Posted by Lately I have been sitting with the Wiradyuri word yindyamarra (yind-yamarra). Wiradyuri is the name given to the country and First Peoples of a large section of land that also came to be known (after British colonisation) as a part of New South Wales. The Wiradyuri nation begins about two hours west of Sydney, on the other side of the Blue Mountains, and extends out in all directions within mid-eastern Australia[1].
So, what does yindyamarra mean? First let me say that I am very conscious that I am a middle-aged man of largely Scott-Irish ancestry. My family name arrived at Bathurst, within Wiradyuri Country, only in 1841, a mere drop in the bucket that is the history of Australia. My exploration here of yindyamarra aspires to be cautious, humble, and respectful.
In saying this, I do feel a deep connection to this part of Wiradyuri country, named as such for tens of thousands of years before the arrival of European colonisers in 1815. I am discovering that the name Wiradyuri speaks to this connection more deeply than the names Bathurst or New South Wales can.
The current Wiradyuri Elders of this area only recently known as Bathurst, have been teaching yindyamarra. One such Elder is Dinawan Dyirribang, Uncle Bill Allen.
The word yindyamarra Uncle Bill translates as respect. He then describes the practice of yindyamarra as having five meanings, each meaning being a characteristic of the practice itself[2].
The first meaning, of course, is respect: “you’ve always got to show respect to whatever you do.”
Uncle Bill then speaks of yindyamarra as doing slowly: “make sure it’s the right way, how you’re going to do things…so think about it, take your time and think about what you’re doing.”
Then comes showing your manners: always “be polite.”
The fourth meaning is showing honour: “don’t big-note yourself when you do something.”
Lastly, Uncle Bill speaks of yindyamarra as the practice of being gentle; he describes it as “how you celebrate what you’ve achieved.”
Yindyamarra wisdom then, might be described as the practice of living respectfully and patiently, growing polite, humble, and gentle. If I may say so, this is what the practice of deep connection to country teaches Wiradyuri about how to live with nature and each other. And I have seen this way of living practiced in the ways Wiradyuri relate with those of us who arrived post 1815.
Connection to country is at the heart of yindyamarra. Country can allow healing and shape all who live on it, if we are open, allow it, and commit to the necessary practice.
What might this practice of connection look like, a practice that shapes Wiradyuri in yindyamarra? I cannot speak to anything specifically Indigenous. This would be inappropriate. However, Uncle Bill does share with us something he does that is general enough, I think, to share here.
The river Uncle Bill speaks of below is the Wambool/Macquarie (see the photo above). Bathurst was settled next to it. Uncle Bill:
I’ve got my own little place I used to go to, just down along the river. Downstream from Eglington [a Bathurst suburb] there. I’d just drive out there and make a little fire and just sit there.
I sit right on the river, and I listen to the wind blowing through the River Oaks. And I sit still and just listen to the Wind Spirit and the water flowing and the birds…
Sitting in the quiet by the river is something that helps clear your mind, it helps to clear you.
All you need to do, just to go and sit at one of these particular sites.
You just get away from everything and then just sit and contemplate.
You let things wash away.
Particularly sitting around with a fire.
It’s soothing and healing.
I would like to speak, if I may, more about this practice of going to the river in posts to come. It occurs to me as one simple practice that can help all of us shape in the principles named here as yindyamarra.
[1] A map of Australia showing all First People (Indigenous) nations can be seen here.
[2] All of what Uncle Bill has to say about yindyamarra included in this blog post, comes from a Bathurst Regional Art Gallery online exhibition called ReConnect Bathurst. Uncle Bill’s contribution can be found here.