Imagine a world with where fitness, health and well being is the result of living harmoniously in nature, a world where everyone is equal, a world where the wisdom of elders is valued, a world where restorative justice presides, a world of lifelong education, a world with simple stories told to the children explaining their origins and giving a them sense of purpose and identity, a world where money is meaningless and yet you feast like a king every day, a world with no devices where communication is easy, even when no common language is spoken.
This human world is managed cleverly and precisely, in tune with the environment and the cosmos.
The moon and sun are the symbols of man and woman. Marriages are “promised” ensuring the purity of the gene pool and avoidance of disease, but at the same time with the objective of happiness and fulfillment.
Rules are obeyed or else there are consequences: the circle must be faced, the perpetrator and victim brought together in the company of elders to decide a mutual punishment. Dispensed quickly, all is then forgotten, forgiven and everyone moves on.
No one goes hungry. Food is plentiful and sharing is key. A philosophy of fresh, seasonal and never more than required, guarantees a not only a balanced diet but also the survival of the prey with the added bonus of the fitness and mobility required to acquire it.
This was the incredible world of the Guringai people, evident right on our doorstep at Oxford Falls, and we were so lucky to have a glimpse into it today.Our guide, Uncle Jimmy escorted 15 of us (an exclusively middle aged female group, a first for him – potentially his most challenging group ever) to Moon Rock, which is in the heart of Oxford Falls, land owned by the Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council. Within minutes, we were all transfixed by Jimmy’s every word, our own chatter forgotten. As we removed our shoes to protect the ancient 10,000 year old engravings of Moon Rock, the anticipation of was palpable. The energy of the songlines began to work its magic.
Moon Rock is situated along a powerful energy grid. The engravings depict a spiritual way of life which existed in quite recent history. Two hundred odd years ago, the eels were enormous, superhumans existed and eclipses signalled love making.
Poor Uncle Jimmy. We asked him everything from Dreamtime stories and history to menopausal remedies, politics and tick solutions - I get the feeling we only just scratched the surface (sorry)! Jimmy even shed light on some common misconceptions: apparently Governor Phillip was speared after inadvertently busting in on a ceremony and was not lured to his fate, as previously believed….blame the media for that piece of fake news!
We can now recognise string bark trees used to make rope and for weaving, Banksia flowers which were gathered, covered in emu fat and used as torches to attract fish whilst fishing, ochre for body painting and nuts for cosmetics.
We were all appalled to see tyre marks crossing the engravings – surely an $8000 fine and 7 years in jail is a suitable punishment for this after the precedent of Captain Cook’s statue defacement? That statue can be cleaned, but these precious engravings will be lost forever. Similarly, someone had chopped down 3 mature and prominent Xanteria plants – these grow 2 cm per year. Another sign of indiscriminate council land management was the scars of the recent Red Hill burn off across the valley. The spring timing for these burn offs goes against all Aboriginal wisdom and defies logic. Why burn off when the winds are their most ferocious, the new growth has commenced and the baby birds and animals have no chance of escape?
We farewelled Uncle Jimmy after our scheduled 2 hours, but are unanimously hungry for more. There are over 4500 documented sites over Sydney, however our next tour will be to explore the Red Hill area and then onto Allambie Heights. I can’t wait to pass on every bit of my learning onto my kids, however I know I will never be a match for the incredible wisdom of Uncle Jimmy. Please join us, and some truancy for the kids will be well justified.