The Time of Marrai’gang – Bana’marrai’yung.
Wet, becoming cooler (March / April / May)
The annual cycle of the D’harawal landscape comprises six seasons, one of which is the season of Bana’marrai’yung.
The time of the year when the cries of the Marrai’gang (Quoll) seeking his mate can be heard through the forests and woodlands. The Lillipilli ripens and food is plentiful, however, when the fruit begins to fall from the trees it is a sign that it is time to start moving from the highlands and plains down to the coastal areas. It is also the time to start mending cloaks or making new ones in preparation for the coming cold weather.
The Time of Marrai’gang is also the time to survey the bushland to make ready for the burning of the country if the Keeper of the Flame, Dharamuoy, considers it necessary and if the weather and winds allow it to be done safely. It is also the season when young male animals can be eaten once the traditional rites have been conducted.
During this time the raucous cries of the quoll can be heard throughout the bushland as it seeks its mate.
The flowering of the Kurnell, the native carrot (Daucus glochidiatus), finished at the beginning of the Bana’marrai’yung, which meant that the root was now available to supplement the everyday diet of the D’harawal People. An annual plant, it reproduces prolifically by seed, but once flowering finished the root could be taken and cooked.
Frances Bodkin, D’harawal Climate and Natural Resources
Marareen, the golden orb spider (Nephila maculata), starts to build her intricate, massive webs between bushes during the Gadalung Marool. During the Season of Marrai’gang she will mate, and the fine, golden webs will trap the insects which Marareen will wrap in fine silk and which will provide food for her children when they hatch out from the cocoon she has buried in soil beneath the web. The part of the web that reflects a rich golden colour is sticky and strong and, when you accidentally walk into it, most people get quite a fright. However, the most interesting parts of Marareen’s web are the colourless cables that anchor the main part of the web to the trees and shrubs. These cables are the strongest known substance produced naturally by any creature in the Australian bush. The D’harawal People collected these cables and used them to stitch up deep wounds.
During the Bana’marrai’yung the feeble, mournful cry of Garral, the glossy black cockatoo, will be heard as he seeks his mate. Never far from the Dahlwah (casuarinas) where they feed, a nest will be constructed from a layer of shredded wood in a large hollow high in a eucalypt. In the nest a single, white egg will be laid, and the pair will care for the baby until it is able to care for itself. The occurrence of the glossy black cockatoo is declining because of the removal of its habitat.
Boo’dhawa, the screech owl, can be heard hunting marsupial mice and other small mammals during most nights, but during the Season of Marrai’gang its main interest is in finding a mate, then helping to find food for the young hatchlings. It lives in open forest and woodlands, and roosts and nests in caves, on rock ledges, or in treetops. It builds its nest in large tree hollows and nowadays in old buildings. The female lays three or four white eggs in this nest, but both male and female take turns in incubating the eggs and feeding the babies until they are able to fend for themselves.
The flowering of the Kurnell, the native carrot (Daucus glochidiatus), finished at the beginning of the Bana’marrai’yung, which meant that the root was now available to supplement the everyday diet of the D’harawal People. An annual plant, it reproduces prolifically by seed, but once flowering finished the root could be taken and cooked.
Each species of Geebung has its own distinctive flavour, from plum to mango, and was much favoured by children, who popped the fruit like squeezing a grape and ate only the pulp, swallowing the seed whole.
Frances Bodkin, D’harawal Climate and Natural Resources
The fruit of the Geebung (Persoonia) has ripened by the Season of Marrai’gang and often it was a race between children and the cockatoos to get to the fruit first. Each species of Geebung has its own distinctive flavour, from plum to mango, and was much favoured by children, who popped the fruit like squeezing a grape and ate only the pulp, swallowing the seed whole.
Notice was carefully taken of the Bai’yali (stringy-bark), and Kai’yeroo (ribbon-bark) or Boo’angi (smooth-bark) growing together. It was believed that the branches of the Kai’yeroo or Boo’angi rubbing against the Bai’yali would cause crown fires in the hot season, thus when these trees grew together branches were removed that might encroach into the canopy of the other.
The branches of the Kai’yeroo or Boo’angi rubbing against the Bai’yali would cause crown fires in the hot season, thus when these trees grew together branches were removed that might encroach into the canopy of the other.
Frances Bodkin, D’harawal Climate and Natural Resources
The Illawarra is located on D’harawal land. We acknowledge that the Wodi-Wodi people are the Traditional Custodians of the land and have lived sustainably in this landscape for thousands of years. They understand the complex and interconnected cycles of weather, plants and animals.
Download a PDF of the D’harawal Seasonal Calendar poster here.
We acknowledge and thank Dr Frances Bodkin and illustrator Lorraine Robertson for allowing us to share their work in this story. If you are interested in learning more, we recommend visiting the website D’harawal Stories and ordering the two books: D’harawal Dreaming Stories and D’harawal Climate and Natural Resources, both compiled by Frances Bodkin and illustrated by Lorraine Robertson and published by Envirobook.
