Manship. A man’s connection to Manu (Country). Warumungu Whiteband law.

Hey, I was talking to my brother MJ yesterday and he talked about an Umbrani and Waramunggu concept of man-ship. So our creation story is that the seed was planted in the heart of Waramunggu in Manu, and from the clay of the ground man was formed, and from the side of the man came woman. And their job is to walk side by side together throughout life. Very important concept to us. The other one that's very important is Umbrani, that underneath everything, true humans are all the same. So when we talk about Umbrani, we don't talk about the color of the skin, we talk about the content of the character and a connection to land and a connection to each other. Very important. What's interesting with manship is in that story, Man comes out of the ground and woman out of the side of man. So woman represents pata or ankle or spirit. So spiritual people, Mother Earth, Mother Nature, all of that's women's business and it really doesn't concern men's business. And that's a very important distinction for Western mindset because Western mindset wants to meddle in everybody's business. There are some things that only women Take responsibility for, and there are some things that only men take responsibility, but together they walk side by side. So with man-ship, because man came out of the dirt, man came out of the soil, his foot must leave a print, must leave a path, must leave a track upon the earth that he stands. And I think it's very important if you think about today's society with how disconnected we are from Country. how disconnected we are from the soil. As men, we spend our times in offices under blue lights, behind computers. We go to the gym every now and again for a little tiny workout, and that's just about it. We're not connected to the dirt. Think of it therapeutically, how often people talk about gardening being good for you, bushwalking being good. Something much more than that for us in Wurundjeri culture. It is a strong connection to the soil. Now, when we talk about indigination, Everybody is indigenous to somewhere. Melissa's brother, McKenzie, that boy, man, he's from South Carolina. He's indigenous to South Carolina. Now, he might be a white fella there and he may not be one of the original ones, but South Carolina is his country. You take McKenzie off country, McKenzie will tell you that he feels it. It's about a connection to place where you go to. I know a friend of mine went back to Ireland a couple of years ago. He said he's never felt more at home. He's Irish. The Irish are indigenous to Ireland. I don't know why we have this concept that indigenation is about color. It's not. It's about connection to country. We all have a responsibility for the country that they're on, to connect with the country, to steward the country, to look after the country. But it's good for our soul, and I want to encourage every man I know to get outside and connect with country. Connect it. Let your feet mark it. Let your feet touch it. Let it let it touch your soul. It's very, very important. So that's Waramungu lore around the concept of manship.