5 Seasons: Water and fire

The introduced western ideology is ignorant of the cycles of the land and the responsibilities of each Indigenous person in this society. The marriage system of this area is one that is carefully governed by the land itself, the passing on of songs for the land being the impetus; having a song is like having breath.

5 Seasons Synopsis

A documentary narrated by Tom E Lewis about a region that western society says has two seasons, the wet and the dry. The Numurindi people of south-east Arnhemland in the Northern Territory’s Gulf of Carpentaria recognise their country has five seasons;

Migirarrga – May to July. Cold weather time. 
Durrmala – August to October. Turtle egg time, hot dry winds. 
Barra – October to December. Rains coming.
Barra Amilmilariri – January to February. Flood plains underwater, heavy rains.
Mariga – March to April. Flood plains drying up. Cool weather coming.

These five seasons within the calendar year direct the lives of the Numurindi people. The land is alive, and Junggayi Moses Numamurdirdi, or Mawulu, introduces us to the concept of the land being an entity and responsive to all human actions. ‘This country is fragile. It is important that we know the songs of the country’, says Lewis in voice-over narration, ‘The songs and dances are important as it tells … us who we are, where we belong, the creation of our country, and the stories of our old people’. The responsibility of song and singing to the land is about respecting its cycles and rhythms.

5 Seasons describes how the region regenerates itself within five cycles, guiding all aspects of the lives of the Numurindi peoples, instructing them on what food is available and what is not, whether they will sit waiting for the rains to subside during the Barra season, which is also the season when the seas offer the greatest source of bush food, or whether it is time to collect turtle eggs during the Durrmala season.

5 Seasons curator's notes

The juxtaposition of archival footage with contemporary or present-day footage is evocative. Director Steve McGregor in a few simple frames represents the unchanging traditions of the Indigenous people of the area and a shift occurring in the use of western technology to incorporate ancient hunting and gathering methods. Stunning cinematography by Allan Collins and Warwick Thornton reveal this land as a montage of incredible colours and movement. To look upon this country through the eyes of Collins and Thornton, who as cinematographers support the perspective of Junggayi Moses Numamurdirdi, reveals a country that is achingly beautiful and fragile. A country that is a being requiring the most sensitive of responsibility and interaction, fulfilled here by the moieties of water and fire, or shark and crocodile. There is an exhilarating sequence towards the end of the film in Barra Amilmilariri season in which, during a thunderstorm, a crocodile moves towards the beach shore to feed from a carcass.

This film illustrates, with a gentle authority, the stark contrast between western cultural land management and the ancient Indigenous philosophies and cosmologies that treat the land as a living entity and worthy of respect.

Notes by Romaine Moreton

Education notes

This clip shows scenes of Indigenous Australian people in modern-day Numbulwar in south-east Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, and also features archival film from the 1950s, including footage of a baptism being conducted in the Rose River and of Indigenous people in dugout canoes. The narrator, Tom E Lewis, describes Numburindi social structure, and Junggayi Moses Numamurdirdi tells the story of the establishment of the Rose River Mission. Subtitles are included when Kriol is spoken.

Educational value points

• This clip provides insights into life in an Aboriginal community at Numbulwar in the Northern Territory. Numbulwar is located on the western coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria at the mouth of the Rose River. It consists of a store, a police station, a school, a health clinic, an engine repair shop and a small airport, and is home to about 1,200 residents. Alcohol is prohibited in this community.

• The clip opens with footage of a four-wheel-drive hurtling along a dirt road, illustrating how 'Toyotas’ (often used as a generic term for 'motor vehicles’ across Arnhem Land) have affected travel in the region. The commentator makes a joke in Kriol about how beneficial the shift from two legs to 'four legs’ (wheels) has been for travel. As Numbulwar is usually accessible only by air or sea during the wet season, these shots would have been taken in the dry season (April–October).

• The clip shows traditional forms of travel including the dugout canoes, with and without sails, that are often used for water transport by Indigenous Australian peoples. The use of sails here is indicative of the centuries-long relationship – including trade and mutual borrowing – between the Indigenous peoples of the northern coast of Australia and the Macassan people of Sulawesi in Indonesia, who regularly came to Australia to seek 'trepang’ (sea slugs).

• The Numburindi people belong to various clan groups, which are arranged into two 'moieties’ (from the Latin for 'half’), or 'skin groups’. In Numbulwar, the moieties are called 'Mandirrija’ and 'Mandhayung’, or 'Water’ and 'Fire’, with the shark and the crocodile as their respective totems. The general terms used by Yolngu people across Arnhem Land referred to in the clip are Dhuwa and Yirritja, implying among many other things descendents of differing Creation Ancestors.

• The kinship system organises social life in Indigenous communities by defining kin relationships and providing a sometimes strict guide for individual behaviour. According to this system it is forbidden to marry someone from the same moiety. The narrator notes that violation of this taboo means that children born into such marriages, and their children, will 'have no songs’, meaning that they will 'be bereft of cultural identity’.

• Junggayi Moses Numamurdirdi recalls coming with his family to the new mission at Rose River. Missions often provided the first point of contact between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

• Christian missions were established widely in parts of Australia with a predominantly Indigenous population, and the Anglican Church Missionary Society (CMS) set up the Rose River Mission at Numbulwar in 1952. This mission continued operating until 1978. The CMS recently released a translation of the Bible in Kriol, illustrating the ongoing work of the missions.

• The archival footage features a Christian baptism ceremony involving complete immersion in the Rose River. The baptism ceremony symbolises purification and the baptised person is admitted into the community of Christians. The meaning of this activity may have been unfamiliar and alien to the Indigenous participants.

• While the primary purpose of the missions was to spread Christian thought and belief, some missions carried out government policies, such as the removal of children from their families, and encouraged the decline of Aboriginal cultural practices. Today, some missions are highly valued for their contribution to the European-style education of young Indigenous people enrolled in their schools.

• Narrator Tom E Lewis, born at Ngukurr in south-east Arnhem Land, has a wide range of artistic achievements to his credit. He is a gifted musician, has worked extensively in the theatre, and his film credits include the lead role in Fred Schepisi’s The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978). In 2005, Lewis was awarded the Bob Maza Fellowship by the Australian Film Commission for his co-authored short documentary film, Yellow Fella.

Education notes provided by The Learning Federation and Education Services Australia