Before European settlement two hundred years ago, Aboriginal Australians ate rich, exciting and balanced diets of seasonal fruits, nuts, roots, vegetables, meats and fish - all indigenous varieties and species and each totally adapted to this unique environment, the continent of Gondwanaland. Aboriginal awareness of the environment includes an understanding of life cycles of animals, insects and sea creatures, not only those harvested for food, but others that may be totem animals linked to religious beliefs. Aborigines believe that each food was created by the ancestral spirits.
All food has meaning.
The animal and plant kingdoms are one with people and are linked totemically as relatives. The laws that govern Aboriginal society are strict and include many rites and observances relating to food. There is indeed a time and a season for everything living. Aborigines have an extensive and intimate ecological knowledge of the Australian landscape. Common is the view of Aboriginal culture that prior to European settlement people wandered constantly in search of food to survive in a harsh and desolate land.