SandSong (2021)

What is the inspiration for SandSong?  

SandSong is inspired by stories from the lands of the Wangkatjungka and Walmajarri people of the Great Sandy Desert and Kimberley regions of Western Australia. SandSong is a journey into ancient story systems against the backdrop of ever-changing government policy. It tells a story of loss and survival and Aboriginal people’s cultural resilience despite the exploitation of their natural resources, displacement from their lands, and the trauma that comes with removal and slavery. 

At the heart of this place is the Jila – the living water – that resides in desert waterholes across the region. The waterholes are not only the site of a precious resource, but they are also a site where cultural practices underpin livelihoods and the connection to ancestors. Each Jila is home to a specific Kurtal serpent spirit, and it is important to approach the waterhole with the correct song and ceremony.  

Where does the story come from? 

The adjacent areas of Kimberley and the Great Sandy Desert cover a total area of about 700,000 square kilometres, yet it is one of the most sparsely populated areas in the world. There are three main weather seasons – the dry, the build-up, and the wet season, with sub-categories of these main seasons informing people when it’s time to hunt, to move across the land, or to stay and take shelter.  

When European settlers explored the northern parts of Western Australia into the Kimberley and further south looking for opportunities to establish grazing industries, the abundant water supplies provided them the means to build the vast cattle stations that exist today. Aboriginal people were conscripted into agricultural labour. Coercion and the use of chains to stop these workers returning to their homelands was common. Payment was in the form of rations and a place for the whole family to set up camp, with the understanding that people would return to the traditional lands for ceremony during the wet season. When the wages decision of 1967 was handed down, this system (often referred to as the ‘accommodation’) was abandoned, and another wave of disruption resulted. People gravitated to places like Fitzroy Crossing and Halls Creek and set up mixed communities.  

From the late 1880s through to the 1960s, Protection policies were enacted to restrict Aboriginal people’s movements and who they associated with, as well and their right to participate in many activities available to white people. As the impact of these racist policies persist, and the truth of the past becomes more obvious, the Culture has endured as a foundation for hope.