The People

We are the Yolngu people of Ramingining, in the northern part of Central Arnhem Land in Australia's Northern Territory.

Ramingining is a town of about 800 of our people. More of our people live on outstations different distances from town. Also about 50 Balanda live here.

The nearest other town is Maningrida, more than two hours drive away except in the rainy season, when we can only fly there.

In Ramingining we have a store, a clinic, a school, a new police station, an arts centre, a resource centre, houses and not much else.

But we have history and culture here, that our ancestors have been growing for more than forty thousand years.

They passed that culture on from generation to generation. Now it's our turn to pass it on, not just to the next generation, but to people everywhere, all over the world.

That's because our way of life is changing fast now, and what you can see on this website is for every generation to remember and keep our culture alive.



Taken from http://www.12canoes.com.au/

Friday, March 18, 2011

day forty three - one month in

18th March 2011 - 7:30pm


Well, I've made it! One month in (after my little holiday beforehand) and going strong! I'm really enjoying my new life here. Obviously there are so many differences to my life in Tassie, and it's so exciting to think of how much I will learn.

I've been really busy with my Uni course. There is so much more work than I was expecting. But I'm doing ALL of the reading, and ALL of the tasks assigned, so I guess I'm probably doing a lot more than some of the other students. But maybe it's because the course is only for one year. I've got subjects on child development (cognitive, physical, social and emotional), incorporating literacy and assessment and reporting. I'm actually finding it fascinating - maybe I've found my calling in life. I'll be chatting to the Principal from the local school next week to hopefully organise the practical component of my course (30 days this semester, and 50 next semester) and to do some work up there as well.

We've got some interesting things going on in Ramo at the moment. The Homelands Resource Centre, which was in charge of all of the outstations, has gone bust. Which means the Council (where Ben works) has had to take on a lot more. Also, the road that goes to the barge - where basically everything is sent into the community - is in really bad shape. The roads apparently weren't fully fixed last dry season, and this has been the wettest wet season on record. So the roads are covered in water, and cars and trucks are continually being bogged. The major problem is that the ALPA (Arnhem Land Progress Association) store uses that road to get all of the groceries in for the community. It's also the way our Coles Online orders come in. So if we don't get the road fixed soon, we'll have NO food in the community. Could be interesting. It's just lucky that I always go overboard shopping, so we've got enough food to probably live for two years. Although I'm not sure what I'm going to make with flour, golden syrup and tinned beetroot...

I have also just signed the papers to become a Special Area Supervisor for the national census that will be happening in August. It basically means I have to map out all of the houses in Ramingining and the outstations (some of which are probably 100km away), and employ the collector/interviewers. It means I'll have a lot of opportunity to talk to the locals, working out who lives where and who owns what land. Then we'll have to assign the collector/interviewers to appropriate houses. Because there are poison cousins, and people are from different families, only some people will be allowed in certain houses. And because literacy is low here, each household needs to be interviewed. In most of Australia, the forms are dropped off, and someone picks them up. Here, you can have up to 30 people living in a house, and it can take up to 8 hours to do the interview so that all of the questions are answered properly. So it'll be a huge challenge, but a fantastic way to integrate into the community. Assuming I do everything the right way!

So now for a nice relaxing weekend...
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