The Wangan and Jagalingou Nagana Yarrbayn cultural custodians held a celebration Yidaki Magarran in King George Square on September 1, to mark three years of reoccupation of Waddananggu — a Wirdi word for “the talking”.
A flash mob-style record-breaking effort was made to bring hundreds of yidaki (didgeridoos) and clap sticks together at the same time. The record of 238 people playing yidaki is held by a British group, who made it in 2006 at the Didge Fest in Devon.
Coedie McAvoy, one of the organisers who occupies land near the Adani/Bravus coal mine site in central Queensland, said the record needed to be brought home.
The event, supported by Lock the Gate Alliance, was part of a week-long celebration.
“We have occupied our homelands to save our sacred Doongmabulla Springs, which are being destroyed by the Adani Carmichael mine. Sound changes the patterns of water. Together our sounds will sing out to Country that we are here to protect it,” McAvoy said.
“We’ll come together and raise the vibrations of water, with a clear message: we need to protect the water for future generations.
“Many Tribal nations, across the continent, face the destruction of their water sources, used to sustain culture which is held in nature. This, in turn, affects future generations and their access to a sustainable life here.”
The ceremony was open for everyone, but only men could play the Yidaki/Didgeridoos.
After the record attempt in King George Square, they marched to Musgrave Park, where cultural custodian Adrian Burrugubba spoke about their long legal battle to obtain land rights.
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“We are fighting against the colonisers, not simply the Adani coal mine. We want our sovereignty; we want recognition of our lore; our songlines; our sacred sites.
“The victory of Mabo changed all this. Our fight is with the Crown: all Crown land belongs to the Indigenous people. The Native Title Act gives us nothing.
The Coalition Attorney-General George Brandis “stepped in”, he said, and “changed the law so that just one Indigenous person needed to give free and informed consent to the mining companies. We are taking the issue of sovereignty to the Supreme Court.”
The record was broken for clap sticks (221), but not for the yidakis (173).
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