yana marumba (Walk Good) | Wynnum Fringe Opening Ceremony
Image + cover image: Vivid Visual Co
It’s the opening afternoon of the Inaugural Wynnum Fringe Festival and the air is thick with anticipation. Crowds gather by the creek in Greene Park on Quandamooka country to wait for the opening ceremony to begin.
The Yulu Bari Ba Dancers arrive and wave us all together in a tight semicircle for the smoking ceremony. While one of the dancers circles the crowd with a coolamon (carrying dish) full of smouldering eucalypt leaves, songman and storyteller Joshua Walker explains that the smoking is a welcoming gesture to cleanse us and to mark the beginning of a new friendship.
They teach us the word for welcome, “yura!” and then comes the dancing, their movements echoing those of the carpet python, dolphin, and white heron. Joshua explains the significance of each song and describes the Quandamooka people’s relationships with each of these animals. I’m amazed by the dancers’ stamina and ability to sing at the same time. People all around me are clapping along, swaying in time, or still and completely entranced.
When the dancing is done, Quandamooka Elders lead us as a parade, over the creek and along the esplanade towards the Edith Street festivities. A ute follows, blasting ancient stories of the islands, the Quandamooka people, and the animals of the area. I only wish there could have been a handout or a download link for the audio so that we (and those who couldn’t make the ceremony) could listen properly, as it was hard to catch a full story what with the crowd and vehicle moving out of sync with each other.
The act of walking as one group evoked a sense of togetherness in a year marked by separation. It was a participatory aspect that many opening ceremonies lack and which made us feel like part of the festival from the very beginning. Ambling along the esplanade, being tousled by the sea winds and splashed by the salty waters, I felt as though we were being welcomed by the people and the elements both.
This First Nations-led welcoming ceremony allowed us festivalgoers to go forth more mindfully into the celebrations with some awareness of the land that we were walking on, its people, and the vastness of their intertwined history.
Image: Vivid Visual Co
