Stories
Men’s Place officially opens with traditional dances and emotional tributes
Sept 05, 2024
Services: Codes 4 Life
On one of the warmest winter days on record in Alice Springs, an audience gathered to witness the official opening of the newly created Artwe-kenhe ilthe (Men’s Space) at the Desert Knowledge Precinct, designed by Aboriginal men, for Aboriginal men. It will be a safe place for different men’s groups to practise culture, discuss difficult issues, and together bolster their mental health and wellbeing.
The opening began with a smoking ceremony, the audience walking between two fires and through the plumes of smoke before taking their seats. We faced out across a patch of red sand, much redder than what is naturally there, and which now marks out the ceremonial dance ground. 29 tonnes had been delivered by truck to form the new men’s ceremonial performance ground some weeks before.
Three intertwined ribbons, one red, one yellow, one black, were tied between two significant corkwood trees beside a small stage. Beyond the dance ground stood a collection of chairs for the singers. And behind that the newly constructed wiltja (shade structure), a place built for men to hold future meetings and take part in wellbeing workshops.
A women’s place given to men
Our primary host, Marie Ellis, one of the kirda (traditional owners) of this piece of country, south and at some distance from the cluster buildings on the 73-hectare Precinct, shared the creation story for where we sat. She emphasised that traditionally this had been a women’s place.
“This is a women’s place, but as women, we need to support our men. We need to support them mentally, so they have a healthy mindset. So, they make good choices in their lives, for their community, their family, their wives. Our men are important, and this ground here is dedicated to them, so they have a safe place to come to be together, to talk about their health, and what they need to move forward.”
A tribute to an advocate and leader
A tribute was also made to the late Robert Hoosan, who this ground will be named after. He was an Anangu man from the Aputula (Finke) community who built the first wiltja in this space, not far from the new one. He championed the idea of bringing culturally appropriate trauma-informed therapy to traditional lands as part of his role as a youth worker for Creating a Safe Supportive Environment (CASSE).
He was well respected and remembered for his fierce advocacy in campaigns against domestic violence and for raising the age of criminal responsibility in the Northern Territory to the age of 12. He was also a founding member of the NPY Women’s Council Uti Kulintjaku Watiku (men’s clear thinking) program set up by men to address domestic violence.
Hoosan is the brother-in-law of Marie Ellis, and other members of the Hoosan family were also in attendance. The ribbons were cut as part of the official Aboriginal naming ceremony of the Robert Hoosan Ground.
Dance ceremony
We were then joined by an older group of men who took their seats as our musicians. The dancers then came out from behind the hessian, young men and boys from Eastern Arrernte, Antuyle, Western Arrernte and Anmatyerre groups. The ceremonies performed interlink across these different groups, strengthening tribal alliances.
They looked impressive in the golden light as the sun dipped, dressed in traditional garb and painted up, having spent the afternoon in preparation. The red paint on their skin comes from crushed red ochre. The white decoration is made from grasses crushed up with white ochre.
Photo: Oliver Eclipse. Audience members touch the dancers’ backs as part of the ceremony.
The Possum men performed a dance that’s been practised for thousands of years, used as a welcoming or farewell ceremony for special occasions. The backing songs and the dance itself tell stories of the possum, how it travelled and prepared for fights.
After the performances, every audience member was invited to come forward and place a hand on each of the dancers’ backs in turn as they sat in a line facing away from the crowd. In lieu of a gift, this touch is offered as a way of giving thanks to the dancers. It was an emotional scene, the audience taking its time over these moments of connection.
And this wasn’t the only chance for audience participation. The women were also invited up onto the ground with Marie Ellis and other women to join their traditional butterfly dance.
It was a beautiful evening, and the audience certainly felt very included in the ceremony, connecting to the men and the new purpose of this place. It was an honour to be able to launch the Men’s Space at the Desert Knowledge Precinct, leading into Children’s Ground’s Apmerenge-ntyele Festival: From the Land.
Photo: Oliver Eclipse, www.eclipse8me.com
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