Birds as Totemic Beings and Creators in the Lower Murray, South Australia

Abstract

This paper is a literature review of the relationships Indigenous peoples in the Lower Murray of temperate South Australia had with the local avifauna as recorded in the early years of European settlement. Birds were prominent as clan ancestors in their creation stories, being credited with the formation of landforms and the establishment of law and custom. Aboriginal origin stories describe bird behavior and detail the relationships between birds, plants, rain, and fire. Ornithological bodies of knowledge that are framed outside of Western science, such as the ethno-ornithological information discussed here, provide an alternative lens with which to view avifaunal biodiversity in a manner that respects local cultural values.