This Dharug season is wet and cooler, around May - June
This is a time when dyarraba (cultural burning) is used for healing Country and people, creating healthy ecosystems, clearing and for hunting.
Audio transcript
Bayin Dyarra.
Bayin means 'cool' and Dyarra means 'red' or 'flame' in Dharug dalang (Dharug language).
Dyarraba (or cultural burning) occurs when the nights become cooler and Ngurra (or Country) is damp.
It’s a time when our people seek out the warmth of the campfire.
Dyarraba is used for healing Country and people, creating healthy ecosystems, clearing and for hunting.
This sustainable cultural practice is about managing the land and continuing traditional practices and knowledge, transferred through generations over thousands of years.
The cool, slow fire creeps along the ground clearing the land and allowing young shoots to sprout.
It also creates grazing spaces for buru (or kangaroos). The white smoke that rises into the canopies is used to heal Country and to help open seed pods.