Martu knowledge helps to solve mystery of Australian "fairy circles"
Bare circular patches that occur in the Western Deserts of Australia, known as “fairy circles,” have long puzzled scientists. The circles were thought to be caused by plants competing for water and nutrients. However, exciting new research has shown Aboriginal knowledge to be critical to understanding the phenomenon of these circles.
Martu Elder Gladys Bidu explained that the patches are called linyji and that termites live in the ground underneath them. "Linyji (termite pavements) are the homes of termites who live underground. We gathered and ate the Warturnuma (flying termites) that flew from linyji. Warturnuma is wama, delicious. Old people also put their seeds on the hard linyji. They hit seed to make damper; our good food. I learnt this from my old people and have seen this myself many times."
“Aboriginal people told us that these regular circular patterns of bare pavements are occupied by spinifex termites,” said ethnoecologist Fiona Walsh. “We saw similarities between the patterns in Aboriginal art and aerial views of the pavements and found paintings that have deep and complex stories about the activities of termites and termite ancestors.”
Researchers surveyed and excavated trenches on land containing multiple fairy circles in Nyiyaparli country, east of Newman in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. They also looked at patches at Newhaven, an Australian Wildlife Conservancy property in Warlpiri country in the Northern Territory. “After we dug and then dusted to clean the trenches, 100% of them had termite chambers seen horizontally and vertically in the matrix,” Walsh said.
The cross-cultural research has led to other unexpected findings. Warnman - Manjilyjarra man and Martu interpreter, Desmond Taylor, shared his cultural knowledge about Mulyamiji (great desert skinks) which are a threatened species. “After good rains in linyji country, Mulyamiji would be born in water lying on the linyji. My mother, my two fathers, my uncle told me this long ago”.
“The water-holding characteristics of termite pavements were unknown to desert scientists until we recognised clues in the stories of our Aboriginal colleagues and Aboriginal art,” Walsh said. “Aboriginal people refined their encyclopedia and authoritative knowledge when living continuously on this continent for at least 65,000 years and their knowledge is critical to improving ecosystem management and in understanding and caring for Australia’s desert.”
The research, published in Nature Ecology and Evolution by researchers from the Western Desert region, the University of WA, the Australian Wildlife Conservancy and the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, highlights the importance of First Nations knowledge in scientific research.
The findings of the study have been welcomed by both scientists and First Nations communities. As Walsh notes, “This is a great example of how science and indigenous knowledge can work together to solve the mysteries of the natural world.”
Read the full journal article here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-023-01994-1
📸s: “Fairy circles” found in the spinifex east of Newman on Nyiyaparli Country in Western Australia; Traditionally linyji (pavements) were essential surfaces for cleaning and preparing seed foods for eating. Nowadays Martu use a tarpaulin instead.
