SECTION 2 | CONCEPTS & ACTIVITIES
Kunjin Kunjin is the Yalanji term for fire. This element, much like water, is sacred to the Yalanji community and holds significant cultural lineage with Yalanji men as Kunjin signifies the role they play in nourishing the earth through the traditional fire burning practice. The First Law of Yalanji links men with fire as far back as the creation of the technology – jimal (fire stick) – that brought abundance of fire to the Yalanji. Yalanji have five seasonal categories, known by the typical weather patterns of that period. 1. Kambar: proper wet season late December to March 2. Kabakababa: winter rain season April to May 3. Buluriji: cold season June to September 4. Wungariji: hot season October to November 5. Jarramali: stormy season late November to the middle of December Within these seasons there are significant cultural ceremonies and practices such as men’s traditional fire burning and women’s water ceremonies which also link into ceremonies and the use of technologies and tools that highlight the important lineage with men’s and women’s business. The role technology plays in Yalanji culture was vitally important to sustaining the environment. Much can be learnt if Western Science accepts First Science as an important equal way of science practice. • Watch the Gordonvale High School Year 8 students develop inquiry skills by focusing on the science and skills that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have developed and still use today in fire making. bit.ly/354KxKx • Read the Careers with STEM: Indigenous article ‘Mixed Reality Storyteller’ p7 on Mikeala’s Jade’s augmented reality app. bit.ly/3IfzBrM • Read about Roianne West’s Professor of First People’s health in ‘Emergency! Health careers are spreading fast!’ on p10 of Careers with STEM: Indigenous issue. bit.ly/3IgXAa4
Careers with STEM Teacher Resource | 10
