The cultural significance of the Dunggirr (koala)
“We believe the GKNP is a positive opportunity to protect and preserve this cultural heritage within a precious biodiversity hotspot.”
— Gumbaynggirr Elder’s statement - 10 May 2019
Gumbaynggirr Man, Mr Michael Donovan’s statement to the NSW Upper House Inquiry into Koala Populations and Habitat.
Coffs Harbour, NSW, 4 Feb 2020:
“Dunggiirr are very sacred to our People, Culture, and to the landscape of the Gumbaynggirr Nation itself. The Knowledge of Dunggiirr has played a vital role in Gumbaynggirr Creation Stories, Laws & Customs, Spirituality, core values, and our identity.
Dunggiirr is a very powerful animal, their magic is very strong, and the Spirit of Dunggiirr is both feared and respected. Dunggiirr originated here in our Gumbaynggirr Homelands on a Sacred Mountain.
From what I was taught by my Elders, the Dunggiirr population grew too many for the mountain to sustain them, so they went out to find new territory to inhabit, creating Storylines across the Gumbaynggirr Nation and into other Tribal Territories right across Australia. Dunggiirr are Totemic to a quarter of all Gumbaynggirr Men.
They have survived alongside our People for countless generations through many climate changes, catastrophes, cataclysms and extreme Earth transformations. Despite their population decline due to intensive logging, land clearing, and the recent damaging fires, the colony within the Gumbaynggirr Nation are now the most significant.”
“That is why the Gumbaynggirr People fully endorse the Great Koala National Park, and we’re working together with all relevant parties to ensure their protection and preservation.”
“The establishment of the Great Koala National Park will also help to protect other sacred & significant sites, threatened, endangered, rare, endemic, and special Totemic Flora and Fauna within our Homelands. If they are not protected and they go extinct, we, Gumbaynggirr People, will be strictly forbidden to pass on our Dreaming Stories and Knowledge of Dunggiirr to our Children, our Children’s Children, and all future generations of Gumbaynggirr People. This is Gumbaynggirr Law.”
The story of Dunggirr
A young boy & his grandmother were walking along the beach when they spotted hundreds of Garlaany ‘pipis’. At the same time a big mob was walking towards them in the distance and the boy yelled out to them. His grandmother told him to be quiet, but he couldn’t and kept yelling out to the people so his grandmother chased him with a stick, and he ran and climbed a tree and was turned into a Dunggiirr.
It is forbidden to share the location of your hunting grounds with others. There’s a Sacred Place on the Nambucca River which is a special breeding ground for Dunggiirr. The circles on the head represent the bowl Dunggiirr uses to store water. The circles on one ear represent where the young boy & his grandmother were on the beach.
The circles on the other ear represent where he was turned to Dunggiirr. The wavy lines on the back & arm represent Yildaan ‘Dreaming Track/Storyline’ of Dunggiirr. The circles on the hand & semi circles on the back represent the Sacred Sites associated to Dunggiirr.
The spiral on the stomach represents Nandiirr ‘intestines/magic string’ also known as a caecum. When the intestines are taken out of a Dunggiirr it has a black footprint on it from when the Tribe walked across the ‘magic bridge’. The leaves represent their main food source, and the medicines they contain.
The spiral on the leg represents Dunggiirr Miirlarl. The diamonds represent the Sacred parts & places of the Stories which are forbidden to share.
Dunggiirr originated in the Southern Gumbaynggirr Nation on a Sacred Mountain called Dunggiirr Miirlarl. Their family grew too big for them all to sustainably live on the mountain and from here they spread out across the Gumbaynggirr Nation & into other Tribal Territories across Australia.
In the Creation Story of the Ocean, two young Dunggiirr Brothers saved the Tribe from getting cut off from their Homelands by the rising water. The Brothers took out their magical strings (intestines), threw them across the water & tied them off to a giant Wangaaga ‘Tallowwood Tree’ creating a bridge for the Tribe to walk back to their Homelands. One of the brothers disappeared and was never seen again, and the other brother was ambushed and killed by two men who threw their Duuwa ‘boomerangs’ and cut him into three pieces, which formed the three peaks of Yarriabini Mountain.
Long ago, Dunggiirr appeared very differently than it does today. They once had a smaller head, & a long tail. Dulaybam (Greyface Kangaroo) traded Dunggiirr a bowl in exchange for its tail. Now that they have a bowl in their heads, Dunggiirr don’t have to climb down out of the trees as much to drink water.
