YUIN COUNTRY – Minga Guluga (Mother Mountain)
published this on 9th of May 2021
Wallawaani: (said when you greet someone) – Translates to ‘we hope you have had a safe journey / we wish you a safe journey’ in Dharga.
I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians upon the land in which I’m writing on, the land of the Yuin people. I pay my respects to the Traditional Owners, their ancestors and Elders – past, present, and emerging. I pay my respects to mother earth, I witness her, I listen to her, the sacred trees, animals and the spiritual waters.
Earlier this year, I was honoured to spend some time staying near Gulaga Mountain, a sacred mountain for the Yuin people of this land, which is known as theMinga Mother mountain. Yuin people from near and far gain strength and comfort from Guluga. The dreamtime story of Guluga represents her two sons in front of her, and Guluga laying above them. One son lays in the sea, and the other, little Guluga, rests nearby. Mother Guluga wants to keep her children close so she can protect them. The area is a birthing place for Yuin women; a place for fertility and nurturing. I was drawn to be close to the mountain, the stories, the sacredness, to just be near her. Guluga’s stories want to be told, they want to be respected. I wanted to listen and cherish those stories. Does it make you feel at home when you can connect to Mother Nature?
My darling one, it is such a pleasure to feel your soft spirit and to feel your gentle footsteps upon me. I am so happy you are here, experiencing what my two sons, water, land and I offer to all. I sent for you to come to me here at Gulaga Mountain because I feel you are able to hear, feel, see and speak my messages. I felt your heartbeat from the moment your feet touched me as you came onto Yuin Country, as Yali would later tell you to do.I want my stories to be told, each to be respected and cherished as all Yuin men and women, along with men and women from other Nations have for many hundreds of thousands of years. I want you to hear what all of me is saying, from my wind to the lands and seas. I want you to feel at home amongst me, to connect with me in every way.
Guluga can be seen from the gadu, the ocean. She can be seen from the lakes. She can be climbed, into the mossy forest of her home. I stared up at her daily from the beach. I was drawn to her energy. I felt so grateful to sit and be nurtured there.
I saw you from my place in the mountains, my darling. I wanted you to first spend time being healed by sand and water. Allowing both to wash over you, to feel their energy surround you. I wanted you to feel the sun wash her warmth over your skin, for you to feel her energy right down to your cells.
Today, I was in flow with Mother Nature. She guided me, she led the way, and I followed. Today, I awoke to the sun. The birds chirped and the cool breeze blew against my body. Calm, centred, mindful breaths. Today, I walked up Guluga, into her mossy, lush, green, sacred home.
I am so grateful you made the journey; I have been so very excited knowing you would be joining me atop of the mountain. There were so many things I had hoped you would feel, see and hear and, I am happy that you did experience the sacredness.
As you walk up this sacred mountain, open your eyes. Sit – still the mind. Open your heart. Walk with care, by treading lightly on country. With every step, I was intentional. I was grounding into mother earth; I was grateful, I was connected, I was feeling. Keep breathing. Walk mindfully. Walk with purpose. The journey and the destination are worth the challenging steps. I finally reached the painted sign of Guluga laying down in the mountain.
Art by Cheryl Davison.
I turned left and kept going, through the rainforest, through the granite tors, past the area that becomes a place just for women. The dark green hues light up against the rocks, and the lush tropical branches twisted and intertwined between each other.
I hope I put on a worthy show for you, with the sun peeking through leaves, trees and branches. I hope you loved the different hues of green changing as you twisted and turned along the track. I hope hearing the birds chattering in the trees and on the ground as you walked gave you some company as you made your way to the top.
“The emphasis is on the role of Aboriginal women in our society, the need to respect women because that is where we all originate. This is not just a lesson for Aboriginal men but for men across the planet. Do not climb the mountain if you want to revisit a quaint and forgotten culture – but if you want to contemplate a world without war, that sees women as the centre of civilisation, this is the place to go.” – Bruce Pascoe, Loving Country
Yes, we women are the heart and soul of everything; whether human, land, sea or animal. Without women, there is nothing and no one.
If you have ever been to a women’s circle or a women’s only event (we who identify as women), you may feel the reverence and power to being connected to feminine energy around you, the safety and courageous vulnerability that a space allows for when women come together. I think about the ceremonies that happened in Yuin Country, the women’s business, the Yuin lore taught here for generations. I contemplate the nurturing and healing of the feminine power.
Oh yes, there is so much power, strength and a beautiful sacredness in women’s circles. All women take nurturing and empowering very seriously. Just as each do lore and traditions. It is important one feels the feminine energy to empower and uplift everyone.
Everything got quiet. My heart stopped racing from the exhaustion of climbing up the mountain. My mind got quiet. My body was calm. I was at peace. That beautiful silence. Can you feel it? Can you imagine it? I perched myself on a large rock. The birds sang to me. The trees whispered to each other. I contemplate what I have learnt about the sacredness of Guluga. How special is this to have a sacred place that only women are able to climb to the top?
Did you feel my arms enveloping you, giving love, strength, empowerment and appreciation? Did you hear my voice through the wind, feel my calmness lightly brush your hair as you sat and soaked up the tranquility around you? Did you understand the songs the birds were singing to you?
Femininity is held within these rocks. How powerful is it to be a woman? How special, that I as a non-Aboriginal Australian am gifted with these stories told for thousands of years, and this ability to climb into Guluga and be nurtured by her. I think about the stories, this place being home to ancestral spirits who imbue the land and waters with power and meaning. Were the spirits there with me that day?
I hope you feel powerful being a woman, my darling one. You have been gifted with stories from this Country as a non-Indigenous woman, but also from your family and your Ancestral homes. That is also special too. You deserve to be nurtured by me – you are a part of me and I of you.
