The story of Jeedara, the Great White Whale is central to Mirning lore. “He’s the totem, the creator of all the whales. The Seven Sisters, they didn’t like him at first but he sprayed them and put his magic on them and they looked at him again and thought he looked handsome. They fell in love with him, and the Mirning people, we all became the children as well as the other whales.” Mirning country is whale country. The whales are womooum – “belonging as family” to the Mirning. Bunna is a whalesong man. “When you sing they come to you and they join in with you. We have the same law as the whale. My grandmother used to say they’re like policemen of the sea. They deal with law and order out there. If a shark attacks a dolphin, the whale will chase him away and give him a slap with the tail.” The whales of the Bight are sacred to the Mirning people.
The name “Mirning” means “listen, learn, observe and understand for wisdom and knowledge”.
The Yinyila Nation of Mirning clans encompasses the ancient coastal seabed of the Nullarbor Plain Ngargangooridri, the spectacular limestone Bunda Cliffs and the pristine waters of the Great Australian Bight. Our stories recall the vast plain below the water that was our land home before the last sea-level rise. Whales like sperm whales, blue whales, pygmy blue whales, killer whales, humpback whales – they travel down there to honour that great journey, that song. This is the place of the great white Dreamtime whale Jeedara and is still the greatest whale nursery and sanctuary on this planet.
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I acknowledge and pay respect to the Traditional Custodians of the land we live and work on. I extend my respects to Elders, both past, present and emerging; and recognise the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.