The contemporary Eastern Maar nation traces an unbroken line of descent back to our ancestors over many thousands of years. We have survived as our Country’s First People and, despite the well documented colonial history, continue to maintain economic, traditional, cultural, familial and spiritual ties to our homeland. Through the leadership and authority of our Elders, we are practicing our laws and customs, strengthening our system of governance and nurturing our connection to Country.

We continue to pass on our traditional knowledge from generation to generation, inducting our young people into Maar society as a cultural practice initiated by our Ancestors. It is a process that keeps customs and stories alive and ensures we are able to maintain Maar culture, language and society. Drawing strength from our identity and past, we are able to live our culture as a set of attitudes, customs and beliefs – helping us to be resilient and adaptable in changing circumstances.

We are the eastern landholding group of a larger Aboriginal nation – the Maar Nation. The western landholding group of this Maar nation are the Gunditjmara, with whom we share the lands and waters between the Eumeralla and Shaw Rivers. The Country to the east of the Shaw River to the Leigh and the Barwon catchment basins, and the area from the sea in the south to the Great Dividing Range in the north belongs to Eastern Maar.

Before the arrival of Europeans there were more than 200 clan groups belonging to the Maar nation. This number diminished quickly to just a fraction of the original population, with small groups coalescing into larger ones, and yet larger ones still until there were only two Maar landholding groups left, each covering a large area of land and water.

In accordance with our law and custom, clans that became incapacitated were superseded by others who remained strong, handing on their sanctioned place in the landscape and responsibilities for looking after the clan estate. This process ensured that the cultural values and practices of Maar citizens remained intact. Today some of our citizens continue to identify with the respective Maar clan groups of their ancestors, including Peek Whurrong, Chap Whurrong (Tjap Wurrung or Djab Wurrung), Kirrae Whurrong, Kuurn Kopan Noot and Yarro Waetch (Tooram Tribe). Other citizens comfortably identify as part of the broader Eastern Maar group without identifying with a particular clan.