Baby Business

Author Jasmine Seymour celebrates ancient Aboriginal language of Sydney as she celebrates the Year of Indigenous Languages with her very first book.

A warm and loving story about an ancient First Nations ritual, brought in to present-day context to share with young children.

Baby Business tells the story of the baby smoking ceremony that welcomes baby to country. The smoke is a blessing – it will protect the baby and remind them that they belong. This beautiful ritual is recounted in a way young children will completely relate to.

Jasmine Seymour is a Darug woman and descendant of Maria Lock, who was the daughter of Yarramundi, the Boorooberongal elder who had met Governor Phillip on the banks of the Hawkesbury River in 1791. Maria was the first Aboriginal woman to be educated by the Blacktown Native Institute. She was married to carpenter and convict, Robert Lock and their union resulted in thousands of descendants who can all trace their Darug heritage back past Yarramundi.

It is Jasmine's wish that through her books, everyone will know that the Darug mob are still here, still strong. Jasmine is a primary school teacher in the Hawkesbury area of NSW. Baby Business is her first book.

Baby Business
Magabala Books
Author: Jasmine Seymour
RRP: $24.99