Boorook | Gunditjmara Kirrae Whurrung

Ngootyoong Laka Yana – Walk & Talk with Respect

- is a taking back of language. It is the revival of the sounds that used to flow freely through the air in what is now known as ‘Victoria’. The rebirth of this chant and the aim of its caller is to bring about respect towards one another, to care for one another and to continue to share this with one another moving forward. It is an homage to the First Peoples of this country and pays its respects to them and their scared motherland.

“From early childhood I spent much of my time with my late grandfather (Pop), who taught me much about of our cultural history of the Kirrae Whurrung Tribe. Pop told us stories and the cultural significance of the wood carvings which inspire my carvings, paintings and songs. My mother Patricia has been another great inspiration. She is an artist, singer, songwriter and author of the book Rainbow Serpent of The Hopkins River. My ambitions are to continue Pop’s and my mother’s work to increase cultural awareness among both local Indigenous and mainstream communities. I intend to do this through producing cultural woodcarving artefacts and through my songwriting.” – Boorook.

This work is part of YIRRAMBOI’s Resilience in Isolation program which supports our First Nations creatives to continue their creative practices and development during the isolation.

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