Yolngu culture is among the oldest living cultures on earth and is still strong today. Yolngu means ‘person’ in the language spoken by the people.
Image credit: Teagn Glenane from Yothu Yindi Foundation Gallery
Garma is Australia’s leading Indigenous cultural festival in North-East Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, and is considered one of the top ten cultural festivals in the world.
Hosted by the Yothu Yindi Foundation, the festival over 4-days showcases traditional miny’tji (art), manikay (song), bunggul (dance) and storytelling. It is also an important meeting point for the regions’ clans and families.
Image credit: National Museum Australia
Garma festival was conceived by the Yothu Yindi Foundation in 1999 and forms part of the Foundation’s vision to ensure the traditional Yolngu people and other Indigenous Australians have the same level of wellbeing and life opportunities as non-Indigenous Australians.
Garma Festival also plays host to the Key Forum policy conference, which has become Australia’s premier platform for the discussion and debate of issues affecting Indigenous people. Although the conference agenda changes each year to reflect the Garma theme, topics such as land rights, health, education, economic development and government funding are regularly discussed.
This year, the festival’s theme was ‘fire, strength, renewal’ – a response to the rejection of the Voice by the Australian people on 14 October 2023, says Yothu Yindi Foundation Chairman, Djawa Yunupiŋu.
“Gurtha (Fire) is at the centre of the Yolŋu world; it is the foundation of life that gives strength, energy, and power. Gurtha is in the people and is of the land. Worrk (Renewal) is in the life of the land and the people. It is the goodness that rises in the country after fire has burnt the land and cleansing rains have come.”
Throughout the festival, attendees engaged in traditional Yolŋu experiences such as fireside chats, poetry readings, astronomy tours, and women’s healing sessions. Works from local and regional galleries were exhibited among a grove of stringy-bark trees in the open-air Gapan Gallery. Each night, as the sun went down over Gulkula, a cinema under the stars presented a series of films produced by First Nations people from Arnhem Land, Australia and the world.
Yolngu culture is among the oldest living cultures on earth and is still strong today. Family and connection with the land are key elements of Yolngu culture and Aboriginal children are raised with knowledge of kinship, law and ceremony. They are being brought up as proud Aboriginal people who are continuing their culture while also operating in the western world.
Image credit: Sodexo
In 2019, Sodexo celebrated 17 years of partnership with Yothu Yindi and Garma, and its 14th year as the festival’s major sponsors. This is a lifetime valuable experience for the 70 Sidexo volunteers from across Australia.
Sodexo has become a vital component of the festival’s success in setting up the bush kitchen facilities at the remote Gulkula ceremonial grounds, preparing and serving hot, healthy and nutritious meals to up to 3,000 participants three times a day over four days – as well as maintaining the guest facilities, the festival’s Knowledge Centre and the ablution blocks for the duration of Garma. A team of almost 70 Sodexo volunteers from sites across Australia prepared and served over 30,000 meals for more than 2,000 participants across four days. Sodexo also catered for 450 VIP guests including political, business and community leaders, demonstrating its passion for food, service spirit and teamwork.
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