Integrating Understanding of a Yolngu Seasonal Calendar: A cross-disciplinary exploration of Scientific and Indigenous Seasonal Knowledge in North East Arnhem Land, Australia
Creators: name: Hatfield-Dodds, Zac
Publisher: name: The Australian National University
Year: 2016

description: Australia presents a challenging environment with highly variable climates. Better ways of understanding and managing our natural environment are urgently needed, and may be o ered in the rich knowledge of Indigenous Australians { knowledge that is too often dissmissed, ignored, and undervalued. This thesis develops an approach which integrates traditional seasonal knowledge with quantitative science, demonstrated by investigating Yolngu seasons in north-east Arnhem Land. Where previous studies of Indigenous seasons and calendars in Australia have recorded weather, social, and ecological characteristics of seasons { treating them as objects of study { this thesis treats Yolngu seasons as a framework for study, working with Yolngu participants to create a quanti ed calendar based on the observational weather record. No known previous research has quanti ed Australian Indigenous seasons in this way. The methodology is cross-disciplinary and exploratory, drawing on the two-ways research literature. Informal, participant-led interviews with Yolngu people provide qualitative descrip- tions of the seasons and the structure of the calendar, and advice on how the seasons might be analysed. Consequently, some of the key ndings are qualitative, derived directly from interviews (such as the structure of Yolngu calendars and de nitions of the seasons), while others are the results of numerical analysis { quantifying and characterising the seasons. Yolngu participants describe monsoonal, meteorological, and ecological seasons with distinct time-scales and indicators. Seasons can occur in any order, even `interrupting' one another depending on indicator conditions. These properties are not recorded by previous research. Yolngu seasons are de ned by environmental observations rather than the passage of time, the speci cs of which vary substantially with location { as do their names and even what seasons are recognised. Detailed qualitative descriptions were collected to create a seasonal calendar. Each season was described in terms of daily weather and these de nitions applied to the observational data, deriving the rst known timeseries of Yolngu season occurence. This dataset allows characterisation of the seasons, and the rst ever quantitative investigation of their timing. Accurate characterisation of this timing is another contribution of this research. The methodology and methods developed in this thesis are suitable for use in similar research elsewhere. The code which quanti es Yolngu seasons in terms of weather conditions is robust and reusable, and could be adapted for study of the qualitative structure and de nitions of other calendars. Flexible methodology for integration of Indigenous and quantitative scienti c knowledge and knowledge systems is applicable in domains far beyond seasonal or ecological knowledge. Participant-led conversations followed by quantitative investigation uncovers and highlights unanticipated information and perspectives across cultural boundaries. This thesis contributes to academic knowledge by developing methods to quantify Yolngu seasons, and demonstrating a research approach which integrates Indigenous and scienti c perspectives. The outcomes suggest fruitful avenues for future research, which may consider seasonal calendars in other location or in greater depth or integrate Indigenous and non- Indigenous knowledge about other topics. These studies could extend scienti c knowledge and understanding, as well as supporting concrete applications. Both approaches would contribute to a novel and genuinely local understanding of Australia, with implications for land and natural resource management, decision making, and policy.