Maree McCarthy Yoelu is a Wadjigany woman, from the western Wagait region in the NT. She grew up in Daly River and now lives in Darwin where she works in radio. Liman is Maree’s grandfather. She writes to keep his stories and the Batjamalh language alive. Her new picture book is Brother Moon, a powerful story lovingly told by a great-grandfather to his great-grandson about the importance of connection to Country.
Maree McCarthy Yoelu is on the blog today to tell us about how important it is to keep the stories of our ancestors alive. Read on!
Maree McCarthy Yoelu
There is a saying: “when an old person dies, it’s like a library burning down.”
I’ve seen plenty of our elders pass away (my aunties, uncles, and grandparents) and now I often think about all the stories and knowledge they had yet to share. The loss is real.
They’ve taken all their stories, their knowledge about culture, language and traditions with them. Luckily, I still have some story tellers around me; so I feel like I’m one of the fortunate ones.
Our stories are so precious. Without them, we lose our identity, our traditions, languages, songs, dances and rituals.
The story of Brother Moon wasn’t originally intended for publication. My sister Helen shared it with me many moons ago while visiting Wadjigany country (in the Northern Territory). I realised from the moment I heard it that I needed to write it down so I could share it with our children for years to come. I knew it was special. It reminded me of the unique connection our ancestors had with the moon and the stars and the important role it played (and still plays) in our lives.
So often we hear stories, but they stay in our heads. Our culture was and still is primarily an oral culture – we shared our stories and culture through our songs and ceremonies. They were never written down.
This is what drove me to write Brother Moon; realising the importance of documenting our histories and our connections to country, so we could start building our own library, for all future generations of Wadjigany families and all people to benefit. It’s only the beginning!
In Brother Moon, Grandpa Liman is my Mother’s Father (Harry Morgan, a Wadjigany elder) and Hippy-Boy (Heath Wilson) is my nephew. This story was told by Grandpa Liman to my nephew when he was a child. It is a powerful story lovingly told by a great-grandfather to his great-grandson and I’m so thrilled to share this with you.
Beneath the dark sky of the Northern Territory, Hippy-Boy is captivated when Great Grandpa Liman tells him the mysterious story of his brother and how it guides his connection to Country. Great-Grandpa is a masterful storyteller and, as the tale unfolds, he finally reveals his brother is the moon — a wonder of the universe.
Hippy-Boy ultimately learns how his great grandfather uses the phases of the moon when he goes hunting and fishing, and why it is important for us all to have an understanding of the natural world.
This story is so special to me because it is a personal family story built around our connection with the moon and I hope that it brings a sense of awe and wonder, a sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves. I hope it shines a light on how our elders and ancestors used the moon and the stars to guide their travels while they lived on country; and how reliant and important it is to them when living on country. I hope they look up at the moon now and know their brother is looking out for them.
So, I urge whoever reads this to encourage your young ones to start chatting to their elders. Start collecting stories for your own library that can live on for years to come.
—Brother Moon by Maree McCarthy Yoelu (Magabala Books) is out now.
Brother Moon
Brother Moon is a powerful story lovingly told by a great-grandfather to his great-grandson.
Beneath the dark sky of the Northern Territory, Hippy-Boy is captivated when Great-Grandpa Liman tells him the mysterious story of his brother and how it guides his connection to Country...
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