Story of wawa biik
wawa biik means ‘hello Country’. But it is far deeper than a casual hello, as we are acknowledging and respecting biik (Country) as the keeper of our stories. When we say hello to biik, we say hello to our Ancestors, and we make a promise to them about how we will show up for our future.
We are a resilient mob, there is no doubt about the courage of our People. The Taungurung story dates back thousands of years and despite the dark days of colonisation, we are still here and determined to shine a light on our Culture and biik for the benefit of everyone.
There is a feeling of belonging that comes with being on biik, knowing biik, listening to biik, and engaging in cultural practices that have been tied to biik for thousands of years. We know that you will feel more at home too once you have experienced biik with us.
wawa biik experiences are about honouring and learning from the Taungurung story of biik – understanding our continuous and interconnected knowing of biik; our cultural values, our cultural heritage, cultural practices, and our amazing community who are caring for Culture and biik today.
As Custodians, we proudly lead wawa biik experiences that rally us together to learn, to grow, and to deepen the connections that will inspire us to do it what it takes to strengthen Culture and biik for future generations.
Taungurung Country
Our moieties, Bundjil and Waa, are present in the living and non-living parts of biik. Taungurung biik rises across the Victorian Alps from Mansfield to Mt Buller and through the high Alpine plains of Mt Buffalo where our Ancestors gathered for ceremony. It flows along waring (the Goulburn River) – the lifeblood of Country - and out to the lush floodplains of Lake Eildon, Alexandra and the wetlands of Nagambie. It stretches south into the dense green sclerophyll forests of Kinglake and Marysville and heads up into the dryer northern slopes of the Strathbogie’s and Euroa before heading west to the Heathcote region.
Biik has been profoundly impacted by colonisation, yet our cultural stories defiantly remain. Our diverse biik changes with the seasons, as do wawa biik cultural experiences, keeping them dynamically in tune with the natural rhythms around us.
Our Community
We are proud Taungurung People with the strength of connection to over a thousand generations of Ancestors who first walked this land. Like most people, we care about our families, our heritage, and our future.
We are a diverse community of many voices. We are a community of entrepreneurs, academics, field service officers, business managers, land managers, artists, community workers and passionate changemakers. Yet we are also Elders, Knowledge Holders and youth who come together with a shared purpose of caring for biik and achieving our cultural aspirations.
Biik is what brings us together. Being on biik gives us strength. Biik is where we express our culture through ceremony, dance, song, cultural practices, and cultural land management.
A wawa biik Taungurung Cultural Experience enables our community members to enhance their personal connections to biik and Culture while also generously sharing these connections with visitors.
The Taungurung Nation is represented by the Taungurung Land and Waters Council.
To learn more about our community and aspirations see here.
To view the TLaWC Strategic Plan, please follow this link.
wawa biik features in a range of publications, websites and across news outlets as we highlight the Taungurung story alongside the experiences offered.
Please click here to read the latest edition
Just like the pride and purpose our Elders feel when wrapped in their possum skin cloak, we want wawa biik to be a warm and inspiring space that brings people together to celebrate and learn about our traditional and contemporary aspects of Culture.
Cultural heritage – “It’s still here and so are we” – a yarn with Jonah
Jonah Honeysett is a proud Taungurung /Wiradjuri man of the Nira-balluk clan who considers himself lucky to have grown up knowing about his culture, immersed in his culture, and learning about his culture from his Aboriginal parents and grandparents.
“It’s not Aboriginal heritage, it’s Australia’s Heritage” – a yarn with Ashley.
Ashley Wilkinson is a proud Taungurung man of the Yeerum-Illiam-Balluk clan, which is below Benalla and Mansfield area.
Cultural Heritage – an Elder’s perspective (Uncle Shane)
As a Taungurung Elder who has worked for his mob for two decades doing cultural surveys, Uncle Shane could probably write a book about what he’s seen and experienced out there in the field. Protecting cultural heritage is core to the work of any Custodians of Country and is a responsibility that is directly overseen by Elders.
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We acknowledge and pay respects to Taungurung Ancestors and Elders, past present and emerging. We continue to remain strong in culture, traditions and memories of those who have paved the way for Taungurung People and Country. We move forward proudly and thank our Ancestors for their guidance and protection throughout our journey.