Yulunga: Garumba
TLF ID M006674
Teams from far and wide gathered at a ‘place of wrestling’ (at Dingulami) in Kabi Kabi territory in south Queensland each year at the time when the bunya nuts were ready. Tingalpa near Brisbane was also a wrestling place. Only one team represented each group attending. Two players came from each totem of a group. Each pair in the competition wrestled in a ‘rough and tumble’ manner. A spear was used as a prize, the shaft painted with coloured earths and decorated at the top with feathers of various birds. This was stuck in the ground and given as a trophy to the winning team. The winners put the trophy away carefully until the next contest. If the local Jagara (or Jagera) team won the trophy they kept it in a cave until the next contest. Much practice was indulged in before the competition, and the teams were carefully picked. In this wrestling game players attempt to push an opposing player out of a circle or past a line. The Yulunga: Traditional Indigenous Games resource was developed to provide all Australians with a greater understanding and appreciation of Indigenous culture by celebrating the games that Indigenous Australians have been playing across the country for hundreds of years.