriginal community than for the scientific community. An important part of the consultation was making folders of the words and photos of contributors and showing them to people in all the communities involved. This gave everyone a chance to read and think about the stories, thoughts and feelings of contributors from different towns and tribal groups. A number of people adjusted their own contributions after reading what a respected Elder had said. During the 1980s, the Western Regional Aboriginal Land Council also organised some large gatherings at Mungo National Park, where there were exchanges of cultural information and discussion about topics of vital importance. The friendly, respectful discussions between these three tribal groups led to two important outcomes from this consultation: • Sharing information about traditional ties to the Willandra Lakes Country • Naming a sense of shared responsibility to speak and act for the Willandra Lakes Country and the ancient Ancestors buried there. Gathering information about ties to the Willandra Lakes Country When consultation for this Report began in 1985, we found only a few Elders who had some fragments of knowledge that had been handed down to them about relationship to this Country and the significant sites, ceremonies and stories that belong to it. The 19th century invasion of the area by the pastoral industry led to the enforced exile of Aboriginal people who belong there. This caused great difficulties in handing on detailed traditional knowledge about this Country, because it became impossible for Elders to take young people to significant sites. Since sacred stories can only be fully taught by visiting specific places, some important knowledge was lost and other knowledge could only be partially taught. The precious fragments that are known, together with some 19th century writings, help us piece together some of the ways in which a number of tribes belong to the Willandra Creek/Willandra Lakes Country. 1985: Consultation for The Mungo Report begins In living memory there was always a harmonious relationship between tribes in the vicinity of the Willandra Lakes, with many kinship ties. But this consultation (1985-1991) became an extra bonding experience for the Paakantyi, Mutthi Mutthi and Ngiyampaa people who came forward to share memories of tribal and family connections to the Willandra Lakes and to express their concern about cultural heritage in that Country. Early stages of preparing this Report, 1980s: Isabel Kirby (left), Kay Shepherd & Tony Hall (right) reading some of the contributions Early stages of preparing this Report, 1980s: Making contributions (left), Cora & Arthur Kirby discussing an early draft (right)Ways of belonging to the Willandra Lakes Country Some tribes from further away - for example, from along the Murray River - were linked to the Willandra Lakes Country and its people through trade and social ties and probably through shared ceremonies. Some known links to the Willandra Lakes are: Through shared Country Through shared ceremonial sites and ceremonies Through shared knowledge of sacred/significant sites Through shared stories and songlines The Willandra Lakes lie in Country which has been significant to a number of tribes since the very beginning. Information given by Elders in the 1980s shows that the people belonging most closely to that region in day-to-day life were the Parrintyi, who are part of the Paakantyi culture group. However, people from other surrounding tribes – Ngiyampaa, Yitha Yitha and Mutthi Mutthi – have always had spiritual and ceremonial ties to the Willandra Lakes Country.7.107. 11 Aunty Liza Kennedy (one of the most senior contributors to this Report in the 1980s), described her relationship to her Ngiyampaa ancestral Land in a way that helps us see how people from other tribes in this region would have related to their own ancestral Country. She spoke of her ngurrampaa , which translates literally into English as ‘camp-world’ – the Country where Ngiyampaa people were born, lived and died and which had been the material and spiritual inheritance of their people since the very beginning. When she spoke in English, Aunty Liza called this her ‘territory’ or ‘beat’. In a similar way, the Parrintyi people and other tribes surrounding the Willandra Creek/Willandra Lakes had always lived in and identified with the specific ‘camp-worlds’ to which their people had belonged since the very beginning. This is the fundamental way of belonging to ancestral Land. I like saying that Country doesn’t belong to Aboriginal people, we belong to Country. Pam Greer, 2023 Paakantyi and Parrintyi are the same, as far as I can understand from what the old people told me, only some words are just a little bit different. But Paakantyi and Parrintyi people would have always mixed a lot. From what I can remember that Aunty Nellie Johnson and Aunty Maggie Brody told me, and Granny Kate Bugmy, the Paakantyi people used to live all along Willandra Creek and around Lake Mungo. Elsie Jones, 1985 Connection to Country is vitally important. If you’ve got no connection to your Country, you lose your identity. I live on my grandfather Alf Kelly’s Country down near Swan Hill now, but I maintain my connection to the Mutthi Mutthi Country I come from. I still visit it, maintain my connection with family and my kids. Gary Pappin, 2023 Belonging through the inheritance of ancestral Land Belonging through shared Country Since the Parrintyi (‘Belonging to the scrub’) and the Paakantyi (‘Belonging to the River’) are part of the same culture group, it was always natural for them to spend time in one another’s Country. Although Cameron doesn’t specify the tribes of the Willandra Lakes region, his observation ties in with what we know of tribal relationships to this Country. Aboriginal people today speak of ‘shared Country’, where the Country of one culture group meets the Country of an adjoining culture group, and a wide area has always been meaningful to both tribes, visited and cared for by both. An example of this is where Paakantyi Country meets Parrintyi, Ngiyampaa and Yitha Yitha Country: ‘As far as I can make out, there are no very clearly defined boundaries between these tribes. The tribes seem to melt into each other. (Tribes of New South Wales, p. 347) In cooler seasons, Paakantyi people from the Darling River would have spent time in the scrub Country and in dry times, Parrintyi people would have spent time in the Darling River Country. The close relationship between these two groups would have included many marriages. It seems that tribal borders in pre-invasion times were not as rigid as today’s maps suggest. In the 19th century A.L.P. Cameron, whose interest in Aboriginal culture led to the publication of his notes in 1884, said about the tribes of western New South Wales: 7.127. 