Garrgiil tells the correct way to catch turtles
Our people who come from the binga wandaar (white cockatoo) clans along the coastline are exceptional hunters. By lining up certain landmarks on land, my people go to hunt ngawiya (turtle) as well as girribidhi (dugong) in the bay, as well as far out on the reefs.
If caught out on the reefs by a sudden change of weather, there is no issue with staying out until the weather changes. They eat and drink the blood of the fish to sustain them until returning to ngathanun bubu (our land).
Hunting of the ngawiya and girribidhi is taken very seriously, with ganyill (chanting). These animals are sacred to us, and all protocols must be observed when hunting them. Also during the process of butchering, when our hunt is successful, our men will ganyill all night until jiiri (first light of day).
Women aren’t allowed to witness the butchering of these animals.
There is also a season for hunting. Animals cannot be hunted when they are giving birth or tending their young, so that their offspring can survive to become the food source for the future.
The young men are taught the special significance of these animals, and I have witnessed a boy my age being beaten by an elder who saw this young man grab the nganmaar (penis) of a dugong and laugh while slapping it around.
The elder grabbed a milbiirr (spear thrower) and flogged the boy until he pissed himself, because it was a desecration of an important animal.
You can be pleased with your catch and smile about what you have achieved, but it is considered sacrilege to laugh when killing an animal or to make fun of an animal whose life has been taken for food.
That is our lore.