 Yanyuwa Calendar Gulf of Carpenteria showing five seasons (Wet season cyclone period from Nov to May) |
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| January February | March April May | June July | August September | October November December |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wunthurru | Lhabayi | Rra-mardu | Ngardaru | Na-yinarramba |
Rra-mardu - cold, dry season June and JulyDescriptionA long pleasant period with sunny, generally cloudless, days and cool evenings. Rra-wuna (heavy fogs) often occur. The fogs produce very heavy dews making sleeping in the open wet and unpleasant. Murnnyi (winter rain) is rare. Harvested plants and animalsFruit available during this season includes wularia (bush bananas), ma-warrangayi ( ) and a-mangkudiji (island fruit). Ma-rnayi (water lily) is harvested as a food source. Rra-mardu sees the return of the flying foxes. These creatures are used for food once their young have been weaned. Bush hone is very rich and plentiful during the early dry season due to the number of plants flowering. The kuthajuthayi or oystercatcher lays eggs on the beaches from mid-season; sea bird eggs are cooked; and, muyu begins, ie the migration of mullet and stingray upstream. |
Bureau of Meteorology Temperature and Rainfall Graphs for this region Permission to use the Yanyuwa seasonal calendar is granted by Karrakayn (Annie Isaac), a senior Law person of the Yanyuwa |