Delta goes to Garma

At the best of times, you need stamina and determination to make a trip from the Byron Shire to north-east Arnhem Land. There’s the drive to Brisbane: let’s say two hours. Then a plane ride to Cairns: between two and three hours. Don’t forget long waits at airports for flight delays, unsettled weather and all that. Then there’s another two-hour flight from Cairns to Nhulunbuy.

Never heard of Nhulunbuy? It’s a town in the far north of the Northern Territory, on the Gove Peninsula, with a bauxite mine and a deep-water port. But it’s not the final destination. That’s Gulkula, maybe a slow 40-minute drive down a long, dusty red-dirt road. Gulkula is an important cultural site, a significant Gumatj ceremonial place, sited on an escarpment overlooking the Arafura Sea. The Gumatj clan, part of the Yolŋu people, have lived there for over 60,000 years.

So who has taken this epic trip, and why? There’s a story behind it all… As a member of Country as Teacher, a not-for-profit cultural curriculum led by Bundjalung educators, traditional custodian and Byron Shire Councillor Delta Kay was invited to attend the 25th annual Garma Festival, held early last month. (This is just one of many strings to Delta’s bow.) The festival is where Yolŋu and Balunda (non- Indigenous) “come together as one” in a “two-way learning process”.

Hosted by the Yothu Yindi Foundation, Garma is a four-day “celebration of Yolŋu life and culture, and showcases traditional miny’tji (art), manikay (song), bunggul (dance) and story-telling”. Down here on the far east coast of NSW, we briefly catch glimpses about this festival, but they’re usually framed in a political context, with some hopeful motherhood statements offered by important politicians.

One of the Country as Teacher programs is called Weaving Waterways. It combines weaving revitalisation with the restoration of our waterways. “The program connects our Bundjalung women to Country and cultural traditions and enables us to continue the care of our waterways,” Delta explains, on returning home.

Last year, the program hosted Yolŋu Elder Djapirri Mununggirritj (a Board Director of the Yothu Yindi Foundation) at their women’s waterway camp. A cultural exchange enabled Delta to attend Garma and share Bundjalung knowledge on the opening day Education Fair. “This day is devoted to the love of learning, with students from local schools and the Garma Youth Forum,” Delta said. “I felt truly inspired to share alongside Djapirri. Her leadership, her open heart and wisdom, is something you need to see and feel.

“We gathered on the bunggul (dance) ground for a unique curriculum, where classrooms are under bough shelters. I shared our bough shelter with Djapirri. We spoke about the importance of our cultural upbringing and education.” They also shared the ‘classroom’ with Djakapurra Munyarryun, a respected Yolŋu song man, dancer and cultural consultant. To close their session, they played a traditional Bundjalung game, which “got everyone smiling and enjoying each other’s company”. Delta incorporates games like this in her popular Byron Shire tours.

Though it was her first time at the Garma Festival, it wasn’t the first time Delta had camped at Gulkula. (By the way, there are no hotels there — everyone sleeps in tents.) She initially met Djapirri at an education program called Culture College in June 2022, when she worked as a mentor with the schools program held between April and October during the dry season. “As mentors, we support visiting students learning from Yolŋu leaders and teachers about their Yolŋu curriculum in law, language, kinship, stories, art and history.”

Around 2,500 people attend Garma. It is also “an important meeting point for the clans and families of the region,” its website reads. “The Festival’s overriding cultural mission is to provide a contemporary environment for the expression and presentation of traditional Yolŋu knowledge systems and customs, and to share these practices in an authentic Yolŋu setting.”

To Delta, “the talks, workshops and dancing, was all mind-blowing! I think I left my heart in Yolŋu Country. The joy at catching up with many special people who I hold in my heart with respect and love; catching up with family and friends from Naarm (Melbourne) was great.”

The festival has a strong emphasis on Yolŋu youth, who stand firm, Delta added. “Education is the heart of Garma. You feel the quiet respect and appreciation from people who attend the sessions. Each day I had incredible conversations with people who sat next to me at dinner or stood in line for lunch, and I witnessed how Garma transforms people and brings them back each year. It was inspiring, exhilarating and deeply moving – and tears ran down my face listening to Gail Mabo’s story.”

Christobel Munson