Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander Resource
Title
Cooee Mittigar : A Story on Darug Songlines
Author
Jasmine Seymour
Secondary Authors
Leanne Mulgo Watson
Illustrators
Leanne Mulgo Watson
Publisher, Date
Magabala Books, 2019
Audience
5-8yrs, Lower Primary, Primary
ISBN
9781925936865
Language
Dharug / Darug language S64, English with words in the Darug language
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Subjects
- Art motifs
- Art, Aboriginal Australian
- Bilingual books
- Ceremonies
- Country
- Culture
- Dharug / Daruk / Darug people (S64) (NSW SI56-05)
- Dreaming
- Family
- Glossaries and vocabularies
- New South Wales
- Respect
- Seasons
- Social life and customs
- Songlines
- Stories and motifs
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Annotation
Echoing the title – 'come here friend', the reader is welcomed into Darug Country and mudgin (family) to make budyari (good) dreaming. Mulgo (Black Swan) of the Boorooberongal (Grey Kangaroo people) from the Sydney basin leads the reader through the Darug dreaming songlines by walking in the footsteps of Biaimi (ancestor spirit). We experience seasonal cycles. On long warm days we look for wumbat (wombat) babies, warada (waratah) and other flowering plants and animals. Among others, we experience times of yuruka walan (hot rain), stick fire farming, dagara (frost) and bayinmarri (westerly wind), and their seasonal flora and fauna. When the time of plenty is celebrated, Mulgo nests and the songlines repeat.
Darug language is incorporated throughout the book and also in a glossary. Mixed media illustrations employ acrylics and mono and stencil printing and feature swirling harmonious lines and shapes. In this picture book, Darug author and illustrator have created a paean to Country and its creatures, language and culture.
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Teaching Resources
- Wheeler, Christina. Teacher Notes. Cooee Mittigar https://www.dropbox.com/s/l746c7zrkjnph5a/Cooee%20Mittigar%20Teacher%27s%20Notes.pdf?dl=0
- Interview with Jasmine Seymour at Children's Books Daily https://childrensbooksdaily.com/book-people-jasmine-seymour/
- Interview wth Jasmine Seymour at ABC Radio National https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/sundayextra/the-year-that-made-me:-xxxxx,-xx/11646866
- Interview with Leanne Mulgo Watson at CBCA Reading Time http://readingtime.com.au/meet-leanne-mulgo-watson/
- Greater Sydney Basin - Dharug / Darug Country https://sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/stories/story-country-our-beginning
- Blessedbeebooks interview by Serene Conneeley with Jasmine Seymour talking about her books, ‘Baby Business’ and ‘Cooee Mittigar’ https://www.blessedbeebooks.com/jasmine-seymour/