One of the activities that Tara arranged for us in Cairns was a dinner and activity at Tjapukai, an aboriginal center. We got to the center a little before it started, and had some time to explore. We saw some aboriginal artwork, which also included descriptions about the symbolism in the art and history of the people. We walked into one room that had photographs of some more well-known aboriginals with videos and a brief history of the natives. Tara and I could only get through one or two of the videos. They were heart wrenching in the same way that the story of the Europeans and Native Americans is heart wrenching (and as we later found out, the Maori in New Zealand as well).
When the event started, all the guests were asked to gather around a small stage and a man came out to talk about the Tjapukai people and provide some history. He then proceeded to play a didgeridoo for us while explaining the four separate components that are required to play the instrument (buzzing the lips, percussion with the tongue, tone form the voice box, and circular breathing). As a former trombone player, it was very interesting and some of the sounds he made were quite fun. He imitated a number of animals then asked, ”What sound does a kangaroo make?” One woman in the crowd correctly answered. Kangaroos don’t make sounds. This got a chuckle, but when he put the didgeridoo to his lips and made a cartoon springing sound, everybody laughed out loud.
Our didgeridoo player finished his performance and led us all down a pathway and across a foot bridge to a small theatre. There, we all sat down in front of him and three other people who were dressed in traditional garb (with the small addition of undergarments to cover their personal bits). They sang a couple songs, and then got us involved. (They even painted our faces with traditional colors of the wet tribes and the dry tribes). They had us clap along with them and repeat some words that they sang. We followed that up by singing a couple verses with them. Once we achieved some semblance of unity, they asked for a couple volunteers to help them start a fire with a traditional fire stick.
The volunteers went up for some verbal instruction. Then one of the performers started singing the song they had taught us, so we all sang encouragement to them to start the fire. It was a little funny to watch a couple guys trying to start fire by spinning a stick between their hands, and driving it into a board braced on a log. They were uncoordinated. Since they had only received verbal instructions, they looked a bit confused. After a couple minutes, two performers showed them how to do it, but they were still unable to get the fire started. Then the performers took over and had the volunteers help by holding things steady. In just a couple minutes, one of them had everybody stop. He inspected the fire board. There was a coal in the bottom, which he transferred it into some coconut fibers. Then, with some patient blowing, the fire caught and we all cheered.
We all marched back to the main building and had a buffet dinner, which included kangaroo and crocodile ribs. Both were quite tasty. The performers did a few additional dances and songs on a stage. When everything was complete, they stuck around for photo opportunities. Tara made sure we got a couple. We strolled through the souvenir shop gauntlet on our way out and marveled at some of the local artwork, but didn’t end up making a purchase. Then it was back to Kookas to rest up for our next adventure.
To see a gallery of Cairns photos, Click here.