Barraeemal Story by Carolyn Briggs and Balnarring Preschool

ISBN: 9780646813455

If you look at wurru turt during Manameet, you will see a barraeemal getting ready to sit on her nest. When barraeemal is sitting right upon the Milky Way, that is the time to lay.

This is a story of the cycles of life, roles, responsibilities and relationships. Learning with Barraeemal and First Peoples perspectives has taught us to look beyond the stars.  We have come to know that when you look to the constellations you should not just see the stars.  For further learning it is important to also look into the dark matter for deeper knowledges and understandings.  It is in these dark spaces, in between the stars, where Barraeemal can be seen sitting on her eggs during Mannameet.  For all at Balnarring preschool this opportunity to learn with Barraeemal, and connect with the spaces in between has offered us new understandings of what it means to Be, Belong and Become with Country.

Barraeemal is a story that challenges stereotypes and beliefs and makes explicit our responsibilities to others, the Land and its creatures.  It challenges concepts of space and time; learning with cycles, rhythms and interdependence.  We learn with Country to understand season, to be sustainable, to not want all; to plan respectfully for the future and care through First Peoples stories, relationships and ways of knowing.

This story, the second of a collection of stories of the Boon Wurrung language group, represents the collaborative relationship between N’arweet Carolyn Briggs Parbin-ata Boonwurrung, the children, the teaching team and the Balnarring Pre-school community.  The collaboration, where the children (bubups) were the illustrators, aims to provide teachers, early childhood educators and the community with a resource to begin or continue their journeys of reconciliation.  It is hoped the readers can see the possibilities beyond the story.  Embedding First Peoples perspectives within education programs can create many amazing stories.

Our Story so far…

For the past decade Balnarring pre-school has recognised our roles and responsibilities towards reconciliation.  This commitment has supported our community to learn with First Peoples knowledges and stories. At Balnarring pre-school we intentionally embed First Peoples perspectives within all areas of our programs.  First Peoples knowledges and relationships have supported us to teach, care for each other, the Land, the creatures that live within our local environments, the bush and the sea, with new understandings.

These story collections demonstrate the respectful relationships that have developed between Carolyn Briggs Parbin-ata (Mother of earth/community), the teaching team, children and Balnarring pre-school community.  Carolyn challenges us to view relationships with First Peoples beyond reconciliation and develop mutual relationships based on reciprocity. We feel very privileged to be a part of this story.

About the Author…

Carolyn Briggs, Parbin-ata Boonwurrung is a Boon Wurrung senior Elder and is the chairperson and founder of the Boon Wurrung Foundation.

A descendent of the First Peoples of Melbourne, the Yaluk-ut Weelam clan of the Boon Wurrun, she is the great-granddaughter of Louisa Briggs, a Boon Wurrung woman born near Melbourne in the 1830s.

Carolyn has been involved in developing and supporting opportunities for Indigenous youth and has been proactive in developing strategies for the promotion and maintenance of Boon Wurrung culture and heritage for over 40 years.

Carolyn is passionately committed to sharing the values and heritage of Melbourne’s First Peoples – the Boon Wurrung and believes that a sense of shared history of Melbourne is important in uniting the whole community.

By BRIGGS CAROLYN