Page 22 - Port Douglas Magazine 31

SONGLINES OF

THE TROPICAL

NORTH

WORDS by Sharon Timms
side from being breathtakingly beautiful and Dreaming stories are a rich part of Indigenous culture, and Kuku
having gold-star bragging rights as the place Yalanji society is based on them. One of the most popular narratives
where two World Heritage areas kiss, the Port follows the backdrop of the Mossman Gorge – Manjal Dimbi. This
Douglas and the Daintree region has arguably is an impressive mountain whose name, when translated, literally
one of the richest Indigenous cultures in the means ‘mountain holding back’. The Dreaming story tells the tale
country. As the meeting spot of several aboriginal of the spirit Kubirri who helped the Kuku Yalanji people when they
Acommunities as well as that of the Torres Strait fell out with the evil spirit, Wurrumbu. According to legend, Kubirri
Islander people, the area is overflowing with Indigenous traditions, became the large human-like rock of Manjal Dimbi, and held back
distinct cultural stories, histories and languages. The Kuku Yalanji the evil spirit who now sits in The Bluff above the Mossman River.
people are the traditional owners here, with the Kuku Yalanji lands
extending from Port Douglas in the south, Mossman, Daintree,
Cooktown and Cape Tribulation in the north, Chillagoe in the west PRESENT DAY PEOPLE
and of course the northern Great Barrier Reef in the east.
More than a million visitors took part in indigenous tourism
experiences while travelling Australia during 2019, and the allure
KUKU YALANJI CULTURE AND HISTORY of Aboriginal Australia means that there is a rapidly increasing
number of operators specialising in Aboriginal tourism experiences.
Nature is a hugely important part of the Kuku Yalanji culture. Queensland has the country’s second-largest indigenous population,
They have intimate knowledge of its cycles that has passed down and Tropical North Queensland is the only region in Australia
generations. They are often known as the ‘rainforest people’ because that is home to two indigenous cultures, the Aboriginal and Torres
of their close affinity with nature and their surrounding scenery. Strait Island peoples. By visiting this region, people can immerse
While some tribes of the Kuku Yalanji people spread wide, for the themselves in experiences that are found nowhere else on earth.
most part they are concentrated around the Mossman River and Here you can join the Bama Way, a journey along story-lines through
Mossman Gorge.
coastal mangroves, rich rainforests and hilltop savannah, taking you
deep into the rainforest of the Kuku Yalanji to learn traditional fishing
22 tourismportdouglas.com.au