Cooee Mittigar.
Tread softly on our lands.
Know that this dreaming was here.
Is still here.
Will be forever.
Yanu. Yanu mittigar.
A must have book for all homes and schools, Cooee Mittigar tells us the story of what life was like for the Darug people and their dreaming.
Written and illustrated by Darug women, this story is told from stories that have been passed down to them through the generations.
The Darug people were the first to come into contact with the settlers on The First Fleet and the first people to feel the full blow of disease and war.
These stories could have been lost but thankfully they are being revitalised and shared with the wider community so that we too can learn about the dreaming stories and songlines.
As we walk through each page of the book we learn about the different seasons of Darug country and the animals and plants that naturally inhabit this area.
We hear and see the warm weather and the reptiles that appear, we see the food that is taken and cared for so it can be used again next year and we listen to the language of the Darug people on each page.
Darug language is intertwined with English on each page of the book so that readers can learn simple words from these people. The last few pages help with the pronunciation of each word so that it can be read correctly along with all Darug words used throughout the story.
Cooee Mittigar by Jasmine Seymour and Leanne Mulgo Watson is an important story to share and hopefully the first of many for children of the Darug area so that one day, this indigenous language can be spoken more often and with pride.
Teacher notes see below:
