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SBS Australia
03-08-2025
- Entertainment
- SBS Australia
The Rirratjingu man leading the Bunggul, and soon his people
Cedric Marika has been coming to Garma all his life. "Since I was a baby," the Rirratjiŋu man tells NITV. It's a special time, one he always enjoys. The annual Yolŋu festival, held on Gumatj Country at the sacred site of Gulkula, is celebrating its 25th year. Cedric Marika is dedicated to his culture, and his people. He dances to keep his culture alive for the next generation. Source: AAP / JAMES ROSS/AAPIMAGE A summit of political leaders, business and local community, it's a chance to discuss opportunities and challenges, and to set an agenda for the coming year. But above all it's a display and celebration of the diverse cultures of the Yolŋu clans of Northeast Arnhem Land. During the evening Buŋgul (ceremony), when singing and the droning thrum of the yidaki rings out over the central festival ground, dancers from local tribes present the cultural centrepiece of Garma Festival. The air becomes hazy, thick with the red sand of Arnhem Land, flung airborne by the dancers' bare feet and caught by the setting sun. For 20 years, Marika has performed in the Buŋgul. "Since I was 13," he says. "That's when I started performing Buŋgul, and that's when I earned the respect from the Elders and chosen to be who I am right now." He now leads the Gumatj clan (his mother's people) in the Buŋgul, a resplendent figure in ochre paint, strutting proudly through the Emu Dance, hands clasped behind his back, or the Mosquito Dance, the dispatching of irksome insects recreated in parody with rhythmic slaps to the body. Members from the Gumatj clan of the Yolngu people from north-eastern Arnhem Land prepare for the Buŋgul. Source: AAP / JAMES ROSS/AAPIMAGE Marika describes the feeling of dancing in simple terms. "I feel connected," he says. "I feel connected to the land, to the animals, to the people. "This has been passed on from generation to generation, to keep it alive." Edgar Wells, the Methodist minister who once worked at the Yirrkala mission, described his view of the importance of art to the Yolŋu. "In an Aboriginal scale of values, a man worthy of a doctorate would ... be an artist - the hunter would help to feed the artist." Marika is proof of that. His dedication to his people and his culture has seen him anointed for future leadership of the Gumatj. "I've earned that respect from the Elders," he says. "By participating different tribes, helping them, and most of all helping my mother's tribe." He has particular concerns about the role of technology in the area. While a constant theme of Garma is the push by organisers Yothu Yindi Foundation for more economic participation for the region's people, it goes hand in hand with a wish to protect culture. Old and young perform at the Bunggul. The festival, in its 25th year, has seen babies grow into leaders over its lifetime. Source: AAP / JAMES ROSS/AAPIMAGE The opportunities some digital innovations may provide can't come at the risk of a loss of culture. "Nowadays, it's all technology taken over ... The worry is that it's taking over our culture, and might destroy it in the future. "I'm very, very scared of that. "So this is the day to get the little ones together, teach them where they belong and what they have." Every Buŋgul, Marika does just that, the living embodiment of the chain of cultural heritage going back generations. Once an enthusiastic youth joining in, now Marika watches over the young djamarrkuli (children) who perform in the Buŋgul, just as he did. "That is my goal, to help the younger ones, the very younger ones too, so that they don't forget what we have," he says. "Some of them might learn how to sing. Some of them might become a role model like myself. "There's a lot of opportunities for the younger ones to step in."
