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Australian Aboriginal Ethnometeorology and Seasonal Calendars

2009; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 20; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/02757200902867677

1477-2612

Philip A. Clarke,

Maritime and Coastal Archaeology

Abstract This paper uses a cultural anthropological approach to investigate an indigenous Australian perspective on atmospheric phenomena and seasons, using data gained from historical records and ethnographic fieldwork. Aboriginal people believe that the forces driving the weather are derived from Creation Ancestors and spirits, asserting that short term changes are produced through ritual. By recognizing signals such as wind direction, rainfall, temperature change, celestial movements, animal behaviour and the flowering of plants, Aboriginal people are able to divide the year into seasons. Indigenous calendars vary widely across Australia and reflect annual changes within Aboriginal lifestyles. Keywords: EthnometeorologyWeatherSeasonsCalendarsTimeCosmology Acknowledgments Peter Sutton provided very useful comments upon a draft of this paper. Notes [1] Wawalag is also spelt as Wauwalak and Wagilak. [2] In recent times, Anangu Pitjantjatjara tour guides draw upon the Wanambi mythology during their ecotourism expeditions in Central Australia (see http://www.deserttracks.com.au/experience.html). [3] Artefact documentation for A52250. Collected by N.B. Tindale and P. Aitken at Wartad on Bentinck Island, Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland, 1963. South Australian Museum Aboriginal ethnographic collection. [4] See entries in Urry & Walsh (Citation1981) for ba: ra, dimuru, jalatang. Yolngu people in northeastern Arnhem Land also used the term, barra (Davis, Citation1997). [5] Examples of indigenous calendars in displays are the Australian Aboriginal Cultures Gallery in the South Australian Museum, Adelaide and the Marrawuddi Gallery at the Bowali Visitor Centre in the Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory.