Climate and Seasons

In our western idea of time, we tend to think of one year following the next, rather than the seasons repeating year after year. Indigenous seasonal calendars are presented in a different way to western calendars in a number of ways. Take a look at this calendar of the people from Kakadu National Park, in the Top End of the Northern Territory.

Notice how the Gundjeidmi calendar differs from a western calendar. This is for the following reasons.

• There may be more than the four seasons that western people recognise, and the seasons are not always of the same length of time. The seasons don’t have to begin or end at the change of month.
• The seasonal indicators can include changes to plants and animals, as well as changes in the weather, and include when star patterns are seen.
• Indigenous people often understand that two events may be related, rather than coinciding. For example Yamidj, the green grasshopper, calls out that the cheeky yams are ready.

The two seasons marked on the inside circle, the wet and the dry, are terms used by westerners living in the area, as well as other places in the tropics of Australia. This gives a much simpler view of the seasons. 

Activity: Seasons

Links

Bureau of Meteorology Indigenous Weather Knowledge http://www.bom.gov.au/iwk/index.shtml (has a number of seasonal calendars which are not shown in circular form).

The lost seasons http://www.abc.net.au/science/features/indigenous/default.htm