The Guardian
03-08-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Garma festival 2025: a celebration of Indigenous Australian culture
A member of the Wadeye clan poses for photos while waiting to dance at the culturally significant ceremonial grounds of Gulkula. Photograph: James Ross/AAP The four-day festival takes place annually in early August. Photograph: James Ross/EPA A Native American dancer performs. Photograph: James Ross/AAP Garma is hosted by the Yothu Yindi Foundation. Photograph: James Ross/AAP The theme for this year's festival is 'Law of the Land: Standing Firm'. Photograph: James Ross/AAP A Native American dancer. Photograph: James Ross/AAP Members of the Gumatj clan get ready to perform. Photograph: James Ross/EPA Prime minister Anthony Albanese visits the festival with Rirratjingu traditional owner and Yolngu woman Mayatili Marika, NT opposition leader Selena Uibo, and senior Gumatj leader of the Yolngu people Djawa Yunupingu. Photograph: James Ross/AAP Albanese addressed the festival a day after the architects of the Uluru statement criticised Labor for a 'performative' approach to Indigenous affairs. Photograph: James Ross/AAP A clan member from Wadeye, a remote Aboriginal community 420km south-west of Darwin. Photograph: James Ross/EPA Members of the Gumatj clan prepare to perform. Photograph: James Ross/EPA Bunggul is more than just a dance; it's a meeting place for ceremony, song and ritual. Photograph: James Ross/AAP Garma has become an important policy forum, with Anthony Albanese, Indigenous affairs minister Malarndirri McCarthy and other politicians speaking at the event. Photograph: James Ross/AAP Talks between Indigenous Australians and policy makers at the festival take place side by side with discussions about culture, education and other significant issues for First Nations people. Photograph: James Ross/EPA The sea country flag, designed by Nuwandjali Marawili, features white for clouds, blue for the sea, yellow for the sun, black for the people of Arnhem Land, and red for their blood. Photograph: James Ross/EPA
SBS Australia
31-07-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
What is Garma? And why is it important?
"So it's a great honour to welcome you all here today..' Around 2,000 people each year descend on Gulkula, a sacred place perched on top of an escarpment on the lands of the Gumatj clan in the Northern Territory. They are here for the Garma festival, the largest cultural exchange on the First Nations calendar. The 2025 theme is 'Rom ga Waŋa Wataŋu, or 'The Law of the Land, Standing Firm' in one of the local Aboriginal languages, Yolŋu Matha. The word 'Garma' means "two-way learning process" - and it's an invitation for non-Indigenous leaders to meet with and listen to First Nations voices on issues affecting them. Visitors are given a traditional welcome before guests are invited to the Bunggul ceremonial grounds, for the ritual opening ceremony. It's the start of a four-day festival with a packed schedule of agenda-setting political discussions and cultural celebrations. The annual event was conceived by the Yothu Yindi Foundation with the aim of improving standards of living for all First Nations people, as the late Djawa Yunupingu explained at the 22nd Garma festival: "As I have said many times, all of our countrymen are linked together by our songlines. These songlines join us all and though so much has been taken, so much power remains in all of us. We can feel what has been taken from our countrymen, we can feel your pain and we stand together with you to find that pathway to unity." Politicians, academics, and community figures highlight the major issues of the year at the Garrtjambal Auditorium - a key location at Garma. Politicians from all sides are invited. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he sees Garma as a cornerstone for First Nations politics, and a space where politicians, academics and community leaders highlight and discuss key issues. "We will not abandon substance for symbolism or retreat to platitudes at the expense of progress." But it's not just a place for leaders. As the sun sets each night, there's an eruption of movement on the sands of the sacred Bunggul site, a ceremonial close to the day's proceedings. The sounds of the Bilma or clapsticks echo through the leaves of the surrounding stringy bark forest. Music, dancing, and yarning continues throughout the night, as many make the most of the magic of the festival. Deeper in the bush among the stringy-bark trees hangs the Gapan Gallery, an outpost of the Yirrkala art centre print studio. Yothu Yindi Foundation CEO, Denise Bowden, says Garma is an invitation for ordinary people to experience a cultural exchange like no other. "Music and dance and art, song, a love of learning of a different culture. It's a really healthy platform upon which we can get through some challenging discussions." Guests experience a rich cultural immersion. From weaving workshops to wood carving, traditional art, music and dance is the heartbeat of the four day festivities. Denise Bowden says Garma has become an important part of Australian life. "I would never have thought it to grow to such an extent that it has now and we are very fortunate to be able to now take four days to share with the nation how important Garma has become."
