After spending my first couple of days at a survey out in the bush, I came to notice tiny but nevertheless highly noticeable similarities to what I experienced in India.
People looking away, almost uninterestedly; sitting on the ground all around the place, huddling together, separated in smaller groups or even on their own (showing respect to be given to the elders); mumbling under the breath and then just expelling what sounds like a magic spell out there, toward everyone; making jokes in local languages and giggling… It all just seems so familiar.
I didn’t really expect anything in particular, but I’ve had an image of what was coming up - unlike others, who are probably eagerly awaiting detailed feedback on how I did - which I understand, because it’s surely not easy to rely on someone you’ve just hired to do the job properly. Especially when it’s so sensitive.
Being that there’s also a fair amount of driving to be done (half of the way is flight, the other half or so driving a 4WD), I had my initiation and, boy, did I have one! I was driving with my co-worker and two of the elders into the sunset, the Sun shining into my face, bouncing off the hood and piercing me with its rays from a couple more directions. It’s a non-asphalted road, straddling the countryside in a straight line, and lined by low vegetation on the sides.
Nothing but that, an occasional rabbit, kangaroo or eagle, and the mighty Sun. The sunset was kick ass nevertheless, at least the bit that I managed to actually see.
All in all, there I was, sitting in the bush, sharing an orange and sipping tea with the elders (who filled me in on some basic vocabulary), the initiated men, right next to what is probably their most sacred site. I had the privilege and the chance to go to where even non-initiated Aborigines aren’t allowed to go.
Now, doesn’t that kick ass?!
People looking away, almost uninterestedly; sitting on the ground all around the place, huddling together, separated in smaller groups or even on their own (showing respect to be given to the elders); mumbling under the breath and then just expelling what sounds like a magic spell out there, toward everyone; making jokes in local languages and giggling… It all just seems so familiar.
I didn’t really expect anything in particular, but I’ve had an image of what was coming up - unlike others, who are probably eagerly awaiting detailed feedback on how I did - which I understand, because it’s surely not easy to rely on someone you’ve just hired to do the job properly. Especially when it’s so sensitive.
Being that there’s also a fair amount of driving to be done (half of the way is flight, the other half or so driving a 4WD), I had my initiation and, boy, did I have one! I was driving with my co-worker and two of the elders into the sunset, the Sun shining into my face, bouncing off the hood and piercing me with its rays from a couple more directions. It’s a non-asphalted road, straddling the countryside in a straight line, and lined by low vegetation on the sides.
Nothing but that, an occasional rabbit, kangaroo or eagle, and the mighty Sun. The sunset was kick ass nevertheless, at least the bit that I managed to actually see.
All in all, there I was, sitting in the bush, sharing an orange and sipping tea with the elders (who filled me in on some basic vocabulary), the initiated men, right next to what is probably their most sacred site. I had the privilege and the chance to go to where even non-initiated Aborigines aren’t allowed to go.
Now, doesn’t that kick ass?!
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| Taking off from the Work House in Kalgoorlie |
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| The Gwalia (meaning Wales in Welsh) mining site in Leonora, where H.C. Hoover (the later-to-be president of the US of A) was hired to work as a geologist |
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| Right as I thought to myself how good we were doing, we got a sunflower-shaped blow up |
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| Lunch |
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| Hoover's house (now the whole complex is a museum) |
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| Descriptions |
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| One of the bedrooms (some people thought it was my new place when they saw the photo, hahaha) |
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| The Gwalia mining site |
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| Our Toyota in front of the Hoover House (built in 1898, I think) |
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| List of the miners working at the site at the time |
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| The site from the air (a photo of a photo) |
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| The office house and she shadow of my nose and hat |
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| Preparing the road |
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| Bottles and old cars and stuff |
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| Driving back |
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| The scenery (and this is still quite lush and green, compared to the summer and what lies further inland) |
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| Eucalyptus trees, which catch fire as easily as pine trees, which of course created huge problems and large fires |
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| I saw a couple of kangaroos (and had to watch out not to hit one along the way, since they jump out), rabbits, hawks, owls, ravens and similar |
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| Red sand |
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| Washing the car before leaving for the airport |
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| Google Earth image of the tracks we took - so cool! |
Wow! Odlicne fotke. Ovo je izgleda bila prava avantura. Blago tebi!!! :D
ReplyDeleteDa, totalna ludnica. Drugi tjedan opet na teren... Bit će fotki, a i teksta, nadam se... ^^
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