Spiritual Ayr ...

Day 5: Wednesday 28 March (9.30pm, Ayr)

We began the day with some early
morning sunshine on the cane fields ...

... and ended it with touch footy
at the local grounds

Last day of our ‘official’ cultural training today and it was quite emotional – not necessarily because we had to say a small wadda mooli to our teachers, but we talked about a lot of special moments that they had experienced over the years; moments of initiation that they had not expected to happen at the time; moments of messages from ancestors watching over them that could not be ignored; moments of optimism and laughter despite deep sadness and loss - it was a day full of stories with very spiritual experiences.

Tonight Lynette invited us down to the football fields to meet her sons and watch her daughters and partner play touch footy. We’ve been wonderfully fortunate already to have been warmly welcomed by everyone we meet. It’s made me think about the differences between our families at home and the indigenous families we’ve met so far - the differences are not so many, but they are there.

A key difference is ‘family’ - the size and context of it. So many families here are made up of five or six children. Older generations are even more likely to be one of 10+ siblings. So much for the one each for you and your partner and then one more for your country! And when they speak of family, it’s far wider than even grandparents and grandchildren. Family is uncles, aunts, cousins, elders and because each arm of each family is so large, an intimate gathering of immediate family becomes a reason to hire a hall!

Another difference I’ve noticed is ‘respect’. Renarta and Dorothy are one of a small group of people able to sign the permits that allow people to hunt for turtles. Today, a nephew of Renarta’s turned up at the centre to request a permit. He’d come all the way from Townsville, not realising they were here, but eager to go hunting that afternoon on the high tide. The permit allows people to take one turtle, or two if there is a special occasion, such as a wedding or a significant birthday, like a 90^th. Every part of the turtle is used in some way and every child learns that greed doesn’t pay, so they don’t hunt turtles if they still have anything remaining unused from a previous expedition. The season is also limited to periods outside of the breeding cycle so that numbers are not reduced and a lot of work is completed with the co-operation and support of the local marine authorities. Because the turtle is so significant to the Birri people, they show it an amazing amount of respect by following this process. They also show Renarta and Dorothy respect, by going out of their way to work with them and the government to complete the necessary forms. The nephew will return in the next couple of days with information regarding the turtle he took, including its tag if it has one. I just can’t imagine my own brothers being so respectful in regards the wishes of my Mum, but Elders and older people in the indigenous community certainly command such respect within their family and wider community.

Shelley, Aunty Renarta, Aunty Dorothy and me

At the end of our day with these beautiful women, we were told that we could call each Aunty, as we’d proven ourselves to be their guthalins (sisters) through our listening and questions and our own show of respect for all that we had been taught over the past few days. You can probably guess that I shed a few happy tears in that moment. Right now, I can’t imagine anyone in the whole wide world feeling luckier than me.