Kindred Spirits

“The baskets are very special to us. My grandmother was hidden in one when she was a baby, when the white authorities came to take the children away. Years later, when I was a child, I was also surrounded by weaving as my grandmother taught me how to collect, clean (yudill) and weave the black palm fibre from when I was 7 years of age. She is my biggest inspiration.”

The Banji or bunya tree is a sacred tree to the Jinibara (‘Jini’ meaning lawyer cane and ‘Bara’ meaning group or people) and a staple food source for my ancestors. Sadly, many of these beautiful, delicious, nut-bearing trees have been cut down by logging since the early 1800s.

These tall, beautiful trees come from mother earth and are sacred to the Jinibara and surrounding tribes. We would never harm a bunya, let alone cut one down. Recently, my family and I have been germinating, growing and planting bunyas to gain a deeper understanding and connection with Country. As a proud Jinibara father, I strongly feel my connection with the bunya. Understanding its cultural significance has been passed down and I hope my children will pass it onto their children and keep our connection to this beautiful country strong.

By the 1920s, it was well understood by missionaries, scientists and botanists that the spread of grazing and agriculture into the interior posed the final threat to the remaining Aboriginal populations. Botanists were also aware that Aboriginal economies were collapsing with the increasing competition for the plants which formed the staples of Aboriginal diet and that cattle herds were in large part responsible for this economic disaster.