Renewing the Yolŋu ‘Bothways’ philosophy: Warramiri transculturation education at Gäwa

Abstract

Abstract‘Bothways’ was an expression first utilised by Yolŋu educators in the late 1980s to convey the profound intercultural epistemological foundations of Yolŋu society that should also apply to modern Balanda (white) schooling systems. Despite the pressures from national, standardised curriculum and assessment regimes, ‘Bothways’ has not been abandoned by remote Yolŋu communities in the 21st century. In this paper we briefly revisit the first iterations of the ‘Bothways’ philosophy to demonstrate its symmetry with the Yolŋu transculturation heritage (of the Warramiri in particular), developed through many centuries of contact with sea-faring visitors. Lastly, we present data from community research at Gäwa, a Warramiri homeland on Elcho Island, which demonstrates that through a series of ‘multiple balances’, negotiation around issues of bilingual pedagogy, cultural knowledge transmission, parental engagement and student–teacher dynamic continues to renew the ‘Bothways’ approach.

Warramiri Yolŋu cosmology: an introduction

“…Ben van Gelderen lived and worked at Gäwa and was inculcated into the Warramiri 'bothways' educational philosophy through team-teaching with Guthadjaka. Throughout the last decade they have collaborated in designing the Warramiri website to house digital resources for the transmission of traditional Warramiri language and culture, and have co-authored a number of presentations/papers based on community research at Gäwa on homeland 'on country' education and 'bothways' approaches (van Gelderen & Guthadjaka, 2019b). Ben was adopted into the gurruṯu kinship system as Guthadjaka's son, and believes this was highly strategic.…”

School is Home, Home as School: Yolngu '˜On Country' and 'Through Country' Place-Based Education From Gäwa Homeland

“…From his years living at Gäwa, Ben certainly knew of the community aspiration to live on country and sustain a holistic and integrated 'bothways' education (van Gelderen & Guthadjaka, 2019b). He was also very aware of the fundamental role Warramiri language and literacy played , through team-teaching with Gotha and having read her reflections on the key nexus between land, language and identity in child development (Guthadjaka, 2010).…”

Nhaltjan dhu ḻarrum ga dharaŋan dhuḏi-dhäwuw ŋunhi limurr dhu gumurrbunanhamirr ga waŋanhamirr, Yolŋu ga Balanda: how we come together to explore and understand the deeper story of intercultural communication in a Yolŋu (First Nations Australian) community

“…Communication partners from Euro-western cultures often lack awareness of the cultural specificity of their knowledge and skills, and of how colonial discourses shape their systems of service provision (Christie, 2009; Furlong & Wight, 2011; Kitson & Bowes, 2010; Lowell et al, 2005, 2015; Miller, 2015). Collaborative, sustained partnerships, encompassing reciprocal and effective intercultural communication, are pivotal in these contexts but, in practice, there are often many barriers to developing these partnerships (Grimes, 2012; Guenther & Osborne, 2018; Kerrigan et al, 2021b; Lowell et al, 2003, 2015; Miller, 2015; Trudgen, 2000; van Gelderen & Guthadjaka, 2021).…”

“…Yolŋu, pronounced Yolngu, are First Nations Australian people from the region that is now called North-East Arnhem Land. Yolŋu have a long history of interacting with people from other cultural backgrounds while also maintaining strong Yolŋu identities, cultures, law and languages (Christie, 2009; van Gelderen & Guthadjaka, 2021). The communication knowledges and practices that Yolŋu have developed are valuable and may have theoretical and practical relevance for intercultural communicators from other cultural backgrounds (Marika-Mununggiritj, 1991).…”