Currently I'm completing a Post Graduate Certificate in Theology which is part of my love-hate relationship with study. As part of the course I recently participated in Walking on Country. A weekend where a group of us from the Uniting College of Leadership and Theology travelled to the Flinders Ranges, staying at Angapena station, to spend time learning about the Adnyamathanha people, who are the first peoples of the land in the Gammon Ranges.
I’m not a “country” girl and very rarely spend time in the country. I have never stayed in the Flinders Ranges or heard the stories of the Adnyamathanha people. The weekend was a huge learning curve for me.
One of the highlights for me on the weekend was to spend time with people from Iga Warta. There, we travelled to nearby landmarks to hear the stories of the Adnyamathanha people. We stood in a creek bed to hear the story of a flood. We looked out on the ranges to hear the creation story. We sat near a tree to hear the story of family. We saw a rock that looked like damper that told the story of a mother looking for her children that had wondered off. So many integral stories which connected people and land that I had never heard before.
We visited an ochre pit. I remember Terry (in the photo) asking us if we were ok to
put ochre on our faces and I thought it was a polite but funny question because
a bit of ochre isn’t going to hurt anyone. Terry put the white ochre on each of
our faces, explaining that white was representing the connection with mother
earth. As he placed the ochre onto my forehead I felt I had received a
blessing. I felt myself relaxing and being aware of my surroundings. For me it
was a spiritual moment. However, I also thought that was it and was ready to
move on. Terry explained that there were more colours of ochre that he would
put on our faces. I wondered how all those colours were going to fit! And yet
each time Terry put ochre onto my face it was like another sense came alive; another blessing. I
became even more aware of the sounds, noises, and the earth around me. The
orange ochre was particularly valuable to me as I thought about Mother Earth
breathing, and for me, connecting to mother earth for new perspective and
breathing in the fresh air. A blessing, a time of personal refreshing and
reconnecting to God’s creation as we heard the stories and opened our eyes to
seeing the land around us in new ways.
I think for myself, being first generation Australian in my
family. I hadn’t really connected with the stories of the first people of Australia. They
weren’t the stories of my heritage and no one in my family knew the stories to
even tell them, let alone make personal connections. So although I had heard stories being told it
had never made a personal impact on me. Over the weekend I felt I began to
connect with the stories, understand the important relationship to land and
could see how this includes me in both a physical and spiritual way.
(Rainbow over Nepabunna)
After our weekend I went home and preached on community. I
told the story of the hill that represents the two different Moieties (family groups) and the
significance of that to the Adnyamathanha. I talked about how important stories
are to community, especially when told orally with significant landmarks close
by. I made the connection to the oral tradition of Christian stories and how
they help form us as Christian community. I encouraged the congregation to share together some of our faith stories. I reminded them that those stories are part of
who we are as Christians and that we also have symbols in the Christian faith
that help point us to those stories. I talked about how, because of the
treatment by white invaders, the Adnyamathanha people had started to lose
their language and their stories but they were trying to reclaim those things
important to their community. I made the connection that as Christians we have
no excuse to lose our stories.
(Hill showing the two Moieties - North and South)
I finished by sharing that as we left the Flinders Ranges we drove past the hill where we’d heard Aunty Denise tell the story of the two Moieties. It was the first story we had heard as we travelled to Angapena station. On our way home the people in our car spotted the hill as we drove by and the people in the car began retelling the story and what we had learnt over the weekend. At Church in Pt Augusta Aunty Denise asked the whole group if we had noticed the hill and we all said we had. She asked us if we had known the story before we began the trip and we answered no. She then asked us to tell the story, and different people in the group gave input to the story. Aunty Denise then said, “Now, every time you see that rock you will know the story of the Adnyamathanha people.” As Christians we can learn about the importance of story and sharing the stories of our faith and connect people to a deeper understanding that these stories of our faith, just like the stories of the Adnyamathanha people, aren’t just read but they are lived and experienced and help us understand the relationship of creation, creator and spirit in our lives.
I am still working on what I will do now that I’m home. Just
in sharing in my sermon it brought a range of emotions from my congregation.
Some recalling their own time spent with first peoples and others working
through what reconciliation means. Before my sermon I read to the congregation
the Uniting Church pre-amble to the constitution. One person wrote me an email
to say they felt they had wanted to stand up and clap when they heard it read
in church.
We were welcomed on to country and experienced amazing hospitality over our weekend. It was a very humbling experience.I really hadn't been sure what to expect when I made the decision to go but the weekend was a rich learning time and an experience that has had an impact on me and my ministry.
(how far we travelled)
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