Wantangka - hot weather
October to March

"The hot weather (summer) called Wantangka gradually gets hotter so we know to be ready for high temperatures, bush fires and rains. A variety of different bush foods become available and certain animals are ready to eat.

The Bush Plum is found around Central Australia in the hot weather (summer). The Bush Plum is not a traditional Dreaming unlike Bush Banana or Bush Potato. We eat the plum straight off the bush when it is dark. It is sweet to taste.

The Bush Bean (Wakalpirri) can be collected between winter and summer. During the middle of the hot weather the beans dry on the bush but we can still collect them for food. The women go out in the country with a blanket or large piece of calico material and place it under the bush bean tree. We then hit the leaves of the tree with a stick until the dry beans fall off and are easy to collect. We store the dried beans for months but sometimes we eat the bush bean straight away.

The dried bean is placed into a coolamon and mixed with water using our hands. We mix it until it is milky and then sip the juice. When we have finished we lay the beans out onto the blanket in the sun to dry and when it is really dried out the beans are crushed and ground together and we use it to make flour. We use that flour in the damper and store the flour for months at a time.

When a big storm is coming we hear the rain bird (Mirrlarr) call out. When we hear that bird we know that there will be a lot of rain coming. The rain fills the water holes but we always know where to find water even if there is no rain.

We share a ceremony which is held during the hot weather.

The grass is burnt after the rains which is the end of the hot weather. The burning helps the bush foods to grow again."

Lana, Rachel, Pansy, Trisha and Lindy, family members of the Walya Altjerre Aboriginal Corporation sharing cultural knowledge

Permission to use the Walabunnba seasonal calendar is granted by the Walya Altjerre (Earth Dreaming) Aboriginal Corporation.
www.earthdreaming.com

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