Dadirri - A Reflection By Miriam - Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann
NGANGIKURUNGKURR means 'Deep Water Sounds'. Ngangikurungkurr is the name of my tribe.
The word can be broken up into three parts: Ngangi means word or sound, Kuri means water, and kurr
means deep. So the name of my people means 'the Deep Water Sounds' or
'Sounds of the Deep'.
This talk is about tapping into that deep spring
that is within us.
Many Australians understand that Aboriginal people have a special
respect for Nature. The identity we have with the land is sacred and
unique. Many people are beginning to understand this more.
Also there are many Australians who appreciate that Aboriginal people
have a very strong sense of community. All persons matter. All of us
belong. And there are many more Australians now, who understand that we
are a people who celebrate together.
What I want to talk about is another special quality of my people. I
believe it is the most important. It is our most unique gift. It is
perhaps the greatest gift we can give to our fellow Australians. In our
language this quality is called dadirri. It is inner, deep listening and quiet, still awareness.
Dadirri
recognises the deep spring that is inside us. We call on it and it
calls to us. This is the gift that Australia is thirsting for. It is
something like what you call 'contemplation'.
When I experience dadirri, I am made whole again. I can sit on
the riverbank or walk through the trees; even if someone close to me has
passed away, I can find my peace in this silent awareness. There is no
need of words. A big part of dadirri is listening.
Through the years, we have listened to our stories. They are told and
sung, over and over, as the seasons go by. Today we still gather around
the campfires and together we hear the sacred stories. As we grow older,
we ourselves become the storytellers. We pass on to the young ones all
they must know. The stories and songs sink quietly into our minds and we
hold them deep inside.
In the ceremonies we celebrate the awareness of our lives as sacred.
The contemplative way of dadirri spreads over our whole life. It renews us and brings us peace. It makes us feel whole again.
In our Aboriginal way, we learnt to listen from our earliest days. We
could not live good and useful lives unless we listened. This was the
normal way for us to learn - not by asking questions. We learnt by
watching and listening, waiting and then acting. Our people have passed
on this way of listening for over 40,000 years.
There is no need to reflect too much and to do a lot of thinking. It is just being aware.
My people are not threatened by silence. They are completely at home in
it. They have lived for thousands of years with Nature's quietness.
My people today, recognise and experience in this quietness, the great
Life-Giving Spirit, the Father of us all. It is easy for me to
experience God's presence. When I am out hunting, when I am in the bush,
among the trees, on a hill or by a billabong; these are the times when I
can simply be in God's presence.
My people have been so aware of Nature. It is natural that we will feel close to the Creator.
And now I would like to talk about the other part of dadirri which is the quiet stillness and the waiting.
Our Aboriginal culture has taught us to be still and to wait. We do not
try to hurry things up. We let them follow their natural course - like
the seasons. We watch the moon in each of its phases. We wait for the
rain to fill our rivers and water the thirsty earth.
When twilight comes, we prepare for the night. At dawn we rise with the sun.
