The mulla-mullung’s Bulk

Abstract

Abstract Recent archaeological mapping of, and excavations at, Cloggs Cave, in GunaiKurnai Aboriginal Country in Southeastern Australia, have revealed a rich underground landscape of stone arrangements, broken stalactites, and what appear to be crushed crystalline minerals and ritual ash layers. Here we examine the stone artifacts to determine how they can shed further light on how the cave was used, and what a GunaiKurnai perspective can tell us about how the Old Ancestors lived and interacted with kin and more distant groups, spirit-beings, and ancestral presences operating under customary Law. The status and social logic of Cloggs Cave as a secluded site of special power within Krauatungalung clan Country, where caves are associated with mysterious creatures, restricted knowledge, and magic, are explained through connections that exist between special stones such as bulk and groggin, mulla-mullung or individuals of high degree, and magic power. By presenting the results of technological, use-wear and residue analyses on the excavated stone artifacts through historical and contemporary GunaiKurnai views, we expand not just our understanding of the cave, but how research questions posed by First Nations peoples can merge with academic research methods to reveal cultural (hi)stories fundamentally informed by descendant community perspectives.