Origins of Australian Indigenous Knowledge

In Australian Aboriginal culture, all birds were once people. Stories about a particular bird species vary across Australia and are a part of Aboriginal cultural knowledge, reflecting their ties with the land. This paper investigates the stories of three birds that are widely distributed across Australia (Emu, Australian Bustard and Willie Wagtail) and incorporated into Indigenous culture. It examines similarities and differences amongst the stories and whether the patterns of knowledge reflect geographic distance between language groups, recorded trade routes or other influences.