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AUSTRALIA<br />
How to<br />
PLAY MARN GROOK<br />
THE INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIAN GAME THAT COULD BE THE ORIGINAL AUSSIE<br />
RULES FOOTBALL VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA, UP TO 40,000 YEARS AGO<br />
Believed to have originated in what would<br />
become the state of Victoria, Marn Grook is<br />
a pastime associated with the Indigenous<br />
population of Australia. The game was first<br />
played by the Gunditjmara people who settled<br />
innorth-westernVictoriaandmeans‘Game<br />
Ball’. It has been likened to Kemari in Japan<br />
andisoneoftheinspirationsbehindAustralian<br />
Rulesfootball,whichisnowplayedbymore<br />
than 100,000 people in 80 countries worldwide.<br />
AsthehistoryofAboriginalpeoplesisstrictly<br />
verbal, written evidence is only available post-<br />
European colonisation, but it is speculated the<br />
gamehasbeenplayedforthousandsofyears.<br />
WHAT YOU’LL<br />
NEED<br />
RED AND YELLOW SASHES<br />
OCHRE<br />
Dirlk<br />
Theballwasmadeoutofeitherkangaroo<br />
orpossumskin,andwasmadestrong<br />
enough to endure all the rough and tumble.<br />
Kick not throw<br />
Rather than being thrown, the ball was<br />
kicked high in the air, giving the tallest<br />
playersadistinctadvantage.<br />
Age limit<br />
Menandwomenplayedtogetherbut<br />
children had their own version of the<br />
gameanddidn’tplaywiththeadults.<br />
Leap high<br />
Thegreatestfeatforaplayerduringthe<br />
game was achieving the highest jump.<br />
<strong>All</strong>inaname<br />
MarnGrookwasplayedby300ormore<br />
Indigenous language groups and was<br />
alsoknownas‘mingorm’,‘mangoort’,<br />
‘yoomkoort’ and ‘pultja’.<br />
MARN GROOK IN ACTION<br />
50-100<br />
PLAYERS<br />
FIRM HANDSHAKE<br />
POSSUM<br />
SKIN BALL<br />
01<br />
Divide into teams<br />
The teams are split by moiety social group so neither side<br />
can seek an advantage by selecting bigger or stronger<br />
players. This helps level the playing field, and in Marn Grook<br />
co-operation is essential for a chance of victory. In a way, the<br />
game is similar to modern netball with no movement allowed<br />
while holding the dirlk.<br />
02<br />
Ready for action<br />
Once the teams have been decided, every playing<br />
member is daubed with different coloured ochre. The<br />
greetings are then given, which consist of a handshake, a thumb<br />
grasp and a pat on the back or a hug. After a brief speech from<br />
the elder (chulkul) saying, “Womin jeka beeyene” (welcome<br />
football players), the game will then begin.<br />
16
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