Our Connections

“Singing brings people together.”

Aunty Janice Paulson, Forster NSW

Taking Dhurga Language to the Desert

An initiative to take Djinama Yilaga Choir, from Yuin Country on the Far South Coast of NSW, to the Desert Song Festival in Alice Springs in September 2023.

In April 2023, four members of Djinama Yilaga choir travelled to the Big Sing in the Desert outside Alice Springs, where they met with the Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir. They were invited to return and perform at Desert Song Festival in September 2023 and were excited to build on the beautiful connections that had been made.

Big Sing Inc was honoured to support the fundraising campaign that raised funds to support the costs for 14 members and support crew of  Djinama Yilaga to travel to Desert Song Festival.

A Message from Djinama Yilaga

Language is all about connection. Our Dhurga language is a direct connection to our ancestors, unique to our region of the Far South Coast of NSW where it was spoken and understood by many within the 13 tribes of the Yuin Nation. It places us right here, where we belong.

In April 2023, four members of Djinama Yilaga choir travelled to the Big Sing in the Desert outside Alice Springs, where we met with the Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir. CAAWC director Morris Stuart invited us to return and perform at Desert Song Festival in September 2023 and we were excited to build on the connections we had made. This time we wanted to take more of the choir with us, including our kids, to show them what our culture is – to us and to other people.

We wanted to share with the younger members of our choir a vision of what Djinama Yilaga can be for them. It’s our hope that they will lead the choir one day.

Dhurga is not our first language. We are learning our grandmothers’ and grandfathers’ language. It’s about remembering and using it – and taking ownership of it. The songs we’re writing – they are important to us. We’re learning alongside our kids and want to see our language become a part of daily life for them – so that they can share it with their kids.

The funds we raised through our fundraising campaign and successful grant submissions were used to pay for the travel, accommodation and other costs for Djinama Yilaga singers and support crew to travel to the Desert Song Festival in Alice Springs. We were able to take our Dhurga language to the Desert, to sing it loud and proud at Desert Song Festival and connect with the communities, choirs and Country out there.

Djinama Yilaga is humbled and extremely grateful for all the support received from a range of generous donors through the Australian Cultural Fund as well as the funding received from the NSW Aboriginal Languages Trust, Create NSW, Pay the Rent Community Initiatives Program and Bendigo Bank Pambula & District Community Development Ltd. We are also extremely grateful for all the support provided by Rachel Hore and Jodie Lee from Big Sing Incorporated, Madison Phillips and Moira Scollay from Four Winds, and Ben Buggy for all the huge efforts and assistance for Djinama Yilaga to take Dhurga to the Desert, as this would not have been possible without the collective support provided by everyone who was involved.

Cheryl Davison and Iris White, Djinama Yilaga

Partners