AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL 2003 (continued)


Although there are hundreds of different cultural and spiritual beliefs amongst Aboriginal people, they are united in the common belief of the creation. Aboriginal history describes the world as being created during the "Dreaming", a time when the Aboriginal ancestral beings traveled over the land and created the animals, humans, landscape. The paths of these ancestral beings interweave every part of Australia and explain positions of rocks, mountains, trees, rivers and lakes. The "Dreaming" stories are also the basis for Aboriginal law, religion and many general customs and principles for living. The "Dreaming" is a spiritual continuing time, which lives in all beings at all times. It is a spiritual understanding and way of life of the hunter-gatherer people which is passed down from generation to generation through ceremonies of song and dance. Because there is no written language in Aboriginal culture, all dreamtime stories are passed down orally.  Many Aboriginal songs sung around the campfire recount these lyrical stories.
            That night, I made friends with two Yolngu women - Dopiya and Dhangal who invited me out the next morning to find breakfast in the mangroves.  The bay of Carpentaria is the world of the salt-water crocodiles also called " big salties."  I had been told to "stay out of the water and away form the beach" to avoid the big salties, but as we faced the mangroves, Dopiya and Dhangal told me that they weren't around.  I asked them how they knew that there were no crocs in the mangroves but they just looked at me and waded out into the water. If I wanted to come along, I guess I just had to trust them.
We were looking for mud crabs, mangrove worms and mangrove oysters. It was great to find people who were practicing their traditional ways of life and living off the land! For them, it was nothing but going out to find something nice to snack on. Bush food in Australia is called "tucker" and Mud crabs are good "tucker".  Mud crabs are a bit of a delicacy and taste like lobster.
Later that morning I traveled to the ocean with a group of Yolngu men (Phonetic Young-ooo, N like in sing) in search of Dalimbo or sea clams. Dalimbo are found in shallow reefs when the tide is down just off the shore.  The lips of the Dalimbo are eaten cooked and the ear is eaten raw. Wessley walked barefoot out into the living jagged reef and taught us how to cut out meat from the clams and remove the toxins before eating. In my opinion, they tasted like eating a fish flavored eraser. The reef is home to many dangers, Box Jellyfish; Blue ringed octopuses and stonefish and my worst fear, the cone shell. The cone shell's sting can kill you in less than 10 minutes.
            After we had collected a feed clams, we headed back to camp. We cooked the day's catch in a campfire on the beach under the scorching tropical sun.  Everything was just thrown into the flames to grill. We ate everything with our bare hands, which was tricky work because the shells were sharp and hot.  The Yolgnu ladies were very adept at this and made it look easy. I kept burning myself repeatedly but it was worth it. I wasn't so keen on the mangrove oysters but the mud crabs were delicious!  They were tasty, juicy and filling and a welcome change from the road trip food I had been eating. We had a "Good Feed" as they say in Australia. After the Tucker, Wesley taught us some of their traditional dances that represent stories of spearfishing. He pounded the sand with his feet in rhythm to the drone of the Yidaki stopping and starting over and over. The Yidaki is accompanied by percussion on clap sticks that are made of the local hardwood.
Reconciliation is a powerful concept in modern Australia. Many Indigenous and non-Indigenous people are working together to heal the wounds of the past and create a more harmonious future. After 10 days in Arhnem Land we traveled back to Darwin with Yolngu people to attend a Reconciliation Ceremony. They were reconciling with the whitefellas and the descendants of Northern Territory policeman, Albert McColl. The ceremony took place in front of the Northern Territory Supreme Court. I joined the Yolngu men as they painted their bodies with chalk and red ochre preparing themselves for it.
The events that gave rise to the ceremonies are intriguing and show the problems that can occur when the laws of two cultures meet. In 1933, Tribal Elder Dhakiyarr Wirrpanda came across policeman Albert Mcoll, who had ventured deep into the wilderness to investigate the murder of some Japanese fishermen. McColl had chained up Dhakiyarr's wife in an attempt to detain her. He then ignorantly fired his revolver at Dhakiyarr. Through his actions, McColl had broken several Yolngu laws and as a consequence, Dhakiyarr speared the policeman through the leg and McColl died. In accordance with white law, Dhakiyarr was taken to Darwin to face the Northern Territory Supreme Court, where he was sentenced to death for murder. After much protest, the High Court, which is Australia's highest court, overturned the decision, and ordered that Dhakiyarr be acquitted and allowed to return to his homeland. But soon after Dhakiyarr was released, he disappeared and never returned home. Rumor has it that he was killed, possibly by vengeful policemen, or vigilantes. His remains have never been found. Dhakiyarr's case was the first time an Indigenous person had ever appeared as a plaintiff in front of the High Court. The Yolngu relatives performed a special Wukidi ritual to guide the spirit of Dhakiyarr back to their ancestral lands and to express their desire to reconcile with whitefellas.
