The Yalukit or Yalukit-willam people are a constituent
clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...
of the
Boonwurrung
The Boonwurrung people are an Aboriginal people of the Kulin nation, who are the traditional owners of the land from the Werribee River to Wilsons Promontory in the Australian state of Victoria. Their territory includes part of what is now the c ...
peoples. The Yalukit are the earliest
Aboriginal inhabitants of the central bay-side region of
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
(Birrarung-ga). The Yalukit have inhabited the central bay-side areas of Melbourne for thousands of years.
Country
Yalukit territory extends eastwards from the
Werribee River
The Werribee River is a perennial river of the Port Phillip catchment that is located on the Werribee Plain, expansive lowland plain southwest of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The headwaters of a tributary, the Lerderderg ...
, through to
Williamstown,
Sandridge
Sandridge is a village and civil parish between St Albans and Wheathampstead in Hertfordshire, England.
History
The original name was "Saundruage" meaning a place of sandy soil serviced by bond tenants.
The earliest recorded mention of Sandri ...
and
St Kilda.
Etymology
The name Yalukit-willam means 'river home' or 'people of the river', referring to the
Yarra and
Maribyrnong River
The Maribyrnong River is a perennial river of the Port Phillip catchment, located in the northwestern suburbs of Melbourne, in the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria.
Course
The Maribyrnong River draws its headwaters from near ...
.
Traditional Life
The Yalukit traditionally practiced tool manufacturing,
ochre
Ochre ( ; , ), or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced ...
collection, and
burning of the landscape to allow for renewal of the flora and fauna. The Yalukit land currently occupied by Central Melbourne is a major meeting place for the Kulin Nation where social events, ceremonies, marriages, initiations, trade, and judicial matters are conducted. Yalukit people are of the
Bundjil moiety
Moiety may refer to:
Chemistry
* Moiety (chemistry), a part or functional group of a molecule
** Moiety conservation, conservation of a subgroup in a chemical species
Anthropology
* Moiety (kinship), either of two groups into which a society is ...
and so were required to marry outside of the clan to people of the Waa moiety in the surrounding
Kulin nation
The Kulin nation is an alliance of five Aboriginal nations in south central Victoria, Australia. Their collective territory extends around Port Phillip and Western Port, up into the Great Dividing Range and the Loddon and Goulburn River valley ...
; married Yalukit women would move away from Yalukit lands to live with other clans. Yalukit people hunted kangaroo, birds, eels and other seafood, and gathered edible plants such as wattle gum. While men primarily hunted the large game, women were also capable of doing so. The work required to sustain the clan could take as little as five hours a day. Food was shared freely with those less-able within the clan.
Decision-making within the clan was conducted by a senior council which met to discuss serious issues such as clan movements, inter-tribal business, or to resolve interpersonal conflict. As winter approached, the clan would move upstream to drier areas that were less prone to flooding.
Clothing was sewn from animal skins and furs including possum and kangaroo and also woven from plant materials. Hair was kept long and decorated with claws, animal teeth, earthenware, and other accessories. The ears and nose could be pierced with animal bones and the face painted with ochre.
Place names in Melbourne from the Yalukit dialect
* Williamstown: ''Kertbooruc/ Koort-boork-boork -'' (a clump of she-oak trees at that site).
*
Kororoit Creek
The Kororoit Creek is a perennial stream, watercourse of the Port Phillip catchment, rising in the outer north western suburbs of Melbourne, in the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria.
Location and features
The Kororoit Creek r ...
: ''Kororoit'' - male kangaroo, said to be from ''kure'' (kangaroo).
Notes
Citations
Sources
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Aboriginal peoples of Victoria (Australia)
{{IndigenousAustralia-stub