“This country is strong and will remain strong for us. It is alive in spirit. Country always welcomes us and reminds us that we are family. We have the responsibility to look after our father’s and mother’s country by following the Law. We don’t make the Law; our Law is handed down from generation to … More Warlpiri statement on country
Thank you to the talented actress Catherine Mack, from Home and Away, for her endorsement of Kurdiji 1.0 Aboriginal suicide prevention app today.
“The Land needs words. Otherwise, if we didn’t have language to speak with, we’d only have the thoughts that are inside our head. We’d have thoughts, but what good are they without the words to bring them out, so that we can tell each other what those thoughts are, sing our songs, and tell our … More Margaret Kemarre Turner on language
“First and foremost Aboriginal culture in the NT in particular and in remote parts of Australia is alive . . . I am a citizen – just – of Australia. But first and foremost I am an Aboriginal woman. Cultured, noble with a strong sense of what is right and what is wrong. We have … More Rosalie Kunoth Monks & Djiniyini Gondarra
“I am from there. That’s where Kurtal [spirit snake] left me. He left me and my wife Dolly, and her brothers and Mosquito, Johnny Mosquito, my brother. Kurtal put them there. And Wiyli Wiyli, my son. He put everybody there, that Kurtal. Kurtal left me further up north. I am one of his lightnings. There … More Ngilpirr Spider Snell talking about Kurtal
“Our language is sacred to us. Every Aboriginal language is sacred for those who speak it. Words are given to us by the land and those words are sacred. What does it mean to an Aboriginal culture? The land needs words, the land speaks for us and we use the language for this. Words make … More Amelia Turner (on language)
“This painting is called Wume; Wume is the sky. Mirlljun is the star. There are the stars in the middle and wolon Is the grass you can see around the edges. Some stars were once humans. In the country; two lots of family living together. Many animals were walking around; people were walking around like … More Bill Harney (on the stars)
“I want to tell you about Yama. This is the Warlpiri word for a shadow, or reflection. It’s also a word that we use to describe a meeting or a meeting-place; we gather under a tree that casts a shadow (a reflection of its shape) onto the ground, and we talk in a group – … More Ngurra Kurlu (the home within)
“. . . Ceremony is a mother. It is looking after you. What I’m really saying is that it is not yapa (Aboriginal people) who have ceremony, it is ceremony that has yapa. Ceremony is holding yapa because you can’t look after mother, mother has to look after you. When you are talking about mother … More Wanta Jampijinpa on Ceremony
This screen print by “Love Story”, relates to the love magic ceremonies of the Warlpiri and Kukatja people (of the Australian Western and Central Deserts) “A man sings love songs to attract the object of his affections, his desired lover, to him and in the same way a woman may also sing yilpinji to charm a … More Yilpinji Love Magic
