Bebejan

Bebejan, ( date of birth unknown; † 1836) also called jerum jerum, was an Aboriginal Wurundjeri, a Ngurungaeta ( leader ). The tribe settled in what is now the state of Victoria in southeastern Australia in Melbourne will today (2012 ) still live about 100 Wurundjeri.

He was present at the conclusion of Batman's Treaty in 1835 and is said to have signed him with seven other tribal leaders. This contract is historically significant because it is the only document that European settlers on Aboriginal land negotiated and this was not a no man's land.

Life

Bebejan led the clans of the Wurundjeri - Willam of the Woiwurrung, the Tooterrie and Ngurailum communities from the Murchison Area. Previously, these strains of Barla, his mother, were performed; she was an elder of their tribe.

The Batman Treaty, which was concluded in 1836 between eight elders and John Batman was significant for the history of Australia. This 2,000 square kilometers of land around Melbourne were transferred against valuables of today about 100 pounds. It is believed that the signatures were not done by the elders, but by other Aborigines. Furthermore, the legal character of this contract was the Aborigines unclear, since they had a completely different idea of the use and ownership of land. In the dubious contract signing also Billibellary, a prominent leader of the Aborigines, present, and Billibellarys son William Barak was a subsequent clan leader of the Wurundjeri.

Bebejan was with Jemima Burns, a white woman, married. They met in Melbourne know where she grew up in a home in Healesville for Aboriginekinder, where she met Bebejan. They married not traditional in the way of Aborigines, but in a Christian church. After this marriage she received the Aboriginal name Wemba Wemba and became a member of the tribe on the Murray River. She took over all the traditions of the tribe and was accepted as Woiwurrung woman. Bebejan and Wemba Wemba had 13 children who were so-called half- cast ( half-breeds ). One of their sons was William Barak, a gifted painter who was to succeed him as a tribal leader after Bebejans death. He was said to be present at the signing ceremony at the age of 9 years.

Bebejan died in 1836, approximately 12 months after the conclusion of Batman's Treaty. It is believed that he was buried on Dights case where unite Merri Creek and Yarra River.