Indigenous History of Wadawurrung and Victorian Country, Lore and Cultural Sciences
Indigenous Lore

Ceremony and Law

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Ceremony and Law: Indigenous Ceremonies in Victoria and Australia

Ceremony sits at the heart of Indigenous cultural life, expressing law, identity and obligations to Country. In Victoria, Nations including Wurundjeri, Boon Wurrung, Taungurung, Dja Dja Wurrung, Gunditjmara, Gunaikurnai and Yorta Yorta maintain rich ceremonial traditions in which song, dance, story, fire and smoke renew relationships among people, Ancestors and place (Clarke 2008; DEECA 2022).

Deep time and living law

Archaeological and oral histories indicate ceremonial practice in Australia extends back at least 40,000 years (Clarke 2008). In Victoria, ceremonies occurred on bora/ground rings, at stone arrangements, on river flats and around mountains and lakes; many landscapes retain scar trees, rock art (e.g., Gariwerd) and stone arrangements (e.g., Wurdi Youang) that anchor ceremonial memory and law (Stanbridge 1857; Hamacher & Norris 2011).

Core ceremonial forms in Victoria

  • Initiation (men’s and women’s business). Rites marked the transition to adult responsibilities in law, kinship and Country; practices could include body painting, tooth evulsion or scarification depending on Nation (Howitt 1904; Clarke 2008).

  • Funeral and mourning. Smoke, song and fire guided spirit travel; objects might be ritually released or destroyed to sever ties (Clarke 2008).

  • Corroboree/public ceremony. Diplomatic gatherings shared song, dance and narrative to reaffirm alliances and settle matters between groups (Barwick 2000).

  • Seasonal/resource ceremonies. Activities aligned with ecological cycles—emu egg, eel migrations (kooyang), kangaroo and plant harvests—codified ethical harvest rules (Gammage 2011).

  • Healing. Smoking with eucalypt/cherry ballart, song, dance and the work of recognised healers restored balance (Clarke 2008).

Common elements: songlines that map and “recharge” Country; dance embodying Ancestors and animals; ochre body designs and regalia; sacred objects handled under strict protocol; and fire/smoke as media of cleansing and communication (Clarke 2008; Museums Victoria 2023).

Wadawurrung focus

On Wadawurrung Country (Werribee–Geelong–Ballarat–Bellarine), ceremonies were held on volcanic plains, river flats and coastal dunes. Practices included:

  • Tanderrum/welcome protocols to grant safe passage and share resources with visitors, aligning diplomacy with law.

  • Seasonal corroborees tied to kangaroo, eel and coastal harvests.

  • Ceremonial grounds near the You Yangs and lakes; cloak-wearing, ochre and feather adornments marked role and clan.
    Today the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation leads ceremony, Welcome to Country and smoking, and manages places through Cultural Heritage Management Plans (DEECA 2022; WTOAC 2021).

Ceremonial landscapes in Victoria

  • Wurdi Youang (near Geelong). Elliptical stone arrangement with solar alignments—likely used for ceremony marking solstices/equinoxes (Hamacher & Norris 2011).

  • Gariwerd (Grampians). >80 rock-art shelters with figures, emus and ceremonial motifs that sit within ongoing practice and joint management (Parks Victoria 2021).

  • Budj Bim (Gunditjmara). Ceremonial gatherings embedded in a cultural landscape of eel aquaculture—now World Heritage (UNESCO 2019).

Impacts of colonisation

Missions and officials suppressed ceremonies, removed people from Country, and criminalised gatherings; language bans severed song and instruction, and the Stolen Generations fractured transmission (Howitt 1904; Barwick 1998; DEECA 2022). Many rites persisted discreetly within families.

Contemporary renewal and governance

  • Smoking & Welcome to Country are widely practised—always led by Traditional Owners.

  • Tanderrum has re-emerged in Melbourne as a public ceremony of Kulin Nations’ custodianship.

  • Heritage protection. Ceremonial places are safeguarded under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 (Vic.); Registered Aboriginal Parties lead decisions on access, secrecy and care (DEECA 2022; VAHC 2021).

  • Education & language revival programs rebuild song and performance, often through community-school partnerships (Barwick 2000).

Protocols for respectful engagement

  1. Seek Traditional Owner permission and guidance; 2) do not reproduce songs/objects without consent; 3) avoid revealing locations of sensitive sites; 4) support language use—ceremony and language are inseparable (DEECA 2022; VAHC 2021).

Conclusion

Indigenous ceremonies in Victoria are living systems of law that bind people to Country and Ancestors. Despite colonial rupture, practice has endured and is resurging under Traditional Owner leadership. From fire-lit corroborees in Gariwerd to Tanderrum on Kulin lands, ceremony remains a powerful expression of continuity, diplomacy and care for Country.

References

Barwick, D. (2000) ‘Song, chants and Aboriginal musical heritage in Victoria,’ Aboriginal History, 24(1), 173–194.
Clarke, P.A. (2008) Aboriginal Healing Practices: Smoke, Fire and Ceremony in South-eastern Australia. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press.
DEECA Victoria (2022) Cultural Heritage and Aboriginal Ceremonies in Victoria. Melbourne: Department of Energy, Environment & Climate Action.
Gammage, B. (2011) The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
Hamacher, D.W. & Norris, R.P. (2011) ‘Bridging the gap through Australian Aboriginal astronomy,’ Journal of Astronomical History & Heritage, 14(1), 39–49.
Howitt, A.W. (1904) The Native Tribes of South-East Australia. London: Macmillan.
Museums Victoria (2023) Aboriginal Ceremonial Objects and Collections. Melbourne.
Parks Victoria (2021) Aboriginal Cultural Heritage in the Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park. Melbourne.
UNESCO (2019) Budj Bim Cultural Landscape World Heritage Listing. Paris: UNESCO.
Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council (2021) Elders, Law and Cultural Authority in Victoria. Melbourne.
Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (2021) Wadawurrung Country and Culture. Geelong.

Written, Researched and Directed by James Vegter and Uncle Reg Abrahams (September, 2025)

 

 

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Magic Lands Alliance acknowledge the Traditional Owners, Custodians, and First Nations communities across Australia and internationally. We honour their enduring connection to the sky, land, waters, language, and culture. We pay our respects to Elders past, present, and emerging, and to all First Peoples communities and language groups. This article draws only on publicly available information; many cultural practices remain the intellectual property of communities.