Day 4

Sienna Byrne '18

Let me start my summary of today by saying that it was 105 degrees out. As I looked up from weeding the greenhouse at the Martu farm, I saw Ada absorbed in planting lemongrass, Reyn busy clearing debris from the front entrance, and Ram engaged in conversation with one of the elder Martu women, unbothered by the heat.

About mid-day, Sidney, one of the Martu elders began building a fire fueled by eucalyptus leaves. Then each member of our group walked through the wisps of smoke in what is a traditional Martu welcoming and cleansing. Sidney explained that this cleansing rids a person of bad spirits and is traditionally done for newborn babies or visitors.

In the afternoon we headed to the Martumilli gallery to see the paintings of aboriginal women from this area. Yesterday we were able to see a few Martu women at work on their art and so it was special to witness the finished result of their efforts. As we learned yesterday, many of their paintings center around their relationship with the land. While there is no way we can understand everything, they express, I was inspired by our groups willingness to try, from asking questions to sometimes just sitting in silence and observing the paintings of the Martu women.

After the gallery, we went to the community center to spend time with the kids we met at the pool yesterday. Ram and I sat down and began painting with one of the younger girls at the center. As we worked on various little projects we were not worried about the time or the next scheduled activity. Time seemed to slow down as she explained her painting to us and told us about her friends and her older brother. I felt lucky that she had been so willing to share her afternoon with us. As we go forward on this trip and eventually back home, I will keep in mind this experience at the community center.