May 11 - After breakfast we got on the coach with our native guide, Lindsey. He is an activist for the Aboriginal people and very down to earth and honest about the issues and problems. He has blue eyes and looks like a white person, whereas most of us picture Aboriginals as being black. He has 7 children with 6 different mothers. There are many different languages and also dialects among the native people, and groups might be able to communicate with groups two communities over, but not much after that. This is very different from the situation in New Zealand with the Maoris, where there is one language and where the government has also been very proactive in helping the native people.
We drove to Corroboree Rock, an important meeting place and site for song and dance ceremonies. The parentie lizard is a sacred animal for these people and figures in many stories. Lindsey talked a little (but not much) about "men's business" - the secret rituals and initiations. Traditionally the grandfather determines when a boy is ready to begin the process. The boys are taught songs that impart the crucial information about their history, folklore, rules, information for life and survival. All the boys have to learn this together and when they recite it back, if one leaves out even one word they all have to do it again, because if they are out in the bush each one has to know everything. The "tests" for "passing" and having the knowledge are intended to make the boy strong and to learn to withstand pain and adversity - a tooth is knocked out, they are burned and cut in various rituals, etc. There is also "women's business", but Lindsey said he knows nothing about that at all, despite being married, as it is none of his business. As we walked he showed us various trees, wild fruits and plants, and he also told us the procedure for ritually cooking a kangaroo.
We drove to Jessie Gap, walked there and then also to Emily Gap, a ceremony area for many groups. Groups many not enter another group's area without permission - in the old days one could be killed for violating this. Lindsey talked about the terrible health problems amongst the natives - there is a high rate of diabetes, dietary issues and kidney problems, requiring dialysis. Also, because children now are required to attend school, initiations are often done earlier than they should, so as Lindsey put it, "You get men with kid brains", which is a big problem. Aboriginal people live in their own communities and don't interact much with white people. Lindsey will be joining us tonight for our BBQ that Roxy is giving, so we will have more time to talk with him.
We came back to town for lunch and then to the reptile centre to see some of the critters and have a chance to hold some of them. I held a bearded dragon, a bit bigger than the ones Micah and Josh have, was kissed by a blue-tongued skink. and had an olive python wrapped around me. Very interesting....
We were then off to the School of the Air, to see how they educate children who live on stations and in isolated areas. Each of them has a home tutor, usually a parent, but not always, and they receive materials, books, etc. from the government. They attend school via the internet and it is interactive. Once a year they come to Alice Springs with their tutor and families for an in-school week with lots of activities and which culminates in a fun kind of sports day festival. It gives the kids a chance to meet each other and be in a social situation with other kids. This year is the 60th anniversary of the Alice Springs School of the Air, which was the first one in the country. As this was in-school week we were able to see an actual class there together, singing a song with the music teacher that they had all learned at home on their own.
Free time in town followed and then the BBQ for dinner. Lindsey was there and we had a lovely dinner, with loads of meat on the grill and one delicious piece of yummy fish that Roxy got just for me. After many of our group went off to bed I stayed up with Roxy, Lindsey and a couple from our group named John and Connie. Lindsey's wife and youngest son came to pick him up and ended up staying to chat with us, so it was an interesting and fun evening. In the morning we have to be packed up by 7am - we are off to Ayers Rock.
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