Sepia Saturday: Yolngu bungul

The theme photo for Sepia Saturday #202 prompted me to dig out some photos from 40 years ago. They're not Sepia but it does seem like a long time ago nevertheless.

In 1971 and 1972 I lived on an island, in a village called Galiwin'ku on Elcho Island off the coast of Northern Australia. Galiwin'ku is home to the Yolngu people and the beach is an integral aspect of their culture for food, beliefs and fun.

I've chosen some images from that time that show the sandy beach as a dancing platform for fun and ceremony. The Yolngu dances are called bunguls (the u is pronounced as in oo in book) in that part of Australia, and the adults and children danced for fun almost daily. Someone would grab a didgeridoo or a piece of poly pipe, someone else would grab a pair of clapsticks or similar, the drone would start, the rhythm would start, the singing would start and the dancing would start. And somehow they all knew what dance to do and when to stop, without instruction. 

An important aspect of the bungul is being able to flick sand from both feet as you dance and of course the beach is perfect for that.

Children doing an impromptu bungul (dance), Elcho Island. Note the polypipe didgeridoo.

Teenage girls doing a bungul (dance), Elcho Island

Flicking the sand with feet, bungul (dance), Elcho Island

Adults performing a circumcision bungul, Elcho Island

There was no body paint for the impromptu dances but all of the ceremonial dances required a lot of preparation with body paints and decorations beforehand. In the photo below the children are painting their faces and bodies with foam from the surf, just for fun.

Children decorating their bodies with surf foam.

And lastly, a run for the sea, just for fun.

And finally. You have to watch this. About five years ago a group of dancers from Elcho Island (the chooky dancers) took Australia by storm when they performed Zorba the Greek dance Yolngu style. (I hope this works - I've never embedded a video before.)

You can do some more beach exploration over at Sepia Saturday.

Sepia Saturday: Turtles on Galiwin'ku beach

In the olden days I was a teacher, and one of the schools I taught in was Shepherdson College at Galiwin'ku on Elcho Island in the Northern Territory, Australia. What a privilege. I was there for two years (1971-72), one of a small community of balandas (white people) in a community of yolngu (black people) living on the island just off the northern coast of Arnhem Land. Some of you may be familiar with the films Crocodile Dundee or Ten Canoes. They were filmed in the Arnhem Land as well.

The theme photo for Sepia Saturday this week includes a turtle, a soldier, a watch, a hat, a pipe. I've chosen the turtle.

The turtle is very important in the culture of many aboriginal peoples of Australia, and on Elcho Island even small children knew how to find turtle tracks in the sand to locate the eggs buried underneath and the hunters were very skilled at catching turtles for food (none of which was wasted).

The catch

Sand turtle

Turtle tracks

Baby turtle

OK, I've cheated a little. All of the above photos are from scanned colour slides. I've given them the sepia treatment with Picasa for the Sepia Saturday theme. Am I sacked from the group?