Jamie continuing culture
Originally published in The Nyngan Weekly
Continuation of culture is the core of Jamie McLennan’s work. For the past week he has been working in Nyngan as part of NAIDOC week celebrations. Through sessions at local schools, conversations with locals, and teaching the dance group, Wakakirri Mayi, Mr McLennan is doing his part to ensure the continuation of his culture for generations to come.
On Monday, Mr McLennan scarred a tree at Winangali Walk as part of this cultural continuation.
“If we don’t do this now, in 100 years we’ll be saying there used to be trees here. By doing this, we’re continuing this culture and making sure that it will be here for when you bring your grandchildren and great-grand-children here.”
Mr McLennan, with help from Uncle Eddie Ship and Terry Johnson, carved a coolamon from a tree next to the dance pit.
Talking the group through each step of the process, Mr McLennan discussed the difference between scarred trees and carved tress. He said that part of the importance of continuing to scar trees is to ensure they stay where they belong.
“Many of the scarred trees we see have been removed and taken away. So, you see a tree in a big cage and it’s had a canoe cut out of it, but it’s 15 kilometres from the water, and it makes no sense,” he said.
Tap, tap, tap, Mr McLennan had each person present come and participate in cutting the coolamon from the tree using a chisel and hammer.
He explained to the group how to hear the different types of bark they were cutting through, careful to not cut through to the hard wood below the bark surface. All up it took less than an hour to remove the coolamon.
It wasn’t without anxiety though, as the entire group held their breath while he slowly removed the cutting. Mr McLennan had warned early on that it might not have come off in one piece, due to the age of the tree.
“Usually, you’d choose a younger tree because the bark is more likely to come off in one piece, some of these older ones it might rip when you try and take it off.”
Alongside Uncle Eddie, he carefully peeled the coolamon away. A small burst of air signalled the released of the vessel, which luckily came off in one piece.
After the coolamon had been retrieved, Mr McLennan conducted a smoking, which he said is important in completing the cultural act of scarring a tree.
Sharing this experience with both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, Mr McLennan said that culture should be shared and encouraged across communities, with everyone being seen as equal.
“The oldest way of thinking is 80 per cent water from the sky, and 20 per cent food, which is your meat and bones, right? And the food you grow to eat, is from the dirt, which is Country.
“We’re all just water and Country, water and Country. So, we are probably half a percent that’s different, which is Spirit. We need to show each other respect, and that’s a pretty powerful thing, but all this division stuff like black and white, like men and women, it’s division, and if we break that division down, everyone is just Country and spirit.”
Before leaving Winangali Walk, Mr McLennan took time to clean up the tree, to ensure it will heal properly over the coming years.
He smoothed out the outline of the scar, and cut a small notch at the bottom, so that water wouldn’t pool in the scar and rot the tree.
Finally, he made three small marks, which he uses as a signature in every tree he scars. This allows him, and those who are with him, to identify the tree when they return years from now.
The tree scarring was the second day of the Community Connections workshop run by the Nyngan Local Aboriginal Land Council.
The coolamon was taken back to the Land Council office where it will dry out and be shared with the community.