Paper bark (obviously coming from the PAPER BARK TREE) comes in handy in three ways for Aboriginals.
On all occasions, the paper bark must be a rectangular strip. Fold two ends (if you were holding the rectangle horizontally, left and right) and tie them with the traditional Aboriginal string (now, these aren’t the best instructions so I’ll tell you: it should look a bit like a boat). The size may vary, depending on what you put in.
This is where you have a choice.
a) The Aboriginals often used them as shoes for when they walked across prickly grass.
b) Because of the danger of estuarine (saltwater) crocodiles, you couldn’t stay too long at the waters edge, scooping up water with your hands to drink. Instead, some Aboriginals used the paper bark ‘boat’ as a cup so that they could walk away from the water to drink.
c) This time, I’ll tell you a recipe. First you need a freshly caught fish, and I mean fresh as in caught five minutes ago. This is a recipe called Sweet and Sour Fish (barramundi recommended). Of course, the first step is to put the fish into the ‘boat’. On either side you can have: crushed green ants; and flowers from a hibiscus tree. Next, pack mud all around it and then dig up an underground oven to cook it in. Once it’s in, fill in the rest of the oven and cook for an hour or so. After that hour, re-dig it up and pry away the now dried mud. The ‘sweet’ (green ants) and ‘sour’ (hibiscus flowers) will have seeped into the fish. Bon Appetite!
It’s not only the actual bark that comes in handy with the PAPER BARK TREE.
When the flood level is coming down before the start of the Dry season, the tree drinks and drinks, soaking up as much water as it can.
So, we’re told, if you are lost in the bush, look for a PAPER BARK TREE. If there is one, and if it has a bulge, open up the bulge because then water will leak out! It may be a bit salty and disgusting, but as long as it is water, it’ll keep you hydrated.
Aboriginal Rule: “We Aboriginals have a rule. The rule is that if you drink from a PAPER BARK TREE, you plug it up. Because there might be somebody else who is lost, and if they find the tree and you’ve let all the water run out, they will perish. So after you drink, you plug up the hole.”
On all occasions, the paper bark must be a rectangular strip. Fold two ends (if you were holding the rectangle horizontally, left and right) and tie them with the traditional Aboriginal string (now, these aren’t the best instructions so I’ll tell you: it should look a bit like a boat). The size may vary, depending on what you put in.
This is where you have a choice.
a) The Aboriginals often used them as shoes for when they walked across prickly grass.
b) Because of the danger of estuarine (saltwater) crocodiles, you couldn’t stay too long at the waters edge, scooping up water with your hands to drink. Instead, some Aboriginals used the paper bark ‘boat’ as a cup so that they could walk away from the water to drink.
c) This time, I’ll tell you a recipe. First you need a freshly caught fish, and I mean fresh as in caught five minutes ago. This is a recipe called Sweet and Sour Fish (barramundi recommended). Of course, the first step is to put the fish into the ‘boat’. On either side you can have: crushed green ants; and flowers from a hibiscus tree. Next, pack mud all around it and then dig up an underground oven to cook it in. Once it’s in, fill in the rest of the oven and cook for an hour or so. After that hour, re-dig it up and pry away the now dried mud. The ‘sweet’ (green ants) and ‘sour’ (hibiscus flowers) will have seeped into the fish. Bon Appetite!
It’s not only the actual bark that comes in handy with the PAPER BARK TREE.
When the flood level is coming down before the start of the Dry season, the tree drinks and drinks, soaking up as much water as it can.
So, we’re told, if you are lost in the bush, look for a PAPER BARK TREE. If there is one, and if it has a bulge, open up the bulge because then water will leak out! It may be a bit salty and disgusting, but as long as it is water, it’ll keep you hydrated.
Aboriginal Rule: “We Aboriginals have a rule. The rule is that if you drink from a PAPER BARK TREE, you plug it up. Because there might be somebody else who is lost, and if they find the tree and you’ve let all the water run out, they will perish. So after you drink, you plug up the hole.”
Georgie
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