Literature of the Outback

Australia's aboriginals refer to the passage of time as dreamtime. Their world-view is encrusted in this concept which forms the basic philosophy of their life, and the theme of a collection of Black Australian prose. S. THEODORE BASKARAN writes.

THE British, who landed in Australia in 1788, systematically set about eliminating the inhabitants, subjugating the survivors and destroying their millennia old culture. The visitors chased them on horseback and shot them. They mixed poison with wheat flour and distributed it among the unsuspecting, killing thousands. In Tasmania, water holes were poisoned, wiping out the local population. The diseases that came with the White people - influenza and pneumonia - took their toll, as the aborigines did not have any immunity. The indigenous population quickly dwindled from three lakhs to 50,000. Those who survived this pogrom languished without any basic rights. It was only in 1992, as a ruling by the apex court, that they got back their land rights. But their standard of living is far below that of White Australians. Because lakhs of people died,

with them vanished more than half of their 250 languages.

It is only recently that there has been some awareness created about the richness of the indigenous culture of the Australian aborigines. Today they form only one per cent of the population (one in every six Australian artiste is an aborigine).

The events of 1988, marking the 200th year of the arrival of the White people on the continent, drew attention to the heritage of the aborigines. The result: Their painting tradition has been redeemed and now finds a place in international art galleries. There is now increasing interest in the aborigines world-view, their music and dance. The major cities in Australia have theatres exclusively for aborigine drama. Quite a few aborigines have acted in films and have made a name for themselves, the best known being David Gulpilil who acted in the film "Crocodile Dundee".

Australian aborigines refer to the passage of time, including the past and the present, as Dreamtime. Their world-view is encompassed in this concept which forms the basic philosophy of their life. Dreamtime is grounded in the belief that this universe throbs with life, that all life forms are interconnected, and that we are all part of this network. It is a celebration of the living environment and a feeling of harmony with the universe. It is this belief that resonates in all their cultural expressions, painting, music and dance and it is this Dreamtime that is the fount of all their literary expressions.

Their literature, which was being passed down orally, came out in print only recently, in 1960. Black writer Jack Davis (aborigines prefer to be referred to as Blacks. Is it not a western evaluation to consider Black as inferior?) started a magazine, Identity, exclusively for the literature of aborigines.

The first conference of Black writers of Australia was held in Murdoch University, Perth in 1983. This meet provided a political basis for their writing, which has been closely associated with their struggle for civil rights. The result of this conference was the book, Paperbark: A Collection Of Black Australian Writings. The title recalls the tradition of bark painting of the aborigines. The first edition came out in 1990 and an updated version in 1998. The writings of 46 Black writers find a place in this anthology, which includes traditional ballads, poetry, drama and, modern short stories. Aboriginal leaders and activists such as Oodgaru Noonuccal have also contributed to this collection. The long poem of Banjo Worrumarra, titled "The Pigeon Story", which is featured in this book is the subject of an Australian feature film now under production.

The publication of this book is an important event in the renaissance of Australian aboriginal culture. By bringing these different dimensions of a vast and ancient heritage, the book attempts to focus on the essence of Dreamtime. Earlier, there was an attempt to reduce aboriginal literature to writing on paper, especially in 1929 when David Unaipon, a Black writer, produced a manuscript titled "Legendary Tales Of Australian Aborigines". It was not published but is preserved in Sydney.

When you try to bring out oral literature in print, a number of issues come up. Body movements, gestures, facial expressions and tonal variation form an integral part of story telling and singing. They give life to the repertoire of the storyteller and the minstrel. How do you reflect these in print?

Oral literature is highly individualistic. It depends on the mood of the narrator and his imagination. If translated into words then will they not lose this essential quality of spontaneity and become frozen? It is evident that the editors of this anthology, Jack Davis and others all have borne these problems in mind. This book is a model on how one should go about the task of transforming verbal art into literature that does not have a written language. Here is an example from the collection: a poem titled "Noonkenbah" by Archie Weller.

My mother's breast

that nourished me

with legends and with songs

gives out milk as black as I

so from her heart it comes.

Now in their trucks the White man

comes

to squeeze my mother dry

They take our laws.

They take our lives.

and now they take her too ...

The earth heaves. The skies' rain falls

down

The old men sing their songs

but my mother weeps rich black tears.

Paperbark: A Collection Of Black Australian Writings, edited by Jack Davis et al, p. 369, University of Queensland Press, Box 42, St. Lucia, Queensland, 4067, 1998.

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