HELD: The Relationship between Tarnanthi and Kaurna Yarta

We        are        told        to        listen        to        the        Country,
but have you ever spoken to it?
Have you read Natalie Harkin’s poems to sheoak trees
or called out to birds that flood the skies above you
or touched the exposed face of a mountain to announce to it your presence?
I have.
These individual acts are spiritual, and effect loving communication
between us and Country.

Our people know the strongest reciprocity to Country is enacted through collective communication. Be it dancing, singing or any mass cultural gathering of mob. The collective spirit we can raise is more powerful than any individual action. It is essential we continue to communicate with Country, just as our old people have in the forever. Country wants us to speak, sing and create for it and for ourselves. Together we must animate our relationship to keep Country and community strong and healthy. For mob, even the smallest action of acknowledging Country is ceremony, and the collective conjuring of spirit is the ultimate form of storytelling.