Algngga is the story of the revival of the traditional Olkola messmate benched humpy shelter, a special wet season shelter that hasn’t been built around the Kowanyama area for well over 80 years.

Cultural Background

When 0rrjar comes, the clouds gather at the end of ugng adnd the dry season and thunder and ok eban lightning tells of the coming of onyjon,the wet season. Urrgi, our country, comes to life as unyan the rain fills the waterholes and swamps and the bark of ug athar the messmate and ug ewomben the box tree loosens as trees come to life after a long hot Ugng adnd dry season.

Olkola old people say the sound of thunder is made by the thunder being Inh ogan adndal as he breaks the bones of humans and animals on his forehead, something he has done since the beginning of time. It was time to prepare for the long wet season. Western Olkola lands become a flooded country of ujny erang, march flies, ogngol, mosquitoes and eran, sandflies. It was time to make or begin repair of algngga the raised messmate bark shelters, and in drier places purrgnggu the tea tree bark mosquito shelters.

It is a hard season in the messmate and ironwood forests where the ground becomes boggy. There are many flooded areas in western Olkola country with many kinds of biting insects day and night. During bush times, many families shifted to the higher ground of relatives' neighbouring clan lands.

Many bush fruits would be ripening and Egng oyjo and egng ejaj the sour and long yams would once
again be climbing the trees and bushes. Engng alko native bee’s nests would get fat with Egnga
oyjo (honey) from blossoming country. There would be fish traps to be made and fish to be caught in swollen gullies and streams.

Produced by Tom Hearn bushTV Founder. Words by Vivian Sinnamon