The term ‘cultural water’ describes the many ways Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples value, use and care for water.
Water supports:
Country
culture
spirituality
identity
health and wellbeing
economic self-determination
the environment.
Water helps people stay connected to Country. It provides for cultural practices, knowledge sharing, trade and economic opportunities.
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, water is much more than a resource. It is a living connection to Country, culture and ancestors: linking past, present and future generations.
In this video, CAWI members share their views on cultural water. They explain why it is important for keeping culture, Country and communities strong.
Watch the video to learn about the importance of cultural water to First Nations peoples.
What is cultural water
(Visual – title slide, text reads CAWI – Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Water Interests. What is Cultural Water)
(Visual – aerial view of waterfall cascading over rocky landscape, text on screen reads Buluwai Country)
Water is really significant in our culture because it does supply the foundation of not only life but our stories. Stories that teach us. So understanding water, understanding its values, not just cultural values, natural values ecological values, they all equal cultural values in our minds. And that's why it's so critical, but also that it is the very basis of some of our
(Visual - Sarah Wilcox sitting with lush greenery behind, text on screen reads Sarah Wilcox, Palawa, CAWI member)
significant creation stories. And keeping those alive is really important for our future generations –
(Visual – aerial view of waterfall cascading over rocky landscape, text on screen reads Buluwai Country)
- to know really forming part of their identity and being strong in their identity, their language and who and how they are with Country
(Visual - landscape of tree covered hills)
because we are Country and Country is us.
(Visual - Nathan Brennan sitting with water and bush behind, text on screen reads Nathan Brennan – Gumbaynggirr, Bundjalung, Gamilaraay, CAWI member)
From my father's side, so water is associated with the Rainbow Serpent, which is a really important songline that travels across all of Australia. And so what happened was, the Rainbow Serpent, in the creation he travelled the country, you know, he created the rivers, he went underground, he created the basins, he come up to breathe,
(Visual - landscape of tree covered hills, text on screen reads Buluwai Country)
he created the water holes.
(Visual - Nathan Brennan sitting with water and bush behind)
And so we taught our young people about the Rainbow Serpent because if they were able to follow the path of the Rainbow Serpent, they would always be able to find water. And so it didn't just
(Visual - aerial view of wetlands, text on screen reads Nyul Nuyl Country)
have a spiritual connection, it had practical meaning in our world as well as part of our knowledge systems and how we passed on that knowledge to our young people. So it really formed the foundations of how young people learnt and connected with their country and with their elders to learning those stories from their elders and having that knowledge passed on.
(Visual - aerial view of rock landscape with creek running through it, text on screen reads Buluwai Country)
Our kinship expands beyond just humans, but it expands to everything within our natural world, to the trees, to the fish, to water, to mountains. So, certain landscapes as well.
(Visual – John Locke sitting with greenery behind, text on screen reads: John Locke – Kuku Yaranki, Yidinji, Former CAWI member)
The customary water is not just the landscape being designed by the creator spirits, but the laying down of the traditional lore and custom that is associated with it.
(Visual - creek with rocks on one side and dense bush on the other, text on screen reads Djabugay Country)
So that's the lore You hear people talk about L-O-R-E and L-A-W. That's the importance of the setting down of those traditional lores and customs.
(Visual – close shot of water flowing around a small bank with plants growing on it, text on screen reads Kungarakan Country)
For us as people, cultural water to me is then that next stage as humans come into the landscape.
(Visual - picture fades to end screen, text reads “With thanks to:, Sarah Wilcox, Nathan Brennan, John Locke. For further information, including current membership, visit our website: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/water/policy/first-nations/cawi)
