Aboriginal Spirit Story Brings Language to Tourists
The actions of two quick thinking children saved the ancient water spirit Yawk Yawk when she was taken prisoner by a commercial water distributor on a rainforest mountain in Queensland.
That’s the basis of a tale created by Aboriginal artist Abigail Chaloupka, herself a resident on Tamborine Mountain, inland from the Gold Coast. Abi was joined in performance by SEQILC Director Rory O’Connor, who introduced local traditional language to the tale.
Abi curated the story for the annual Tamborine Mountain Arts Trail, which is a weekend of arts and exhibitions hosted by locals.
“I wanted to bring attention to the 100,000 tonnes of water that is taken from Tamborine Mountain by large companies including Coca Cola Amatil each year,” Abi explained.
“Water is a cultural item, but it is taken without any compensation or even recognition of the communities that have looked after these water sources forever.”
In Abi’s story, Yawk Yawk is sucked into a water processing truck and sold in a fish and chip shop. Luckily she is spotted by two savvy Aboriginal siblings who release Yawk Yawk back into a local waterfall.
Abigail Chaloupka enthralled audiences with her story of Yawk Yawk, an Aboriginal spirit captured by water collection companies on Tamborine Mountain in the Gold Coast hinterland.
