Late November, the Bogong Moth Dreaming, Australia

Six aboriginal clans used to meet at this time of year at Mungabareena (‘the gathering place’), east of Albury, for the Bogong moth (Agrotis infusa) feast. At the end of November, the healthiest in these clans made this annual journey, while the elderly and babies stayed behind. Six of the seven clans met; the seventh, Minjambutta (or Minjamurra) the Echidna totem people stayed behind on their own lands ...

At the meeting, they performed a welcoming ceremony and settled all disputes, including trade disputes; the youths were given their first initiation ceremonies; young betrothed women were given in ceremony to husbands; requests and invitations were made from each of the clans to the Yiatmathang; permission was requested to cross the Murray and journey up the Kiewa Valley through their territory "to Towonga and climb to the Bogong High Plains to celebrate the spirit of the mountains and feast on the Bogong Moth" ...

Tagged: australia, folklore, indigenous, insect