Cirrus@Austlit

Infusing the stories, songs, shared histories, and contemporary realities of Yanyuwa, Garrwa, Mara and Kudanji women, Big Women from Borroloola reflects on the diversity of experiences and the enormouse change brought about by colonisation. The film also explores women-specific knowledge of Yanyuwa law, cultural practices, post-contact history and the generational links between the women of the community.

"The following song was composed during the late 1988 and early 1989. It is a lengthy song which relates to incidents during the making of the film Buwarrala Akarriya (Journey East), when thirty Yanyuwa people and a film crew walked from Borroloola to Manangoora ... The whole event centred around the re-creation of taking ... initiates to Manangoora for the ceremonies which would make them men." (Bradley, J. J., Journey East in Little Eva at Moonlight Creek and othe Aboriginal Song Poems, University of Queensland Press, 1994, p 23)

'This book is our story for the land and ceremony, it is the story from the old people, the way that they told it to us. We will keep this story going with song and ceremony. There is still Law on the country. It has not gone, we still hold the Law.

This Law in this book is not a lie, it is the truth, we can't make it up.

We Yanyuwa people have had to fight for country. We have had to stand up to keep our Law safe. We talk, talk and still some people can't believe us; words aren't good enough anymore. You have to have something to put into somebody's hand, and that is what this book is for. It is to put into peoples' hands so they can see for themselves our truth. Our words are in this book, our land, our ceremony; it is our Law.

We want people to understand us. We want people to learn, Government people and people everywhere. This book is for everyone to learn.' Source: Foreword by Mussolini Harvey, Yanyuwa Elder; Chairman, Aboriginal Sacred Sites Protection Authority