ELDER FLEW 3,000 KM TO DANCE AT GRANDDAUGHTER’S GRADUATION

Yolngu elder Gali Yalkarriwuy Gurruwiwi, known as the Morning Star dancer, flew about 3,000 kilometres from Elcho Island to Victoria to dance at his granddaughter Sasha’s Year 10 graduation at Worawa Aboriginal College. His wife said it had been his dream to dance with his granddaughters there, and he went ahead with it even though he felt unwell that morning.

Gali made the trip from Galiwin’ku in north-east Arnhem Land to Healesville, north-east of Melbourne, in 2015. ABC told the story on December 12, 2015.

Gali spoke limited English and mostly used the traditional language of the Galpu clan. When he wanted to get his feelings across, he said “proud” and touched his heart. His wife, Jane Garrutju, translated the rest.

“It was his dream, to dance with his granddaughters here,” Jane told ABC.

A north wind and a morning star pole

The dance was called Lunggurrma, which means “north wind.” It was a group performance with two of his granddaughters, and it used a feathered ceremonial Banumbirr, also known as a morning star pole.

Gali was a Yolngu Mala leader, and ABC reported that he did not know his exact age. He was not about to sit this one out, though. He insisted on taking part despite feeling unwell.

“I am proud of my grandchildren, Sasha and Alicia, I am proud that this college was taken care of and that they got a good education,” he said.

For Sasha, dancing with her grandfather was familiar ground. Sunny Skyz reported her saying, “When visitors come to Elcho Island my grandfather always dances, and all the grandchildren dance with him.”

A school in Victoria was another matter. “I always love to dance with my grandparents,” she told ABC. “This was a bit unique.”

Two worlds, one family

Sasha had been boarding at Worawa for two and a half years. Her time there deepened her ties to her culture rather than loosening them.

“I speak three Indigenous languages,” she said. She also picked up languages and customs from students from other communities.

She still missed home. “I love hunting, looking for oysters and fishing and looking for mangrove worms and dancing traditional, we call it bunggul, that’s what I miss, and telling stories around the campfire,” she said.

The separation was hard on the family back home. Jane said they sent Sasha to Worawa anyway, to give her the chance to be anything she wanted to be.

Gali was a big part of how that balance worked. “[Gali’s] very strong in teaching his grandchildren to cling on to their values, to be able to balance Western culture and our culture,” Jane said. “They need to know who they are, where they come from.”

That was the idea behind Worawa when founder Hyllus Maris started it in 1983. She wanted to educate young Indigenous people in a way that celebrates their culture and their past while helping them build a future. Sasha said she walks proudly in both worlds.

The footage of the graduation dance travelled far beyond Healesville. Carriageworks recalled in a 2024 interview that it was filmed and aired in 2015 and was a widely watched ABC video.

Sasha had plans of her own. She intended to finish Years 11 and 12 at Clontarf Aboriginal College in Western Australia and hoped to become a nurse, working in her own community and in Melbourne.

“I would still love to practice culture and teach people my culture,” she told ABC. “I also want to be a role model to younger girls and show them that they can do something with their lives and be happy.”

Power of Positivity reported that Gali died in 2020.