Purification Ceremony - Caledon Bay 1971

The Djapu clan has always had strong links with Caledon Bay, some 70 kilometres south of Yirrkala. In 1971 they gathered... (more)

The Djapu clan has always had strong links with Caledon Bay, some 70 kilometres south of Yirrkala. In 1971 they gathered here to plan the building of a major homeland centre.. A purification ceremony is held for a woman who has been injured at Yirrkala. After preliminary singing, the injured woman sits in a depression in the sand. This represents her clan's sacred well. The singing relates to the ancestral spirit beings associated with her country. This is a short film record, with fine singing by old Djapu clan leaders. (less)