Dear Rappers;
I have just got back from the Laura Festival - an Aboriginal Dance and Music Festival held every two years inland from Cooktown on sacred ground outside of the small town of Laura.
I camped at the Festival with my daughter and Boori, his godson and our niece and a whole circle of family members. We had a wonderful time and watched a lot dancing and singing from about twenty Aboriginal groups from across the Top End of Australia. What a privelege to be there. The dancing takes place on a Bora Ring that has been danced on by Aboriginal groups for thousands and thousands of years.
While I was there, I met up with our nephew Nicky Bidju, the boy who is photographed as the main character for My Girragundji and The Binna Binna Man. I took photos of him for the next book, Njunjul the Sun. Cross your fingers that they turn out well!
It was great to get back and read your answers to the Rap questions and the questions you have asked of Boori and I. I hope these replies catch up with you in time before holidays.
Hello Dulwich High! Here are some answers for you. The others may be interested in reading them as well.
1) In answer to your first question about why Aboriginal people have totems, Boori said when I phoned him tonight (he's still in Townsville) that he believes it is for a few reasons. Firstly Aboriginal people are part of a living culture, where each person is a part of a story that goes back thousands and thousands of years. This story gives you your totem and through your connection with your totem you learn how to lead your life. You learn important lessons about yourself from that totem. Also, the totem system plays an important part in protecting animals and the environment. You have to protect your totem.
2) As the story goes in The Binna Binna Man, Boori's aunty was the one to see, or feel the Binna Binna Man's presence. This part of the story is true to this Aunty's experience, where the Binna Binna man comes through and heals someone that was sick.
3) Boori said: Yes, everyone at Yarrabah believes in the Binna Binna Man.
I thought it would be helpful for you to know that the story about the migaloo fulla , the whitefulla and the ute is true. Remember he was the one who thought the Binna Binna Man was just made up rubbish. Look what happened to him!
4) We didn't spell out the reasons why Sister Girl died in the story. We wanted to leave it up to the readers to think why she could have died. She is a made-up character.
5) Which characters in the story are true? This is a hard question to answer. Almost every character in the book is both true and has bits added. The boy is a mixture of nephews of ours but also much of what happens to him is made up. The Uncle Garth and Aunty Emma could bear some resemblance to Boori and I but we've added bits that make us laugh, or that we wouldn't actually think. A lot of what happens to people in the story comes from experiences that have happened but they may have happened to other people than the character in the book. You know the story about the "big 'orse", the funny story about the radio request, well Boori's dad tells that story of someone else.
This all goes to prove that it is a lot of fun writing stories. I think The Binna Binna Man is a good mixture of fact and fiction. An important part of a writers skill is the ability to listen and remember stories. It is also very important to make sure that you have permission to tell the stories you want to use in your book and that you check with the people that you may be borrowing stories or experiences from to make sure that they are not offended. With all the books Boori and I write together, we take a lot of care to check back with the elders on details and to respect their wishes. One of the next books we are writing, Flytrap, I have had to do a lot of checking back with my daughter as well as the elders. Both the elders and my daughter have asked me to change many things. These changes have made it a stronger book, I believe.
Respect for others only strengthens anything you do - your writing, or any other part of your life, I reckon.
6) The Binna Binna Man seemed not to take very long to write. I think it was written over a period of about six or eight months, which makes it one of the quickest books I've written. My first book, Put Your Whole Self In, took five years!
Thanks for those great questions. I hope the answers make some sense. I will be answering some more questions in the morning. It's great to be rapping with you.
With love and best wishes
Meme
