Eye of the Beholder

One man's dreaming is another man's religion. The graffiti on the Mary Street wall is an interpretation of one of our indigenous 'dreaming' stories. Mostly these stories tell of man's relationship to the land and to the sky.

Behind the sandstone fence, is St Stephen's in Newtown which is a manifestation of the holy trinity on earth. The stories told within are of man's relationship with a god, in life and in death.


Note that this is the same intersection as yesterday, just from a different perspective. I am not sure what to make of the obvious fact that the animals are all going the wrong way. Or maybe the arrow is going the wrong way. Let's just call it 'creative dissonance'.

Woggan-ma-gule : Gulaga Dreaming (4 of 4)

Thus far, Daramah has unleashed wonders upon the waters, upon the soils and through the air. All big picture stuff. Now he goes in with a finer brush.


The Denning Death Adder travels up from the south. He meets the Bulada Rainbow Serpent. They travel together, weaving underground, creating the tablelands and return to the surface, creating water-holes.


Trees begin to rise up from the surface, and their branches grow. The trees are sung into life and tribes are formed: the Yuin, the Gurik, Boorooberongal, Warmuli, Garnua, Birapi and, Dhungutti. The people break away from the trees and form the tribes of the Sydney basin and the South Coast.


Look at the intensity, at the regal carriage of the back and of the head. Look at the pride of race, of tribe, of those ready to take their place as elders.


The tribes perform their Totem dances, encouraging the young to join in to learn the ways of the tribe, and to take their own place in that vast line that stretches from the past into the future. We see bat, possum, emu, whale, stingray and shark. We witness man and nature coming together to live upon the soil.


I watch closely and catch, the stutters of the young dancer, the shy grin when a step goes astray, the slavish following, and proud ownership. The mesmerising clack-clack of the sticks, curls with the gutteral utterances of the songmen and rise into the early morning fog upon the drone of the didge.

Uncle Max brings closure, thanks Aunty Marie for her presence, and the dancers dissolve into giggles of achievement and relief. In my turn, stunned, I dissolve into the gardens, meandering back along the ridgeline to my terrace upon the hill, as the heat and humidity wrap around the city. I know I have seen THE best, the most meaningful, that Australia Day can offer.


For those who have asked: yes, there was a written programme. And yes, Uncle Max talked his way through The Dreaming. This is what he has been doing for over 30 years: sharing his cultural knowledge and taking other Australians onto country explaining Aboriginal ways and their intricate understandings of the land. Watch back episodes of 'Message Stick' for more. Thank you for sharing this with me over the last few days.

Woggan-ma-gule : Gulaga Dreaming (3 of 4)

Some tribes from Central Australia have the Seven Sisters fleeing from a man, but the Yuin mob have a gentler tale.


Daramah, the Great Spirit watches.

It is night, and the seven sisters, a group of stars, rise up and travel from east to west. Three of the sisters, representing the physical, mental and spiritual, circle anti-clockwise around the connectedness rock. They go back in time, creating a vortex as they circle. The seven sisters begin to blow in the wind of the great wind spirit, Kooro-Kori.


It is tempting, in a modern context, to consider the relationship between the Yuin people's 'seven sisters' and the constellation of the Southern Cross. Especially, since three sisters go back into the vortex, which leave the four to form the constellation. I cannot find anything to support this, however. Being mischievous, and to stir the pot, there is a representation of the Southern Cross on our national flag, and all except one of those stars has seven points. It is satisfying to be mischievous at times!


But, I digress. As the performance continued, the song men came more to the fore (they were all strapped with transmitters, and the wire-less connectivity worked a charm).

Here they are in all their splendour. Going clockwise, from top left we have Richard Green, Matthew Doyle and the imposing brother Cecil Mcleod. The young lad on the didge I could not identify. The combination of voice, clap-sticks, and didge was very powerful.


Tomorrow: Our Dreaming draws to a close as the Death Adder and the Rainbow Serpent join together to create the Tree Tribes and the Totems.

Woggan-ma-gule : Gulaga Dreaming (2 of 4)

This post is about Daramah, the Great Spirit and his creation of Ngardi and Tunku. This story is passed on by Yuin elder, Uncle Max Dulumunmun Harrison, and given a modern interpretation by Peta Strachan, who is a descendant of the Darug people.


In the beginning, there was only oneness, only the environment: the trees, the bush, the water, and the animals. Daramah, the Great Spirit created Tubnku (man) and Ngardi (woman) from the connectedness rock (creation rock). He presented them each with a gift. Ngardi received the gift of the tree, and Tunku received the gift of the rock.

Daramah here, is danced by one of the Doonooch Dancers, but I don't know which one. Suffice to say, he was fabulous. His actions reminded me very much of a Brolga. He danced pretty much for the full 45 minutes, in character the entire time. Mesmerising.


We all faced east with Uncle Max, who led us in the greeting of Grandfather Sun who warms the earth, our bodies and gives us light, so we can see the food that Mother Earth brings.

There were three song men: Mathew Doyle, Cecil Mcleod and Richard Green.


One of the really great things about living in this country - even with all the whingers who have climbed out of the sodden floor boards in the last 24 hours - is that our political leaders can wander in and around the people without any apparent security presence. The two women in the front row are the case in point. With the big floppy hat is the Governor of our state, Professor Marie Bashir. She is a professor of psychiatry, and Chancellor of the University of Sydney. And very popular. Next to her, in the dark sunnies, is the Premier of our state, Kristina Keneally. She is very unpopular, struggling with only a 20% popularity in the polls, and heading for a rout at the poll this coming March. Nary a policeman in sight. And long may it continue.


Tomorrow: Journey with the Seven Sisters as they transit from East to West, and blow in the great wind spirit, Kooro-Kori.

Woggan-ma-gule : Gulaga Dreaming (1 of 4)

Woggan-ma-gule is the indigenous name for the area that we know as Farm Cove and the adjoining Botanic Gardens. Each year on Australia Day (26th January), a 'morning ceremony' is conducted adjacent to the main pond. The 2011 ceremony was conducted by the Yuin people of the South Coast where 'gulaga' is the 'mother mountain', the source of life. So Gulaga Dreaming is a modern interpretation of the Yuin people's creation story.


This morning commenced with a traditional smoking ceremony to awaken, cleanse and honour the spirits of past inhabitants. Led by the Yuin elder, Uncle Max, we were helped to an understanding of the subtleties and connectedness of his people's relationship to the land.


The entire ceremony was very professional, and very moving. The dancing was very athletic and agile, the costumes and make-up were terrific, and the music gelled the parts of the ceremony into a mesmerising whole.


And to cap it all off, as I walked from my home down to the gardens, the city and the harbour were swathed with a dense sea-fog.


Tomorrow: From the oneness, Daramah, the Great Spirit, creates Ngardi and Tunku.