Wild Toffee II

Lisa Michl Ko-manggén, Born: 1977 in Cairns, Queensland, Language Group: Kokotharpal, Clan Group: Kokoberrin

Area: Central Western Cape York Peninsula Homelands: Pinnarinch, Community: Cairns - Kowanyama – Normanton

Clan story place: Water Fairy, Totem Name: Ko-manggén

Title: Wild Toffee II, 2021, Acrylic on canvas, 45.72 x 60.96cm

Stretched

In traditional times, our families had few sugars or sweets available to them. The main ones were from berries, honey and wild toffee. Berries were collected from a variety of native plants and honey harvested from the hives of native bees. Our families harvested Wild Toffee from trees growing on open Spinifex Plains country. It is known as Phloem sap (not to be confused with latex, resins or mucilage). Wild Toffee consists primarily of water, sugar and mineral elements. It is produced by trees for various reasons and at different seasons of the year. Wild Toffee is hard in texture much like toffee as we know it today. It is eaten to provide the body with an additional source of sugar and minerals.