In a historic collaboration, the GunaiKurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GLaWAC) and researchers from Monash University have discovered evidence of ancient rituals dating back 500 generations. These findings, published in the esteemed journal Nature Human Behaviour, provide profound insights into the rich heritage of one of the world’s oldest living cultures.
The archaeological excavations unearthed two small fireplaces, each containing a wooden stick. The upper fireplace held a stick the size of a human palm, with a partially burned Casuarina stem among the ashes. The second, buried deeper, also contained a single Casuarina stem, this one shaped like a throwing stick.
Remarkably, chemical analyses revealed that both sticks had been smeared with either animal or human fat, dating them to approximately 11,000 and 12,000 years ago, which marks the end of the last Ice Age.
Nineteenth-century ethnography offers detailed descriptions of such fireplaces, shedding light on their purpose. Alfred Howitt, a government geologist and pioneering ethnographer, documented the ritual practices of the mulla-mullung, the powerful GunaiKurnai healers.
The ritual involved tying something belonging to the sick person to the end of a throwing stick coated in human or kangaroo fat. The throwing stick was then stuck into the ground at an angle before a fire was lit beneath it. The mulla-mullung would chant the sick person’s name, and once the stick fell, the spell was considered complete.
Crucially, Howitt noted that the stick was made from Casuarina and that the practice still exists.
GunaiKurnai elder Uncle Russell Mullett remarked on the significance of these artifacts, which represent cultural knowledge passed down through 500 generations.
That these artifacts have survived is simply incredible. They are telling us a story. They have been waiting here all this time for us to learn from them. It’s a reminder that we are a living culture still connected to our ancient past. It’s a unique opportunity to read the memories of our Ancestors and share that with our community, Uncle Russell Mullett said.
Professor Bruno David, from the Monash Indigenous Studies Centre at Monash University, emphasized that the findings are a testament to the resilience of GunaiKurnai cultural practices and oral traditions.
The connection of these archaeological findings to recent GunaiKurnai practices demonstrates 12,000 years of knowledge transfer, Professor David stated. Nowhere else on Earth has the archaeological evidence of such a specific cultural practice been traced back so far in time.
An earlier excavation at Cloggs Cave in the 1970s occurred when Traditional Owners were not consulted about excavations on their land. Uncle Russell Mullett believes it is time for the GunaiKurnai to reclaim their stories and better understand the ways of their Ancestors.
Today, GLaWAC and Monash University are showing what a true Traditional Owner-led partnership should look like. Only by combining Western scientific techniques with our traditional knowledge can the full story begin to unfold, Uncle Russell Mullett noted.
SOURCES
David, B., Mullett, R., Wright, N. et al. Archaeological evidence of an ethnographically documented Australian Aboriginal ritual dated to the last ice age. Nat Hum Behav (2024). doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-01912-w
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