Got a text from my sister to say she was in town and inviting the family around to meet "Her son, " a nephew I didn't know I had. Sis worked in aboriginal health in remote Arnhem Land for many years and was adopted into the local Yongal tribe ( my spelling, I cant find anything on the internet to get it right ) by the leading clans family. Her " son" ( by clan adoption) DJ is a 28 YO indigenous man who was a tribal spiritual healer and in training to become a tribal elder. His grandfather is the tribal king.
The Yongal where the last tribe in Australia to have any major interactions with the whites and still live a very traditional lifestyle including hunting with spears, using dug out canoes and following traditional ceremony etc. It wasn't until the mid 1970,s when Rio Tinto began mining in the area that they encountered western civilisation on a regular basis.
My teenage daughter came with us, but as she was a female " cousin " she was not allowed to shake hands with DJ or look at him. She had to keep her head bowed to avoid eye contact.
We where treated to a night of traditional aboriginal didgeridoo music with each song a tribal history or totem. The most moving part of the night was when my brother in law, asked DJ to perform a healing ceremony on my wife. She is recovering from cancer and has had a lot of health issues. DJ performed sacred didgeridoo music, blowing the music into my wife's chest.
It was a fascinating evening learning about DJ,s culture and views on the world. DJ is a very sensitive, quiet and intelligent young man who is deeply traditional in his outlook but understands how his people can work co-operatively with westerners for mutual benefit. He has been educated in Melbourne for a time under a sporting scholarship and has played football for one of the well known AFL teams. Even so there where still some language barriers and my sister had to interpret at times. She is fluent in the traditional language.
The tribe has a good relationship with Rio Tinto and has found them sensitive to the importance of cultural sites. It sounded completely different to the recent unfortunate incidents elsewhere. Perhaps the difference is DJ,s tribe have complete control over their lands and can order Rio Tinto off at any time.
I wasn't aware we still had indigenous tribes still practicing traditional culture and lifestyles in Australia. All up a fascinating evening and if DJ is any reflection, his tribe is in very safe hands.
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