Indigenous destiny dances to united beat with constitutional reform agenda
Indigenous destiny dances to united beat with constitutional reform agenda
- Yolgnu elder Djunga Djunga Yunupingu said he had been asked by his uncle, Galarrwuy Yunupingu, to bring to central Australia a fire “that gives us the power and identity of who we are” and that “tells us that no matter what happens to us, we are strong and unbreakable”.
- Yolgnu elder Djunga Djunga Yunupingu said he had been asked by his uncle, Galarrwuy Yunupingu, to bring to central Australia a fire “that gives us the power and identity of who we are” and that “tells us that no matter what happens to us, we are strong and unbreakable”.
“Our fire was
lit by our ancestors and lives through our songs and our dance; all of
us are linked throughout the country by songlines and kinship and
friendship and a common history in this land,” Mr Yunupingu said.
The
flame he invoked was painted on the bodies of his countrymen: red and
yellow on their torsos symbolising its heart and tongue, the black the
charcoal it creates, and a series of white dots, or nilng-nilng, the
shower of sparks that can spread its power.
“We are coming here to light a fire, and have them take the strength of that fire into their discussions,” he told The Australian.
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