Mary passes on her story, her knowledge and her experiences of when she was young. This book is rich in Papunya history, Luritja language and anecdotes from Mary's childhood culminating in a beautiful book which will be of value to everyone who reads it.
Mary's childhood was spent in the government settlement of Papunya. Whilst Monday to Friday was spent going (or sometimes not going!) to school, the weekends were when Mary went with her family to the bush; the Papunya hill, Ikirriki and Alkipi. With warmth and passion Mary re tells her memories of her culture, of essential knowledge being passed on ...
"Uwa, that was how our uncle taught us tracking, so that we would be able to go hunting and get our own kuka,"
Her respect for the land, her knowledge of what it provides - a wealth of food, water and health - are accompanied by beautiful, colourful illustrations.
The many stunning illustrations, which help to tell the stories in this book, are perfect for confident readers who will find the layout to be a refreshing change from standard chapter books.
Luritja emerged as the dominant language at Papunya, and this is the language which is integrated so effortlessly with English throughout Mary's writing. Universal themes are covered such as the desire to skip school, and many themes unique to Mary's own culture and thus she achieves her aim ...
... to tell us about when she was little.
This is a featured title from Anita Heiss' Black Book Challenge (BBC) - further details can be found here.
Enjoy!
