Aboriginal Healing,
Sharing Culture |
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I felt blessed to be there watching what was unfolding. And I felt such a strong connection whenever I was down at the crossing. To think, Indigenous people have this connection that has gone on throughout their lifetime… and the lives of all their ancestors. How must that feel?
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I had an incredible physical and emotional experience when I came over the hill and saw the Daly River for the first time. I still cannot fully describe or explain it. I remember strong physical feelings in my chest and tears forming in my eyes. There were other physical signs as well.
I felt incredibly connected to what was unfolding in front of me. How, I don’t know? What I do know was that I was not the only non-Indigenous person in our party who had these experiences. The people I spoke to who were visiting the river for the first time had similar feelings. Pip and her family, who have visited Nauiyu on many occasions, are still emotionally affected when they visit the river. They always make a point of going there first, before visiting the community. They feel as if they are coming home. The ‘Welcome to Country’ we had in the River, performed by Miriam, Agnes and Bridget, was very moving. I am touched even now as I think about it. I spent a number of occasions at the river just ‘being there’. I came to understand to some extent what is meant by dadirri, the Indigenous concept that Miriam Rose describes so well. Dadirri is ‘is inner, deep listening and quiet, still awareness… When I experience dadirri, I am made whole again. I can sit on the riverbank or walk through the trees; even if someone close to me has passed away, I can find my peace in this silent awareness. There is no need of words. A big part of dadirri is listening…’ Please check out the beautiful film clip that Miriam and Pip had made about dadirri. I found an inner peace down by the Daly River. I also came to realise whilst reflecting by the river that some of my own experiences over the past twenty years have left me somewhat traumatised. It was quite an awakening. Most importantly, I also came to realise that I can heal this damage. However, I need to work in this inner peace that I found down by the river. I don’t think I was the only one amongst our party who felt like this. One day, I was driving back with Ash Dargan after a trip to the Daly River Mango Farm. Ash suddenly stopped the car on the crossing, leapt out of the car and started playing his drum. I started to watch him, transfixed by the beauty of what I was seeing and hearing, before starting to film on my iphone. [Not good, you might be thinking, bringing technology into such a beautiful situation] It was a wonderful experience, but difficult to capture on film or with words. It felt as if Ash and his drum were connecting with the river. In fact, Ash later said he had never played there before, but felt he was being ‘called’ to play. After some time of playing, he felt connected to the river. I swear I felt that connection being made. And then he started to play his digeridoo as well. Wow! I felt blessed to be there watching what was unfolding. And I felt such a strong connection whenever I was down at the crossing. To think, Indigenous people have this connection that has gone on throughout their lifetime… and the lives of all their ancestors. How must that feel? |