Indigenous Australian food groups facts for kids

Indigenous Australian peoples have always had amazing ways of understanding and classifying the world around them, especially their food! They knew exactly what to eat to stay healthy, and they had special names for different types of food. Let's explore how some of these groups classified their meals.

Food in Central Australia

In the heart of Australia, people found clever ways to get all the nutrients they needed. The Arrernte people from this region had specific names for their food categories.

Arrernte Food Categories

Here are some of the main food groups and their Arrernte names:

• Kere: This means food from animals. It includes things like meat, fat, and eggs.
  • Kere arlewatyerre is a goanna (a type of lizard).
  • Kere aherre is a kangaroo.
  • Kere ankerre is an emu.

• Merne: This refers to food from plants, like fruits and vegetables.
  • Merne atwakeye is a wild orange.
  • Merne pmerlpe is a quandong.
  • Merne arlatyeye is a pencil yam.

• Ntange: These are edible seeds. Often, these seeds were ground to make seedcakes.
  • Merne ntange ulyawe is pigweed seed.
  • Merne ntange artetye is mulga seed.

• Tyape: This group includes edible grubs and insects.
  • Tyape atnyematye is a Witchetty grub. These grubs are found by looking for cracks in the ground near a Witchetty bush. People would dig them up and eat them raw or cooked.
  • Tyape tyerraye are cicadas.

• Ngkwarle: This category is for honey-like foods. It includes nectar, wild honey, and sweet sap from trees.
  • Ngkwarle athenge arlperle is gum from an ironwood tree.
  • Ngkwarle yerrampe is from honey ants.
  • Ngkwarle arwengalkere is native bee honey.

Other Arrernte Words for Nature

The Arrernte people also used other words to describe parts of their environment that were important for food:

• Thipe: This refers to fleshy flying creatures, like birds (but not emus) and bats.
• Kwatye: This means water in any form, including rain and water sources.
• Arne: This describes trees, shrubs, bushes, and some grasses.
• Ure: This word is for fire and things related to fire.

Food in the Top End

In Australia's tropical Top End, seafood is a very important part of the diet. The Yolngu people from this area have their own ways of classifying food.

Yolngu Food Groups

The Yolngu people divide their food into two main groups, called Maranhu (foods):

• Murnyaŋ: This is the main group for plant or vegetable foods.
  • Borum: Fruits.
  • Guku: Bee products, like honey.
  • Ŋatha: Root foods, such as yams.
  • Manutji Ŋatha: Seeds.
  • Mudhuŋay: Foods made from cycad plants.

• Gonyil: This is the main group for meat, shellfish, and eggs.
  • Warrakan: Land animals and birds.
  • Miyapunu: Marine mammals, like dugongs.
  • Maranydjalk: Rays and sharks.
  • Guya: Fish.
  • Maypal: Shellfish and crabs.
  • Mapu: Eggs.

Balanced Diet

Older Yolngu people would often talk about the importance of eating from both the Murnyaŋ (plant) and Gonyil (animal) food groups. They also stressed the need to drink gapu (fresh water). When this balance was kept, people knew they were eating correctly and staying healthy.

For example, after men returned from a magpie goose hunt, they would often want Murnyaŋ (plant) foods because they had eaten so much meat and eggs. Meanwhile, the women, children, and older people back at the camps would be looking forward to Gonyil (animal) foods, like magpie goose meat and eggs, after eating mostly plant foods. This shows how they naturally balanced their diet.