'WA's Christmas tree': what mungee, the world's largest mistletoe, can teach us about treading lightly
Retrieved on:
Saturday, May 27, 2023
Noongar Country of southwestern Australia is home to the world’s largest parasitic plant, a mighty mistletoe that blooms every December.
Key Points:
- Noongar Country of southwestern Australia is home to the world’s largest parasitic plant, a mighty mistletoe that blooms every December.
- And it holds great significance for Noongar people including the Merningar people of the south coast.
- This is also the case for Noongar people, whose traditional diet reflects the biological richness of their Country.
A sand-loving parasite
- But it’s also called mungee by Merningar and other southern Noongar groups.
- Being mostly Merningar, we call it mungee and use that term here.
- Read more:
To address the ecological crisis, Aboriginal peoples must be restored as custodians of Country
A revered teacher offering divine guidance
- Mungee tells specific stories through where it lives, the plants it lives with, and when it flowers.
- For Merningar, mungee is a powerful medium that helps restless spirits move on to the afterlife, known to us as Kuuranup.
- Senior elder Lynette describes mungee as her teacher, providing guidance on how to exist in Merningar Boodja.
An example of living sustainably
- We saw parallels between patches of mungee and the communal kinship structures of Noongar society, where family is more important than individuals.
- Before European settlement, extended Noongar families lived in largely separate groups, interconnected with other family groups as part of a wider geopolitical system.
- Living a prosperous life within environmental boundaries is achieved by conservatively drawing upon a wide range of resources.
A tree to be celebrated
- The plant’s unique biology, ingenuity and charisma has long been recognised by Noongar peoples and their lore.
- Prolific annual flowers are a memorial to the many old people who have cared for their Boodja through millennia.
- A second project worked on by Alison Lullfitz and Steve Hopper is funded by an ARC Discovery Indigenous grant.