13 Manfred and Clare [sheep stations] was the limit to where Paakantyi people went from the [Darling] River. Gertie Johnson, 1985 Well, they could’ve gone further if they wanted to, but that was the limit in their belief. Elsie Jones, 1985 It went both ways – from what I understand, Trida Mob [Ngiyampaa] people like Fred Biggs went down to Pooncarie [in Paakantyi Country] to fish. Max Harris, 2023 The areas mentioned by Aunty Gertie and Aunty Elsie are beyond the heartland of Paakantyi Country along the Darling River. Most of Manfred station is in Ngiyampaa and Parrintyi Country to the north of Willandra Creek, and Manfred’s southern end crosses the Creek into Yitha Yitha Country. Clare station is in Yitha Yitha Country and Lake Mungo is in Parrintyi Country. From what these two Elders say, it seems that in pre-invasion times Paakantyi people frequently visited/ periodically lived in some areas of Ngiyampaa and Yitha Yitha Country because it was shared Country. After the invasion, many Paakantyi and Parrintyi people continued their ties with this Country by working on stations like Clare and Manfred. An entry in a 19th century diary suggests that the lower Willandra Lakes was shared Country. In 1860, Ludwig Becker (a member of the Burke and Wills expedition) recorded that they were guided through that southern part of Parrintyi Country by an Old Man whose name he spelt “Watpipa”. Linguist Luise Hercus suggested that this is likely to be Waarr-pik-waarr in Yita Yita. Alternatively, Mutthi Mutthi man Gary Pappin says: ‘ Waipipa is a Mutthi Mutthi word meaning “Wise person.” It is the designation of the head person of the tribe.’ Ludwig Becker had the impression that this Elder was guiding them away from important sites in the lower Willandra Lakes region, which indicates that he was knowledgable about southern Parrintyi Country and that his people not only shared this Country but probably shared some sacred or significant sites and ceremonies with Parrintyi people. Portraits of this important Elder by Ludwig Becker, 1860 W i l la n d r a C r e e k W i l l a n d r a L a k e s D a r l i n g R i v e r Map drawn by Peter Thompson7.147. 15 Some of the old people told me that there’s a place at Lake Mungo that’s a sacred site for a few different tribes. It was Paakantyi and Paarintji as well as Mutthi Mutthi. They didn’t tell me the exact place – I never went out there with the old people. I just know that this sacred place was on Lake Mungo itself. They used to put them through the laws and rules there. My old granny, Sarah Cabbage, told me that. So did Granny Webster, the one we called ‘Granny Thuthan’. And I heard it from Manfred Mary Elsie Jones, 1985 ‘Malkarra had something to do with Lake Mungo, Aunty Maggie Brody told us. Our people were scared of going out there, because you’d be crossing Malkarra’s tracks. You could cross his tracks if you said the right words to protect yourself. But I don’t know where his tracks went, because I never went out to Mungo with the old people Elsie Jones, 1985 Belonging through shared ceremonial sites Belonging through shared sacred stories This shared ceremonial site is evidence of the close spiritual tie between Parrintyi and Paakantyi people. It also indicates that Mutthi Mutthi people had a spiritual relationship with Lake Mungo, and they must have shared some sacred knowledge, beliefs and ceremonies with Parrintyi and Paakantyi people. There were other ceremonial sites in this region that were shared by a number of tribes: for example, Mt. Manara was shared by Paakantyi and Ngiyampaa people. Aunty Elsie Jones was told about a Paakantyi Ancestor called Malkarra, who left his tracks in the vicinity of Lake Mungo in the Time of Creation. She described him as ‘A special kind of person, a rogue, a cunning Blackfella’. Ceremonial sites like this weren’t for the exclusive use of the tribe belonging to that Country. They were for big shared ceremonies, with people from a number of tribal groups gathering there from time to time. There’s an important ceremonial site in Ngiyampaa Country, not very far from the flood plain of Willandra Creek. Ceremonial sites have scarred trees and ground drawings associated with them. For example, at this site there’s a rainbow serpent cut into the earth. Max Harris, 2023 Great-grandfather Jeremiah Kirby told that story about Malkarra just the way Elsie does. That’s why a lot of people won’t go out there and live. For those same reasons Elsie says Alice Kelly, 1985 This story about Malkarra and his tracks may have continued into Yitha Yitha Country, because Aunty Alice Kelly heard it from her great-grandfather, who was a Yitha Yitha man:7.167. 17 The story of the two hunters and the giant kangaroo is possibly a songline. There would have been songs and dances associated with all the camps and springs on the hunters’ journey. Debbie Evans, 2023 Belonging through stories of the Time of Creation Sacred stories about journeys over great distances during the Time of Creation link the Country of many tribes. In the 19th century, A.L.P. Cameron recorded a story that links Ngiyampaa, Paakantyi, Parrintyi, Yitha Yitha and Mutthi Mutthi people. This story begins on the northern side of Willandra Creek, in Ngiyampaa Country. Adapted from Google Earth map 2024 by Peter Thompson WILLANDRA LAKES W I L L A N D R A C R E E K The Land along Willandra Creek is Ngiyampaa Country on the northern side and Yitha Yitha on the southern side. The south-east end of Ngiyampaa Country starts from where Willandra Creek leaves the Lachlan River, where the red sand runs into the Lachlan and where there are stony hills. The southern end of our Country extends along the whole length of Willandra Creek. Max Harris, 2023 The story of the two hunters and the giant kangaroo ‘At the beginning of time, two hunters pursued a giant kangaroo. Willandra Creek shows the track of this kangaroo as it fled, all the way from the Lachlan River, through the Willandra Lakes and to the Murray River. Small hills show the camps of the hunters as they followed the kangaroo. Other Ancestors interacted with the hunters along the track.’ - From A.L.P. Cameron’s notes, published in 1884Next >