            After the ceremony, I drove four hours southward from Darwin to Katherine, a rough and ready town on the edge of the desert. On the way south I passed many of the legendary "Road Trains" that haul goods across Australia's outback. They are massive 4 a 5 section Diesel trailers that stop for nothing and are a formidable foe when competing for road space. Because of a lack of railroads in the outback, road trains are a vital lifeline for supplies and fermented beverages.
            It is amazing whom you meet in the bush! About 1 hour outside Katherine, I pulled off the road to take a break and ran into Stacks, a didgeridoo maker from Victoria.  Stacks had just finished collecting hollow trees when I spoke to him.  Most of the work in making a didgeridoo is done by the termites. Termites live in amazing mounds in many areas of Australia.  They mostly eat grass but also hollow out trees by eating the soft wood in the center of the truck.  Stacks demonstrated the difficult circular breathing technique required to play a dig properly. BOY WAS HE GOOD! Circular breathing is a technique which allows a player to inhale and blow out at the same time creating a constant sound. After saying good-bye to Stacks, I got back on the highway and headed into Katherine.
            It was in Katherine that I met Glen, the owner of a local Aboriginal art gallery. 
Glen told me of the rainbow serpent, which is a powerful creature associated with the "Dreaming" myth of Aboriginal spiritual culture. It is the Ancestral Serpent who created the life-giving rivers and valleys of the world. Glen also explained the Aboriginal "kinship system" to me.  The kinship system is complex and fundamental in Aboriginal culture and regulates many aspects of Indigenous life.  Family members and close friends are called kin and are members of a clan. Clan groups that share the same language, traditions and customs are called a nation. Under the kinship system, members of a family group are assigned skin names that determine their relationship to other members.
There are also two major family groups that are similar to the opposites of Ying and Yang. These groups are called Moities. These two Moity groups are called Yirritja and Dhuwa. You are given a Moity that is handed down from your father and you must marry from the opposite group. During my time in Arnhem Land I was adopted into the Gurruwiwi family and my Moity is Yirritja. I was also given a Totem or guardian animal that is the crocodile.  It was such an honor to be adopted and accepted so rapidly into their world.
            There are those people who live a predominantly traditional lifestyle, like those I met in Arnhem Land. Then there are those who live predominantly western lifestyles - like many of the people I met in Redfern. Most Aboriginal people however, live somewhere in between. 
In an Aboriginal community not far from Katherine I was introduced to members of the Wallaby tribe. They are a mob that had traveled up from the Tanami Desert to play in the local football final. A mob is a name to describe your extended family. Watching and playing Aussie rules football or "fuoddy" is extremely popular with many Indigenous people. I was amazed to see the lengths people would go to watch footy in the outback.  These men were rigging up a TV in the middle of nowhere in the desert to watch their favorite football team, the Sydney Swans.
These men demonstrated the power of kinship to me. They had inflicted themselves with wounds out of respect for dead relatives and were showing me their scars. Scarring is an important part of many Aboriginal rituals. As my contact with Indigenous people continued, I became accustomed to these scars and, thanks to these men, I understood what they meant.
            After experiencing this fanaticism for aussie rules football, I had to find out more about this uniquely Australian game, so I went in search of a local match. Footy or Aussie rules is played on a huge oval shaped field, which is twice the size of an American football gridiron. Each team consists of 18 players who kick, throw and bounce a rugby style football. 6 Points are scored when the ball is kicked between two of four goal posts on each end of the field. In true Aussie "fair go" style, if you miss the main goal there is an extra set of wider posts. If your kick makes it in between these wider posts you get 1 point for coming close to the goal. Football brings communities together and is an important source of pride and focus for the men.  Many Aboriginals have made it to the elite national level and are great champions like David Wirrpanda and Michael Horn whom I got to meet.
            Football is not the only popular sport out in the Bush. Rodeo is also everywhere! The next leg of my trip took me to a small town called Derby on Western Australia's far north coast.  Derby is a couple hour drive north of the tourist beach town of Broome and has one of the highest tidal ranges in the world, over 40 feet between high and low tide. While in Derby I checked out the local Rodeo. 
            The popularity of rodeo is not surprising, after all, Outback Australia is filled with many massive cattle and sheep stations and most of the men living there are stockmen or cowboys. In fact, the world's largest cattle station is Anna Creek Station in South Australia. At over 13,000 square miles, this station is larger than the state of Maryland in the United States. Riders come from all over the country to compete in rodeo events.
            Given the abundance of other safer forms of transport, attempting to ride a massive angry bull seems like the one of the craziest things a person can do.  The risks don't end once the rider dismounts either, there is always the prospect of being trampled or gored by an angry bull that is intent on revenge.