How special is it to have a mother, who gives you life, becomes your friend, mother, sister, your warrior? How special is it to have a mother who raises you, protects you, cares for and nurtures you, who heals you? I think about my mother. I think about her strength, her passion, her beauty. I sat there, in pure gratitude.
Mothers love all unconditionally. We feel pride in creating and giving life. We Mothers love being your very first best friend in life – in fact, it is truly our honour to be. Mothers are put on this earth to do many things, and this includes protecting, caring, nurturing, loving and healing you. We hope to pass on our strengths and wisdoms to you. Whilst raising you to be all of these, we hope each of you will be and do better than us. That is what Mothers do.
We live in the rhythms, in the cosmic cyclic rhythms of mother earth. She has a cycle. She rises every day. We wake, with her brightness guiding us. She goes to sleep and the moon comes out. And, it repeats tomorrow. The seasons are guided by Mother, the rains, the wind, the leaves falling, and the seeds growing into plants and blossoming. If we tune in, we can be connected to the cycles and embrace them. I ask you this, are you living in tune? Are you living in rhythm with mother earth?
I called upon Guluga’s strength. Heal me, Guluga. Allow me to be mindful and compassionate. Allow me to find my purpose. I was held within her home. How can I help, the world listen, the land heal? How can we live harmoniously together? Nurture me, Guluga. I was held, between the green of the forest and the blue of the sky.
I do hope you were able to feel me whilst you sat on the rock, loving, healing, nurturing and pouring love into you. To see you lost in all you saw, heard and felt was a special moment for me to witness. Stillness, appreciation, respect. Let all you’ve learnt so far on your journey, let it stew, just sit, appreciating the knowledge by Traditional Owners of the land. What if your role is to respect, to bring awareness, to walk gently and protect mother nature? You can begin this process by sharing my story. You can help others listen. Not all can climb me, with intention, but you were guided by me up to the top. You give the respect and the love of Country and our ways. Allow yourself this moment to rest. Allow this moment to re-energise. This is your reward. Revel in my beauty; and all that has happened here before you.
beautiful blue and deadly bundjerri morah is my Protector ngutamarra
gadu is blue and kyoon ngubumarra mooran is dhran dhurung murra bulwul
~
beautiful blue and deadly
mother earth is my Protector
the ocean is blue and calm
mother earth is always the people’s protector
– Our Protector, a poem by Leeara
Where do you belong? What is your purpose? Do you know the ground you are walking on? Whose country is it, what are the stories told? Are you respecting, are you connecting? Are you grounding into mother earth? Djiringanj Yuin knowledge-holder Warren Foster speaks of his connection to nature, “I’m like this tree. I’m rooted down in the ground… I am the land. I’m not part of it. I am it.”
My darling one, I hope you have had a most wonderful time connecting with me whilst here in Yuin Country. Exploring and grounding yourself amongst all I have to offer you. I thank you for taking the time to sit, to be and immerse all of you within all elements I have to offer you. I ask as you travel, work, play and study; you walk lightly amongst me. I surround you in love, in strength and in protection.
I will be forever watching over you; be it from the sun, the land, the sea, the stars. Here I will always be. Loving you and nurturing you – I will always be.”
By Amy Tobin and Yali Windl (speaking as Mother Earth)
Yuin Country
Yuin Nation
Yuin country stretches from Campbelltown to the NSW/VIC border, encompassing the land from the second row of the mountain range to the sea. Four Aboriginal languages are spoken in Yuin country including Thawa, Djirringany and Dharawal. The main language spoken around Guluga Mountain is Dharga.
History of Guluga
Gulaga (the mother) is at the centre of Yuin lore (as well as Biamanga mountain). After community efforts, Gulaga and Biamanga National Park were handed back in 2006 to Traditional Yuin People. The parks are now jointly managed by Aboriginal owners and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). It’s a ritual place where important Bunan (ceremonies) took place to teach younger generations of Yuin about important laws and customs. These special places connect Guluga, Mumbulla and Didthul (Pigeonhouse) Mountains to each other. Guluga is the basis of Yuin identity, and is known as the birthplace of the Yuin people.
Respectfully climbing Guluga
The mountain is a place for both men and women, but not many people know that the top third of the mountain is for the exclusive use of women, and part of the lower mountain holds significance for birthing rituals. “Any Australian can climb Guluga Mountain and visit the seven chapters of Yuin lore. Women can walk to the summit if they wish, but men can go no higher than the gallery of granite tors. It is on the walk through those tors that the gentleness of Aboriginal culture is most apparent.” – Bruce Pasco, Salt.
Re-writing History
Captain Cook originally called Guluga Mountain ‘Mount Dromedary’, which means ‘Camel’ as he believed the mountain to look like the shape of a camel, which is highly offensive to the Aboriginal people, the dreamtime and Guluga. The mountain is sometimes still referred to as Mt Dromedary, although re-education and more signs interpreting the correct, true, respectful and sacred Yuin name, of Guluga Mountain are being put up in surrounding areas.
“If there was no mountain, Guluga, there wouldn’t be any Yuin people… that’s where we come from, and when we take our journey, that’s where we’ll be going.” Djiringanj Yuin knowledge-holder Warren Foster
Learn more/references:
Language of Yuin region – Dhurga
Sacred Animal of region – Turtle and Black Duck
Poetry – Earth poems written in Language
Watch – Yuin Country spoken by Djiringanj Yuin knowledge-holder Warren Foster
News – Dhurga Language from the Yuin people
Healing Corrobee at the foothill of Guluga to heal from the Australian bushfires
