2013my interactions, as a neighbour living in a
Through
Yolngu community called Birritjimi, I slowly began to
piece this fascinating story together, beginning with
the Macassans, where ‘ngarali’ was introduced and
how it slowly became part of a Yolngu ceremony,
commemorated during funerals. From the 1700s, the
use of ‘ngarali’ was controlled under Yolngu law, until the Missionaries arrived in the region. The mission
stations used tobacco sticks as wages, to pay Yolngu
for work. This had a profound impact on the socialisation of tobacco amongst Yolngu.
The Yolngu law that controlled the use of ‘ngarali’,
where only senior male elders and those who have
gone through sacred ceremony were allowed to
smoke tobacco. Then during the mission times when
people were being paid to work with tobacco sticks,
anyone who worked could obtain tobacco sticks, and
slowly the women also started smoking tobacco too.
With a mining town being established in the region
the smoking rates began to rise even further and the
sale of tailor made cigarettes became another factor
for the driving force of high smoking rates in the region.
2014 year I worked together with the TobacEarlier this
co Action Workers in Milingimbi, Galiwin’ku and
community members in Yirrkala and Birritjimi.
I was especially guided by Datjarranga Garrawirtja, a
senior Gupapuyngu leader and cultural advisors from
Miwatj Health, Melanie Herdman and Terry Yumbulul.
With the help of cultural advisors, I was able to bring
a 2 man film crew to interview community members
about the deep issues of addiction to tobacco and the
cultural significance of the ‘ngarali’ ceremony. Our
goal was to unpack the underlying issue of addiction,
of how young people have access to cigarettes, and
why cigarettes are part of a ceremony during funerals.
We discussed the way forward on how to keep cigarettes and passive smoking away from children, old
people and elders, and how
to discourage young people
from picking up smoking in
the first place. We hope that
this documentary will open
up discussion and lead to a
better understanding of the
struggle of the Yolngu people
and their history with tobacco and why smoking rates are
so high in this region.
“I wanted to understand
the history of tobacco
and how it became part
of culture.”
In the documentary, we are able to understand that
the tobacco songlines contained a warning of the
many harmful effects of tobacco, which is explained
by Mr. Djalu Gurruwiwi, a Yidaki master and Galpu
Leader. He explains that the word “Rramutju” in the
tobacco songlines is a warning of the harms of tobacco. It was a deep understanding that was once again
revived through the help of the senior elders and we
were delighted that the Yolngu Nation can be proud
of their traditional knowledge. Through this documentary we aim to create a clear understanding, and
consequently a deeper conversation, about how this
habit is deeply woven into cultural traditions and how
we can work together to keep children in the community from becoming smokers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o840vRzvAuw
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