Bidhawal facts for kids
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The Bidawal (also called Bidhawal or Bidwell) were a group of Aboriginal people from Gippsland, a region in Victoria. Some historians believe the Bidawal people were made up of groups who joined together from different tribes.
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Bidawal Language
The Bidawal people spoke a language called Bidawal language. It was very similar to, or a dialect of, the Kurnai language. The Kurnai people lived to the west of the Bidawal.
The Bidawal language borrowed many words from other languages. These included words for animals, birds, and things in the sky from Ngarigo. They also borrowed some words from Thawa and Dhudhuroa.
The Bidawal people called their own language muk-thang, which meant "good speech". They called the Kurnai language gūnggala-dhang. Interestingly, the Kurnai people also called their own language muk-thang. They called the Bidawal language kwai-thang, meaning "rough speech".
Bidawal Country
The land of the Bidawal people covered about 7,000 square kilometres (2,700 square miles). This area stretched across what is now the border between New South Wales and Victoria. It went from Green Cape in New South Wales to Cape Everard (now Point Hicks) in Victoria.
Inland, to the west, their land reached the area around Delegate. It also included the beginnings of the Cann and Bern rivers.
Alfred William Howitt, an explorer, described the Bidawal land as very difficult. He wrote that it had thick forests, mountains, and swamps. He saw very few animals there, mostly wallabies, snakes, leeches, and insects. Despite this, the Bidawal people lived in the few small open areas within this tough land.
Initiation Ceremony
The Bidawal people had special ceremonies to help young men become adults. This important event was called the Dyerrayal. Because food was not always easy to find, the Bidawal made sure these ceremonies happened quickly.
Preparing for the Ceremony
The Bidawal people hosting the ceremony would get the special ground ready. Messengers would then invite other tribes to join the event. When the other tribes arrived, their leaders would announce the names of important places from their lands. Everyone would then settle into their own cleared camps.
After this, the initiated men would hold a private meeting called a wurradhang. They would plan the ceremony's details. This included choosing teachers (bulluwrung) for the young men and leaders (kuringal) for the event.
The First Steps
Around midday, the mothers and sisters would help the boys get ready. They would paint their bodies and put feathered headdresses on them, following their tribe's customs. In the late afternoon, the boys would sit on bark or green leaves in a cleared area away from the main ceremony ground. They would keep their heads bent down. Their mothers would mark each spot with a yamstick as songs were sung softly. At this point, the boys were called dhurtungurrin.
Later, the men would arrive, running in a single line. They would beat the ground with a piece of bark. They would then form a curved line in front of the boys. They would start a rhythmic beating of the ground, moving like a wave from one end to the other and back. After this, the boys would go back to their mothers in the women's camps (burrikin).
The Main Ceremony
The next day, a group of men would go about 300–400 metres away. They would clear a horseshoe-shaped area and cover the ground with leaves. As the sun began to set, the boys and women would stand in the same spot they were the day before. Warriors would return, carrying twigs with no leaves (deddelun). They would give some deddelun to the women nearby. Then, the men and women would surround the boys and toss the twigs over their heads.
The boys would then be lifted onto the men's shoulders. They would breathe in and out deeply as they swayed, which was met with a cheer. Next, they were led to the horseshoe-shaped area. The women would bring the deddelun material with them. There, the boys had to lie on the leaf beds, covered with more leaves. They were told to stay still and silent. If they needed to use the toilet, they had to do it without moving. Fires were lit near their feet to keep them warm. All night, the women, followed by the men, would walk around the enclosure singing a tune that no one understood. They would beat the deddelun. This was meant to make the boys sleepy.
Becoming an Adult
Just after sunrise, a bullroarer (a special wooden instrument that makes a roaring sound) called a turndun would be heard. This was a sign for the women to leave and set up a new camp far away. The elders and medicine men would then help the boys sit up. They would be dressed in special clothes for manhood, like a band around their forehead and a belt around their waist. Their heads were covered with animal skin so they could not see anything.
Each teacher (bulluwrung) would take charge of his boy. The leafy area where they had slept would be set on fire until everything, including the deddelun, was burned. The young men were then led to a camp several miles away. There, they had to remain silent and keep their heads bowed.
Once they were away from the women, they learned important knowledge. This included which foods were safe to eat and which were forbidden. The women also shared more knowledge about plants when they returned to the group. In the following days, the men would hunt. Sometimes, they would take the young men with them and let them eat special parts of the catch. In the evenings, they would act out scenes, like hunting for wombats or scaring possums out of trees.
The Final Day
On the afternoon of the last day, the boys would sit, still with their head coverings. A group of kuringal (ceremony leaders) would stand about 20 paces in front of them. Their bodies were greased and covered with charcoal, and they wore strange headwear. A bullroarer would be swung.
Then, an elder would approach each boy. He would rub the boy with the bullroarer. A man from a different tribe would tell each boy that he must never tell anyone the secrets he had learned, or he would face death. The boys were then led to the women's camp for a smoking ritual. The next day, the tribes would leave. Each tribe would take a young man who had completed the ceremony from a neighboring tribe. These young men would then receive scarification (special marks on their skin) and learn more traditions.
Bidawal History
The Bidawal people may have been a mix of Aboriginal people from different tribes. Some historians think they came together in this difficult land to find safety from tribal disputes. One historian, Howitt, suggested their land was like a safe place for people seeking refuge.
Other Names for Bidawal
- Birdhawal, Birtowall, Bidwell, Bidwill, Bidwelli, Biduelli, Beddiwell
- Maap (This word means "man".)
- Muk-dhang (This means "good speech".)
- Kwai-dhang (This name was used by the Krauatungalung people and means "rough speech".)
