Stories of crossings and connections from Bawaka, North East Arnhem Land, Australia

Abstract

This paper engages with Indigenous peoples' conceptualisations of borders, arguing that these unsettle dominant Eurocentric constructs of the border as terrestrial, linear, bound and defined through western legal frameworks. It does this by drawing on one aspect of the many storytelling experiences offered by members of the Indigenous-owned Yolngu tourism business Bawaka Cultural Experiences in northern Australia. We argue that stories told to visitors about multiple and diverse connections between Yolngu and Makassan people from Sulawesi, Indonesia, are intentional constructions which challenge dominant conceptions of Australia as an isolated island-nation. The stories redefine the border as a dynamic and active space and as a site of complex encounters. The border itself is continuously recreated through stories in ways that emphasise the continuity and richness of land and sea-scapes and are based on non-linear conceptions of time. The stories invite non-Indigenous people to engage with different kinds of realities that exist in the north and to re-imagine Australia's north as a place of crossings and connections.

Cet article engage avec des conceptualisations des personnes indigènes en disant qu'ils dérèglent des concepts dominants et euro-centriques de la frontière en tant que terrestres, linéaires, tenus, et définis vers des cadres légaux d'Ouest. Il le fait en utilisant un aspect des beaucoup d'expériences offrent par des membres de Bawaka Cultural Experiences, une entreprise indigène du tourisme Yolungu en Australie du Nord. Nous soutenons que des histoires disent aux visiteurs sur des connections multiples et diverses entre des gens Yolungus et Makassans de Sulawesi en Indonésie sont des constructions intentionnelles qui contestent des conceptions dominantes d'Australie comme une isle-nation isolée. Les histoires redéfinissent la frontière comme un espace dynamique et actif et comme un site des rencontres complexes. La frontière elle-même est continuellement récrée vers des histoires dans des moyens qui soulignent la continuité et la richesse des paysages et des paysages marins et qui sont basés sur des conceptions du temps non-linéaires. Les histoires invitent des peuples non indigènes à engager avec des types des réalités différents qui existent dans le nord et à ré-imaginer le nord de l'Australie comme un espace de traversées et de connections.

Este papel se involucra con las conceptualizaciones de fronteras que tienen los pueblos indígenas, discutiendo que las desestabilizan los conceptos eurocentricos de la frontera como terrestre, linear, atada y definida por esquemas legales occidentales. Se utiliza un aspecto de las varias experiencias narrativas ofrecidas por miembros del negocio indígena Yolngu de turismo, Bawaka Cultural Experiences, del norte de Australia. Discutamos que los cuentos de conexiones múltiples y diversos entre los pueblos Yolngu y Makassan de Sulawesi, Indonesia, están construidos intencionalmente para cuestionar las concepciones dominantes de Australia como una isla-nación aislada. Los cuentos redefinen la frontera ser un espacio dinámico y activo, un sito de encuentros complejos. La frontera en sí misma está recreado continuamente por cuentos en una manera que se enfatiza la continuidad y riqueza de tierra y marina y están basadas en conceptos de tiempo no-lineares. Los cuentos invitan a gente no-indígena para involucrar con realidades diferentes que existen en el norte y reimaginar el norte de Australia como un lugar de cruces y conexiones.

Keywords:

• storytelling
• national identity
• Makassan–Yolngu relations
• Indigenous knowledges
• borders and boundaries
• northern Australia

Keywords:

• l'art de conter
• identité nationale
• relations Makassan–Yolngu
• connaissances d'indigènes
• frontières et confins
• Australie du Nord

Keywords:

• narración
• identidad nacional
• relaciones Makassan–Yolngu
• conocimientos indígenas
• fronteras y límites
• Australia del norte

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Bawaka Cultural Experiences and the Gay'wu Women's Program for their help in writing this paper. We would like to acknowledge our family and friends from Bawaka, Yirrkala, Nhulunbuy, Sydney and Newcastle for their wisdom and support, and DBERD, Tourism NT, ArtsNT and the North East Arnhem Tourism Hub for their ongoing assistance. Thanks also to the constructive comments of the anonymous referees.

Notes

1 The notion of country in Aboriginal English has a specific significance that encompasses many diverse layers of meaning including laws, custom, movement, song, knowledges, relationships, histories, presents, futures, and spirit beings (Rose 1996).

2 Burarrwanga, L., Lloyd, K., Suchet-Pearson, S. and Wright, S., Weaving together: participation and change in North East Arnhem Land, Australia (copy available from < [email protected]>).

3 Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education is located 100 km south of Darwin in the Northern Territory.

4 Moiety is a form of social organisation in which various aspects of the cosmos are divided into classes or categories.

5 While this paper documents a largely positive experience with tourism, many studies that have explored the experience of Aboriginal communities or families' involvement in Indigenous tourism find issues of a loss of control, poor economic outcomes, lack of cultural appreciation, and environmental degradation of country (see Altman 1989; Buultjens and Fuller 2007; Ryan and Huyton 2000, 2002). Certainly, this is a complex process within which questions of self-determination are key (see Wright et al. forthcoming).