ABC News
31-07-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
The broken promise that has loomed over 25 years of Garma
From the pain of a broken political promise and one community's desire to push forward, the Garma festival was born. Warning: This story contains images of Indigenous people who have died. The event, now celebrating its 25th year, will this weekend draw thousands of people from across Australia and around the world to a remote corner of Arnhem Land. The Yolŋu people have for decades been tireless fighters for land rights, economic empowerment, and First Nations decision-making, but know more must be done. From the Gumatj clan's ceremonial grounds, the festival has become a powerful political platform, where the nation's leaders come to listen. "We are still here, our languages, our clan languages are still strong, we still dance, it's been passed down for thousands of years," Yolŋu elder Merrkiyawuy Ganambarr-Stubbs said. The prime minister and several of his senior ministers are expected to attend this weekend, along with representatives from the NT government and leaders of key national and state agencies. This year's festival comes at a time when many First Nations communities are once again searching for a way forward. On the minds of many is the lack of progress following the 2023 rejected Voice referendum, rising deaths in custody, and Closing the Gap targets that are not being met. Governments in Queensland and the Northern Territory have wound back treaty and truth-telling processes, and tough-on-crime policies are leading to a rise in youth incarceration. Just three years ago, Anthony Albanese came to Garma to announce the words that would be put to the Australian public at the Voice referendum, underlining his desire for change. The Yolŋu leaders at Garma played a key role in advocating for constitutional reform and the Voice in recent years, seeing it as a key in their fight for equity and agency. But the Last year on festival grounds, Mr Albanese said "together, we gave our all, and we fell short," but promised his government "remained committed to Makarrata". Makarrata is a Yolŋu word, now used to refer to a truth-telling, healing, and justice process, is one of the unfulfilled desires of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. But since then, there has been no clear direction from the Albanese government about when or what that looks like. "A lot of people are still thinking about treaty, referendum, but [this year], mostly I think conversation will be on education," Ms Ganambarr-Stubbs said. The Yolŋu elder has fought for decades for on-country learning and language programs. "There are little communities right across north-east Arnhem Land, that have no jobs, or people can't find jobs," she said. "There is a problem with literacy and lack of English, and we have always wanted to change that." At last year's festival, the prime minister said the government would switch its focus in Indigenous policy towards the economic empowerment of First Nations communities. He also pledged $20 million for a new tertiary education centre to be led by Yolŋu people and called the Garma Institute. The festival's theme this year is "law of the land standing firm". It is run by the Yothu Yindi foundation, which represents the five clans of the Yolŋu people — Gumatj, Rirratjingu, Djapu, Galpu, Wangurri. It shares its name with the popular band, whose founding members were also integral in setting up the community organisation. Djawa Yunupingu is now the foundation's chairman and wrote about the original aspiration of the festival's organisers in this year's welcome brochure. "My brothers stood on the escarpment at Gulkula, looked out and said: 'This is our place, a place of our ancestors, our father's country, and we should celebrate this place," he wrote. His brothers, Mandawuy Yunupingu and Galarrwuy Yunupingu, were Australians of the Year who were propelled onto the national stage with their band Yothu Yindi. Garma was born in 1999, about eight years after the band had released their hit single, Treaty, and more than a decade on since First Nations people had been promised one by the nation's leader. "It was a time when it was painful to drive the Central Arnhem Highway to Barunga, because it reminded us too much of the hollow words of a prime minister," Djawa Yunupingu wrote. That prime minister was Labor leader Bob Hawke, who in 1988 told a gathering at Barunga Festival in the Northern Territory, "There will be a treaty." "Only to walk away from us, like his words were writing in the sand," wrote Mr Yunupingu. "In our law, words of promise are sacred, so from that disappointment, my brothers wanted to start something new and make a new pathway." The community refused to let broken political promises hold them back, said Denise Bowden, Yothu Yindi chief executive. "In terms of how our community leads, we lead and we're prepared to be at the table to talk through any of those challenging incidents," she said. "I think the success story for this region is we don't wait for policymakers to implement these decisions, we move ahead as best we possibly can." The Garma festival has been designed to celebrate the strength and survival of the Yolŋu people's culture and customs, and celebrate the creative success of their small community. But, despite their national leadership and abundant talent, the Yolŋu people are burdened by poor health and social outcomes. Their people are expected to die younger and poorer than non-Indigenous Australians, their children less likely to finish school or get jobs. "You will feel some of this grief in the air at Garma this year as Yolŋu people face up to the loss of special people who leave us too young and too often," wrote Mr Yunupingu. The community has pushed ahead with trying to bring reforms to their people, and with each festival hope those who come to listen will help them bring about change. The festival will attract important leaders, but Denise Bowden hopes they do more than just listen to the story and struggle of the Yolŋu people. "It's really important to listen, but it's also important to do. I sometimes feel we overlook the action part of our society. "We tend to find things too hard in the Indigenous affairs, but the doing part is really important."
