Wanapunyngu, Healthy Food From the Past

Bush foods are important. Some Yolngu people are not getting a good diet in communities and the knowledge about when and where to harvest bush food gets lost. I love to eat bush food, as it has been an important part of my life when I grew up and I still collect it out bush. I teach my grandkids about them and then I came up with the idea of making them out of gunga (pandanus), balgur raki (Kurrajong string), and feathers for the leaves to teach even more people about bush yams.

I made one of each yam that we still frequently eat:

Djitama – Dioscorea bulbifera-“Round or Cheeky Yam”-“Air Potato”
This is the smallest of the four. You can’t eat it as it is. We grate it with a sharp snail shell or wallaby bone and soak in water for a few days. Its leaves are really large and green when the yam is still growing. When the leaves turn brown we know the fruit is large and ready to harvest.
Bunbun - Vigna vexillata-“Bush carrot”
The small kids love bunbun. You can eat it straight away or roast it slightly in hot coals. The leaves are small and long.
Gandiwulk – Cochlospermum fraseri – “Yellow Kapok”
When this tree is young we dig out the root that tastes like potato when you roast it. We eat the yellow flower. We use the cotton wool -like seeds to decorate baskets and people for ceremonies. The feathers represent these seeds.
Garr’barda – Dioscorea transversa – “Long Yam “
Everyone loves to eat this bush food. It can grow really large and it is a proper meal when roasted in the coals. It is best to eat it when all the leaves are dried up and only the seeds are left on the vine.