Guiding Through Country
Interpretive signage along the Ways of Seeing theme
Guiding Through Country
Wurundjeri woiwurrung people have lived on and cared for biik (Country) for time immemorial. They have followed the ngurrak barring (mountain paths) through goranwarrabil (Dandenong Ranges), using the yaluk (waterways), darrang (trees) and mudjerr (rocks) as a means of wayfaring through and reading Country. Songlines represent the intangible connections and knowledge of Country. Every part of Country has a song, from the smallest speck of dirt to the highest leaf on a tree. These songs were passed down through families and communities and were often sung when travelling through Country. Songlines are not just an intangible concept, they are a physically embodied knowledge. Songlines represent stories that carry the complex pathways of ecological, economic, spiritual, ontological and cultural knowledge of Country. Wurundjeri woiwurrung people share generational knowledge orally through genetic memory, using song, dance, ceremonies and art, but most importantly, through a deep, intrinsic, and unrelenting connection to Country.
woiwurrung translations by Wurundjeri woman Brooke Wandin.