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| − | '''Bush bread''' refers to the [[bread]] made by [[Australian Aborigines]] for many thousands of years. The bread was high in [[protein]] and [[carbohydrate]], and helped form part of a balanced traditional [[diet]].[[Image:Aboriginal grinding stones.jpg|thumb|250px|Aboriginal [[millstone]] - vital in making flour or pastes for bread.]] | + | A '''message stick''' is a form of [[communication]] traditionally used by [[Indigenous Australians]]. It is usually a solid piece of wood, around 20–30cm in length, etched with angular lines and dots. |
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| − | With the arrival of Europeans and pre-[[mill]]ed white [[flour]], this bread-making process all but disappeared, although the tradition of cooking bread in hot coals continues today.
| + | The Australian national broadcaster, [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]], calls both its Indigenous [[online]] and [[television]] components ''Message Stick'' in recognition of this [[custom]]. |
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| − | Bread-making was a woman's task. It was generally carried out by several women at once, due to its labour-intensive nature. It involved collecting seasonal [[grain]]s, [[legume]]s, [[root]]s or [[nut]]s, and preparing these into [[flour]] and then [[dough]], or directly into a dough.
| + | Traditionally, message sticks were passed between different clans and [[List of Indigenous Australian group names|language groups]] to establish information and transmit messages. |
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| − | ===Bread-making from grains===
| + | They are often commonly called ''[[letters]]'' by [[Aborigines|Aboriginal people]]. They were transmitted by [[mailmen]], who could travel hundreds of kilometres to deliver them. |
| − | Seeds varied depending on the time of year and the area in Australia that the people lived. In [[Central Australia]], [[native millet]] (''Panicum decompositum'') and [[spinifex]] were commonly used. [[Wattleseed]] could also be used in the flour mix.
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| − | Women harvested the fully ripe, dry seeds of the plant by beating the grass (or pod-laden trees with sticks in the case of wattleseed) to dislodge the seeds. Some species were eaten at the green stage but dried seeds were by far more common.
| + | [[Donald Thomson]], recounting his journey to[[Arnhem Land]] after the [[Caledon Bay Crisis]], writes of Wonggu sending a message stick to his sons, at that time in prison, to indicate a calling of a truce. In etched angles, it showed people sitting down together, with Wonggu at the centre, keeping the peace. |
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| − | In the [[Kimberley region of Western Australia]], women observed that, after the [[dry season]], many seeds would be gathered around the opening of [[ant]]s' nests. The ants had effectively collected and [[husk]]ed the seed for them, and they were able to collect this seed, making their job a lot easier. After allowing the grain to dry, they could begin to prepare the flour.
| + | ==External links== |
| − | | + | *Peterson, Nicholas, ''[[Donald Thomson]] in Arnhem Land'', Melbourne University Press ISBN 0522850634, pp 80-81. |
| − | ====Making the flour====
| + | *[http://www.abc.net.au/message/tv/ms/ Message Stick TV ] |
| − | After the grain was collected, it needed to be [[winnowing|winnow]]ed, which was often done using the [[coolamon]], the multi-purpose carrying vessel.
| + | *[http://www.abc.net.au/message/ Message Stick Internet ] |
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| − | Once the grain was winnowed, it was ground using a [[millstone]], to create [[flour]]. Millstones have been discovered which have proven to be as old as 50,000 years. The flour was then mixed with water to make a [[dough]] and placed in hot ashes for baking. The results could be small buns, today referred to as [[johnny cake]]s, or a large loaf, known today as [[damper (food)|damper]]. Damper appears to be a mix of this traditional style of bread-making and European-style bread-making.
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| − | The dough could also be eaten raw. Cooking was a good way to prepare the bread if the group were about to travel for some time. [[Image:Damper (food).jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Damper (food)|Damper]] is cooked in hot coals in the way traditional Aboriginal bread has been for eons.]]
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| − | ===Bread-making from other plant products===
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| − | Bread could also be made from [[root]]s and [[corm]]s of plants. In the [[Top End]] of Australia, people such as the [[Yolngu]] used the [[lotus root]] and wild [[taro]]. These were ground, then mixed to a paste to make bread.
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| − | [[Water lily]] seed bread was also popular in the [[Top End]]. The two species of water lily used were ''Nelumbo nucifera'' and ''Nymphaea macrosperma''. During the early part of the [[dry season]], water lilies were an important part of the diet, with seed pods eaten raw or ground into paste.
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| − | Women had expert knowledge of how to "de-toxify" certain plant foods. The [[seed]]s of the [[cycad]] palm, ''Cycas media'', are highly carcenogenic when raw and require elaborate treatment includuing shelling, crushing, leaching in running water for up to five days, then cooking. After this they are made into small loaves, which can keep for a number of weeks.
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| − | In [[Queensland]], the people of the [[Tamborine National Park|Mount Tamborine]] area used the [[Bunya Pine]] cone, endemic to the area, to make bread in this way.
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| − | ===Some names for bush bread in [[Australian Aboriginal languages]]===
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| − | * ''Bunup''
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| − | ==References==
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| − | *[http://katherineartgallery.com.au/index.php?page=Rachel_Rennie Bush Bread artwork]
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| − | *[http://www.japingka.com.au/exhibitionView.cfm?exhibitionID=2 Grass seed artwork] | |
| − | *[http://k6.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/linkages/IntegratedUnits/aboriginal/tech_learn02.html Aboriginal Technology]
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| − | *[http://www.sydney-australia.biz/history/ Australian History] | |
| − | * Peterson, Nicholas, ''[[Donald Thomson]] in Arnhem Land'', Melbourne University Press ISBN 0522850634, pp168-9.
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| | + | [[Category:Indigenous Australians]] |
| | [[Category:Australian Aboriginal culture]] | | [[Category:Australian Aboriginal culture]] |
| − | [[Category:Australian Aboriginal terms]]
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| − | [[Category:Bushfood]]
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| − | [[Category:Australian cuisine]]
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| − | [[Category:Breads]]
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A message stick is a form of communication traditionally used by Indigenous Australians. It is usually a solid piece of wood, around 20–30cm in length, etched with angular lines and dots.
The Australian national broadcaster, ABC, calls both its Indigenous online and television components Message Stick in recognition of this custom.
Traditionally, message sticks were passed between different clans and language groups to establish information and transmit messages.
They are often commonly called letters by Aboriginal people. They were transmitted by mailmen, who could travel hundreds of kilometres to deliver them.
Donald Thomson, recounting his journey toArnhem Land after the Caledon Bay Crisis, writes of Wonggu sending a message stick to his sons, at that time in prison, to indicate a calling of a truce. In etched angles, it showed people sitting down together, with Wonggu at the centre, keeping the peace.
External links
