by Deepa
I never really considered the intense relationship between first peoples and the land until I moved to the Northern Territory.
It was at Gagaju (Kakadu) National Park where some of this realisation first revealed itself to me.
The tour guide at Ubir rock (married to a local woman) had a great depth of knowledge of the local area. Tracing his finger around the natural curve of the landscape he pointed to rock faces, symbols from the rock art, certain birds, trees and fauna and said each one had a certain significance. He weaved a story with his finger and it was the framework in which the local people of the area lived by. Rich and beautiful-an existance unseparated from land.
I accept myth and story telling does not explain entirely why certain things happen, where science certainly provides more logical explanations. However these shared stories/legends is what identifies a community and provides richness and security (culture).
As I was marvelling at the raw beauty around me it suddenly hit me-LAND! This land is me!
Without a genuine sustainable relationship with the earth we have no future. If we continue to ignore our interdependance with the earth (we being both individuals, governments, beurocracies, big business etc) in the way we live, we actually destroy ourselves.
You can call me overdramatic but this is the plight of indegenous peoples all over the world-survival. Whether we accept it or not, it is our plight too.
