Singing Saltwater Country: Journey to the Songlines of Carpentaria by John Bradley with Yanyuwa Families

Book Description

Secondhand. Very good condition. Minor wear to book corners and edges.

John Bradley's compelling account of three decades living with the Yanyuwa people of the Gulf of Carpentaria and how the elders revealed to him the ancient songlines of their Dreaming.

With oral traditions slowly being lost, Singing Saltwater Country is an important record of traditional Aboriginal knowledge and ways of life for future generations.

At age 20, John Bradley left his rural Victorian family home to become a teacher at Borroloola Primary School in the fragile riverine and island country of far north Australia. There began three decades of living with the Yanyuwa people, building a relationship of trust and intimacy that led to his learning their Dreaming stories and his family becoming part of theirs.

The Yanyuwa elders had realised they needed to record their stories and ways of life because too many old people were dying, and a generation had drifted away from their culture due to the influences of the modern white world and the tidal wave of change that government welfare policies, disease and alcohol have brought to remote Aboriginal communities.

Currently, only eleven old people speak the Yanyuwa language, and they feel a great sadness that future generations will never see the great and sacred ceremonies or hear the songs of the old people. The elders agreed to teach John their Songlines, their ‘ways of knowing’ (called ‘kujika’, pronounced goo-djee-ga), if he would record the teachings in a form that would preserve them for future generations. John and his wife Nona’s drawings of the Songlines are part of that process, as is the very personal story he tells here. (back cover)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers, please note that this book may contain descriptions and/or images of people who have passed away.