The Six Noongar Seasons

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The Noongar are the original culture of south-western Australia, and split the year into a cycle of 6 seasons instead of the European 4 seasons. This list is done partially from memory, so I’ll probably have to come along and add to it later.

Birak

The Season of Fire, in modern days nicknamed ‘First Summer’, sometimes also known as Season of the Young. These days it’s pegged to Dec-Jan. Traditionally it’s marked by changes in weather, fledgling birds leaving nests, and the flowering of moodjar and banksia trees.

Bunuru

The Season of Heat, or Season of Adolescence, in modern days nicknamed ‘Second Summer’. These days, pegged to Feb-Mar. The hottest time of the year. Traditionally marked by everyone sticking near the coast if possible (alright, still marked by that…) and by all the ‘white flowers’ blooming: marri, jarrah and ghost gums.

Djeran

The Season of Preparation, or Season of Adulthood, these days pegged to Apr-May. Mostly known as ‘thank gods summer is over’. The nights start to cool and dew forms in the early morning and we might get some rain. The red flowers bloom: red flowering gum, summer flame[1], and the rusty she-oaks. This is the time of year to get all your outdoors-y stuff done.

Makuru

The Season of Movement, or the Season of Fertility, pegged to Jun-Jul. The coldest and wettest time of year, where the Noongar migrated inland. It’s autumn moving into winter on the formal calendar, and by July we all agree. Most of the year’s rain falls in Makuru. Birds are all pairing up, creeks fill, and flowers tend to blues and purples.

Djilba

The Season of Conception, sometimes known as Wildflower Season, pegged to Aug-Sept. Sometimes nicknamed ‘First Spring’, this is another transition season where the weather begins to have some lovely sunny days that are a wonderful temperature. This is the second best time to go do outdoor things (but bring a raincoat). All the ground flowers and shrubs are bursting into bloom and animals are more active at times we can see them.

Kambarang

The Season of Birth, pegged to Oct-Nov. Sometimes nicknamed ‘Second Spring’. The weather is heating up, the magpies are swooping, the wagtails are yelling at everyone, and all the snakes and lizards are out and about. Lovely outdoors weather where you’ll encounter the wildlife whether you want to or not. :grin: Many plants are still flowering and whales are migrating along the coast.

  1. blame the English for that naming ↩︎

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As you can see, there’s still a distinct lifecycle theme through the seasonal progression, but unlike the northern hemisphere it’s not about death-and-rebirth, probably because we lack a snowy ‘death’ season. Instead, it’s all about the next generation, and moving from birth-to-parenthood.

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Thanks muchly for this.

(It’s a fascinatingly different perspective from my Eurocentric point of view, so anything else you do add to it later will absolutely be appreciated.)

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One interesting thing (to me) is that there’s no clear “end” dividing one year from another, and no “death” markers anywhere. Death is the sort of thing that’s happening in the background, randomly, at any time, but also not a notable seasonal event. There’s also no clear ‘harvest’ season in the Noongar calendar, or a time of year that you have to stock up for tough times. The closest is Djeran, when you prepare for the cold and rainy Makuru. But even then, Djeran is less “prepare so we don’t die” and more “there’s plenty of kangaroo, make sure you have your tents, cloaks and rugs repaired or replaced or you’ll be miserable”. And it’s also emu breeding season, so hardly an ‘ending’ season.

It’s a much more cyclical ebb-and-flow relationship compared to the Eurocentric one. Which fits with a nomadic people; Noongar would travel a long circuit over the course of a year. With constructed infrastructure along the route, like the fish traps in Albany[1] or the Lake Ewlyamartup campsites.

  1. a series of eight stone weirs built in the delta of the Kalgan River; they combine with the tide and seasonal currents to channel fish into easy killzones ↩︎

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