Yarning Circle

How many seasons are there? How could you divide up the year into sections if you didn’t know the 4 ‘traditional’ seasons?

Visit the BOM website to explore a range of calendars from Indigenous groups and compare and contrast them, for example, the Tiwi calendar with 3 major seasons and 13 minor overlapping seasons, or the Yawuru 6 season calendar. What similarities and differences can you find? Consider where these communities are located. Why do you think their seasonal calendars are arranged in this way? How do these calendars help people live sustainably?

Consider the current season of the calendar belonging to the Traditional Custodians where you live. What do you notice about the world around you at this time of year? Comment on the trees, flowers, and plants you can see, the temperature, the appearance of the sky, the animals and insects that are noticeable, any frost or mist at certain points of the day. How does the landscape change throughout the year? How do you think First Nations Peoples of Australia organise aspects of their lives around noticing these things?

Use these resources to get started:
Noongar six seasons
Indigenous Seasons video
Indigenous calendars and Australian ecology
Miriwoong seasonal calendar 

Going further: How else might First Nations communities of Australia have been affected at different points of the year? How is this different to how you experience the weather now?