Difference between revisions of "AY Honors/Aboriginal Lore/Answer Key"

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'''Marn Grook''' (also spelt ''marngrook'') is an [[Australian Aborigine|Australian Aboriginal]] ball game, which is claimed to have had an influence on the modern game of [[Australian rules football]], most notably in the spectacular jumping and [[Mark (Australian football)|high marking]] exhibited by the players of both games.
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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.]]
  
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Marn Grook, literally meaning "Game ball",  was a traditional game played at gatherings and celebrations of up to 50 players by the [[Djabwurrung]] and [[Jardwadjali]] people of western [[Victoria, Australia|Victoria]].
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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.
  
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== Eye-witness accounts ==
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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.
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In [[1878]] in his book ''The Aborigines of Victoria'' [[Robert Brough-Smyth]] refers to a man called Richard Thomas (the [[Protector of Aborigines]]) who stated that in about [[1841]] he had witnessed Aborigines playing the game:
 
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:''The men and boys joyfully assemble when this game is to be played. One makes a ball of possum skin, somewhat elastic, but firm and strong. The players of this game do not throw the ball as a white man might do, but drop it and at the same time kicks it with his foot. The tallest men have the best chances in this game. Some of them will leap as high as five feet from the ground to catch the ball. The person who secures the ball kicks it. This continues for hours and the natives never seem to tire of the exercise.''
 
  
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[[Tom Wills]], who drew up the rules of Australian rules football, was raised in Victoria's western districts and is said to have regularly played with local Aboriginal children{{fact}}. He recalled watching a game in which they kicked a [[possum]] skin about the size of an orange stuffed with charcoal{{citation needed}}. The game was played between large groups on a [[totemic]] basis &mdash; the white [[cockatoo]]s versus the black cockatoos, for example &mdash; with the greatest honour going to those who could leap or kick the highest.
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===Bread-making from grains===
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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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== Marn grook and the word ''mark'' ==
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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.
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Some claim that the origin of the word "[[Mark (Australian football)|mark]]" is derived from the Aboriginal word "''mumarki''" used in Marn Grook meaning "to catch".{{fact}} However this is a [[false etymology]] as the term ''mark'' actually comes from the practice of a player who has just taken a mark physically ''marking'' the ground with his foot to show where he took the fair catch. The term ''to mark'' is used in English football codes, notably early [[Association Football]] and is still used in the sport of [[rugby union]], as a fair catch to a player who calls "mark" when catching a ball inside his 22.
 
  
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== The Marngrook Trophy ==
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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.
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In [[2002]], in a game at [[Stadium Australia]], the [[Sydney Swans]] and [[Essendon Football Club]] began to compete for the '''''Marngrook Trophy''''', awarded after home-and-away matches each year between the two teams in the [[Australian Football League]]. However, the games are played under normal rules of the AFL, rather than anything approaching Marn Grook.  
 
  
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== External links ==
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====Making the flour====
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* [http://www.aboriginalfootball.com.au/marngrook.html Aboriginal Football - Marn Grook]
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After the grain was collected, it needed to be [[winnowing|winnow]]ed, which was often done using the [[coolamon]], the multi-purpose carrying vessel.  
  
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[[Category:Australian Aboriginal culture]]
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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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[[Category:Australian rules football]]
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[[Category:Sport in Australia]]
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The dough could also be eaten raw. Cooking was a good way to prepare the bread if the group was 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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[[Category:Traditional football]]
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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]
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*[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]
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* Peterson, Nicholas, ''[[Donald Thomson]] in Arnhem Land'', Melbourne University Press ISBN 0522850634, pp168-9.
  
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{{afl-stub}}
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[[Category:Australian Aboriginal culture]]
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[[Category:Australian Aboriginal terms]]
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[[Category:Bushfood]]
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[[Category:Australian cuisine]]
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[[Category:Breads]]

Revision as of 03:05, 10 September 2006

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.

Aboriginal millstone - vital in making flour or pastes for bread.

With the arrival of Europeans and pre-milled white flour, this bread-making process all but disappeared, although the tradition of cooking bread in hot coals continues today.

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 grains, legumes, roots or nuts, and preparing these into flour and then dough, or directly into a dough.

Bread-making from grains

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.

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.

In the Kimberley region of Western Australia, women observed that, after the dry season, many seeds would be gathered around the opening of ants' nests. The ants had effectively collected and husked 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.

Making the flour

After the grain was collected, it needed to be winnowed, which was often done using the coolamon, the multi-purpose carrying vessel.

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 cakes, or a large loaf, known today as damper. Damper appears to be a mix of this traditional style of bread-making and European-style bread-making.

The dough could also be eaten raw. Cooking was a good way to prepare the bread if the group was about to travel for some time.

Damper is cooked in hot coals in the way traditional Aboriginal bread has been for eons.

Bread-making from other plant products

Bread could also be made from roots and corms 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.

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.

Women had expert knowledge of how to "de-toxify" certain plant foods. The seeds 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.

In Queensland, the people of the Mount Tamborine area used the Bunya Pine cone, endemic to the area, to make bread in this way.

Some names for bush bread in Australian Aboriginal languages

  • Bunup

References

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