Budjiti Traditional and Sacred Knowledge
Budjiti Country is imbued with spirits who recognise our people and our connection to traditional lands and waters. As all Budjiti spirits come back to Budjiti Country, it is the home of our ancestor spirits from countless generations which oversee the care and protection of our country, and recognise and look after Budjiti families and descendants.
The powerful rainbow serpent, Muddan-gatta, is known to reside in the important waterholes of Budjiti Country and can be dangerous to those who disregard traditional laws or damage Country. Our people hold important knowledge and practices of how to respect the spirits of Budjiti Country.
Traditional knowledge of sacred sites and places of spiritual and cultural significance have been handed down from Budjiti Elders and continues to be passed on today. Some of the important places on Budjiti Country include story places where spirits reside in the landscape, traditional camps that are home to ancestor spirits, ceremony places, the location of artefacts and sensitive male-only and female-only places.
Budjiti People also continue to pass down traditional knowledge of the resources and ecology of our Country, which is abundant in medicinal plants and traditional foods. The extensive salt water lake, Wyara, and fresh water lake, Numulla, are special places on Country which, when full, bring an array of wildlife and food resources, including migratory birds, swans, emus and ducks. In the past, our ceremonies and meetings would be held when the lakes were full and resources were plentiful, and our ancestors have passed down knowledge of traditional practices of healing, hunting and food preparation, the traditional methods of which are still followed today.
Many Budjiti Elders have worked on the pastoral stations on and adjacent to Budjiti Country, and by continuing to live on, work on, camp and visit their country through the generations, our Elders have taught our young people the traditional knowledge needed to care for our country.
Caring for Country
As Budjiti People, we have inherited cultural responsibility for the protection and care of traditional country, and we apply traditional ecological knowledge and land management practices to fulfil this responsibility. Several Budjiti People have experience working in the pastoral industry and many Budjiti Elders have worked on the pastoral stations on and adjacent to Budjiti Country, and by continuing to live on, work on, camp and visit Budjiti Country through the generations, our Elders have taught our young people the traditional knowledge needed to care for our country.