The basics of bull riding are easy to grasp. The rider mounts the bull in the chute and grips a rope, which is pulled tightly around the sensitive belly of the bull. When the bull is released from the chute the rider must remain on the bucking bull while keeping his other hand in the air. A horn sounds to signal when the rider has completed his mandatory 8-second ride. Each ride is scored out of 100 points by two judges.  Half the score is awarded to the bull. The higher and harder he bucks, kicks and turns, the more points he receives.  The other half of the score is awarded to the rider, who is judged on his riding skill and finesse.  Any score in the 80's and 90's is considered exceptional. Aboriginal cowboys of the cattle country did most of the pioneering work for white station owners. Many became exceptional saddle men and today aboriginal cowboys can be found among the world's elite professional rodeo athletes.
While on the road back to Derby I learned some interesting facts about Australia's most famous animal, the Kangaroo. Kangaroos are found all over the continent. In desert areas they are often seen feeding on green shoots along the roadside. Unfortunately vehicles kill many kangaroos. It's important to stop and look in the pouches of these dead kangaroos because you might find a baby joey that has survived.
From Derby I flew down to Perth, the most isolated capital city in the world.  It is over 1500 miles away from Darwin, its closest neighboring capital. From Perth, I made the 8-hour trip on the Prospector Train to Kalgoorlie, a raw city exuding all the atmosphere of a frontier gold mining town. Naturally Kalgoorlie is complete with bar brawls, brothels and one heck of a big hole in the ground - called the super pit. The super pit is the worlds largest open-air tin mine.
While in Kalgoorlie I was invited by artist Dinny Smith to visit his little outdoor studio and watch him work. Dinny paints on canvas in the dot painting style that evolved from Aboriginal traditional sand paintings. He sold me one of his paintings that is a representational map of waterholes. Dinny lost one of his legs after being speared in a punishment ritual. He was caught in a relationship with a woman that was forbidden to him by Aboriginal law. Dinny was punished by being speared in the leg, unfortunately his leg got infected and had to be amputated. What Dinny will tell you is that his leg was found and eaten by dingos out of the hospital garbage! Dinny is one of my favorite personalities who openly shared his unusual story with me.
                        The diversity and peculiar wildlife in Australia kept me constantly fascinated and surprised. The strange creatures just kept appearing.  A 4-foot goanna I was filming decided to attack its mate, and then both ran straight for me. Undoubtedly the most lovable Australian Animal is the Koala - super cute but watch those claws, they are extremely sharp. Many of the animals and plants exist in no other place on earth. White, pink and black cockatoos roar and heckle filling the trees. Saltwater crocodile keep everyone from camping near water in northern Australia. Rainbow colored lorikeets are the most colorful parrots I have ever seen and were all over the place in Sydney. We saw repeated stumpy tailed lizards along the road that stick out their blue tongues when you approach. Australia unique animals don't stop where the land ends either. The world heritage listed Great Barrier Reef marine park on the east coast is one of the largest coral reefs in the world. The reef is one large living creature. It is home to some of Australia most colorful and exciting animals
The experience that gave my trip purpose was my time spent as a volunteer teacher. All in all I taught over 3500 children at eight locations across the country. 
As a teacher I was able to enter many different Aboriginal communities. It took me to wonderful places all over Australia. My goal was to teach the children how I had learned to paint my portraits. I have learned through trusting myself and believing in my ability to create. I wanted to inspire and motivate children who had an interest in art. We had a great time learning that making art was fun. Becoming an Aboriginal artist in Australia is a job that can easily provide a living and possible fame and fortune. I stressed to them how important and valuable their culture is and that they should be proud to be Aboriginal. They needed to know how rare they are and that they were the future of Aboriginal Australia.
It was wonderful to give something back to a culture that had opened its arms to me. What a delight it was to be surrounded by children and playing with paint all day. They created portraits of each other that were spectacular. I taught both Indigenous and non-Indigenous children. It was great to see them interact and look closely at each other.
Being a painter, you have to know you're subject and for many kids is was an opportunity to experience each other's culture in a new way. It felt good to make a small contribution.  I hope in a small way that my work might help in the process of reconciliation in Australia. It was so satisfying to see how proud they were of their portraits.
            After traveling over 30,000 kilometers in Australia during 2003 I learned so many things about the Aboriginal people and the many cultures of Australia. Barely 200 years ago Aboriginal Culture existed on its own within the land of Australia. Now it is just one of many cultures that share this great continent. It is a culture that has endured despite extreme threats and challenges to its survival. Today, appreciation and recognition grow for its unique and valuable contributions, many of which now permeate mainstream Australian life. Slowly Aboriginal culture is reclaiming its valuable position in Australia. But I'm no expert, go on down under and take a look for yourself!