As part of Santa Sabina’s Immersion Program, during the July holidays, nineteen year 9 and 10 students together with three Santa Sabina teachers spent ten days journeying through the APY lands (Anangu, Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands) of Central Australia.
The Immersion Journey to Central Australia is focused firmly on relationships. This is not an easy journey, in fact, it is one of courage, isolation, determination and self awareness.
This journey is a story of building relationships. Firstly, with our Angangu hosts who were both willing teachers and listeners committed to keeping us safe and engaging each one of us in their story so that it became part of our story. Secondly, building relationships with each other and getting to know ourselves a lot better.
Finally, this is a journey that opens our minds to a different way of viewing the land. This land that has been held gently by Aboriginal People for more than 40,000 years. The rich tapestry of this journey cannot unfold without a firm connection to this land. This is why we sleep in swags, so that we are continually in touch with the ‘living’ land. As we walk, sing and dance the songlines, we move in rhythm with the beat of the land meeting the beat of our heart. As Lee, Leah and Pete, Anangu Elders, remind us, “The land doesn’t belong to us, we belong to the land”.
The Honey Ant – Drawing by Rene
By Martina Comastri
From where I’m standing I can see as far as the eye sees. Beautiful hills that emerge in the distance, camouflaging with a blanket of blue. As I walk a little closer I see a majestic tree made of different shades of green swaying in the softly blowing winds. Its robust trunk holds its leaves up to show off their beauty. If you place yourself at ground level and focus on the fresh base of the earth you can see hundreds of honey ants scurry over the freshly dug whole. The fresh breeze that caresses your cheeks as it passes by and the faint smell of the burning fire, back at camp. The complete silence is what we needed to get away from our busy city life and the land’s pulsating vibrance makes us feel embraced like a child in their mothers’ arms, for that short moment we belonged to the land and the land belonged to us.
As Rene drew this amazing picture for me I watched her feel the lands presence. When we were down in the heart of Australia amidst the fiery red dust we learnt that the indigenous people of the land, the Anangu people, loved and took care of it because it took care of them. She showed me that the land is everything; their faith, themselves, their food, water and shelter. This drawing means a lot to me because I got to bring home a part of Rene and as a reminder that I should never take life and the land for granted. So after all this incredible experience and after learning the Anangu life and ways, what are we going to do with all of this? Lilla Watson an Aboriginal elder sums it up when she says:
“If you’ve come here to help me, you’re wasting your time. But if you’ve come here because your liberation is bound up with mind, then let us work together.”
– Lilla Watson, Aboriginal elder.
As Pete would say, PALYA!
