“Caring for Sea Country” Kingston Koorie Mob and
Aunty Carolyn Briggs on Pelican 1. March 4th 2014
Aunty Carolyn : What are some of the best parts of the culture?
Sharing it, celebrating young people with new ways of listening.
What is the best part of culture? Being culture …and valuing it …and
valuing the learning journey.
“Womin jeka mirambeek beek. Boon wurrung Nairm derp
bordupren uther willam.
” …………welcome.
Bunjil (the creation story Eagle) taught us to always welcome guests
but he required us to ask all visitors to make two promises, one not
to harm the land, or the children and the sea. This is the knowledge
that we have lost over generations and we are trying to revive this so
it is about your listening skills, and remembering something that
connects you to place. How you connect to place, and it is important
how you connect to place, so it is about how you tell your story
because you are unique, you are from the history of the first people.
Zeke : I feel like the world is all connected with each other and what
the aboriginal culture has to offer the world.
Will :It is a lot of meaningful stuff and I take it to heart coz I’m really
involved in all the cultural stuff down in Port Phillip and I think it is
very inspirational.
Zeke : If you didn’t pass it down you would lose all your story telling
and you would lose all aboriginal culture in that story
Brittany : It is important because if people don’t know about the
stories then they won’t know about their past, the past histories and
they will start doing the opposite of what the stories tell them.
Connor : So younger generations keep it going so it will never be
forgotten.
Brayden : So that we can learn from it so we can pass it down so we
know and we can look after it for many thousands of years to come
Lincoln : they told us that what we have learnt to pass on to the
younger ones to establish something there for the future.
Aunty Carolyn : I got the title as an Elder and what did that mean ? I
had to pass down knowledge and I had to make sure that the
knowledge that I am handing down is something what I believe is
true in my world, so that young people like yourselves can build your
own strength in your own identity and culture.
So we are talking about how we come together …that bay …can you
imagine how it was… like I said a large grassy flat plain …we know
this because science has now validated it, but it was a story that was
handed down over the generations. We are the people of the first
nations we are tens of thousands of years with generations of
knowledge, that is pretty amazing stuff and it is you that is a part of
that emergence where you are now, today.
Aunty : Which part of the language group are you ?
Voice : Gippsland
Aunty : Gippsland, that’s Gunnai- Kurnai nation, so it is about
understanding your connection.
Aunty: Where are you from luv, you look familiar?
Voice: Larrakia
Aunty : Larrakia,– see that is important that you know that country
and know that you are a part of that beautiful Larrakia people – up in
Darwin isn’t it?
Voice: yeah
Aunty : Alright young man …you( where are you from)?
Voice: I’m not too sure,
Aunty : That’s alright you’re going on a journey, not everyone knows
darlin’, it took a lot of people not to know, because of that process
that we all went through. Okay. That’s your next journey.