Bulway facts for kids
The Buluwai are an Indigenous Australian people from the state of Queensland. They are one of the many traditional owner groups of Australia.
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Buluwai Country
The Buluwai people lived in the Atherton Tableland rainforests. Their traditional land covered about 520 square kilometers (200 square miles). This area was east of Tolga and stretched north to Kuranda. It also went southwest towards Tinaroo. The Barron River marked their land's edge near the coast.
Buluwai Language
The Buluwai people had their own language. A researcher named Norman Tindale wrote down information about it in 1938. This was part of a big research trip by universities.
The Buluwandji Ghost Moth
The Oxycanus buluwandji is a special kind of moth. It belongs to a family called Hepialidae, also known as swift moths or ghost moths. There are many types of these moths around the world. They are considered very old types of insects.
What the Moth Looks Like
Adult Buluwandji ghost moths have greyish-brown front wings. These wings have a light, faint pattern. Their back wings are red, fading to grey at the edges. The moth's head and chest area have fawn (light brown) patterns. Its body is red. The moth's wingspan is about 12 centimeters (about 5 inches).
How the Moth Got Its Name
Norman Tindale first described this ghost moth in 1964. He named it after the Buluwai people. This was because the moth was found in the Buluwai people's traditional lands.
Buluwai History
In 1930, the Seventh-day Adventists started a mission on Buluwai lands. They called it Mona Mona Mission. According to Willie Brim, an elder of the Buluwai people today, the missionaries brought a very strict way of life. The Mona Mona Mission closed down in 1962.
Today, most descendants of the Buluwai people identify with the Djabugay people. However, some Buluwai people still keep their own separate identity as a Bama group.
Alternative Names
- Buluwandji
- Bulwandji, Buluwandyi, Bulwandyi
- Bulwanydji
- Bulway
