LIVING LANGUAGE

Language is a lifeblood that connects land, culture, Country. It requires maintenance and conservancy to keep it strong – a challenge faced daily by many First Nations people. The Jingulu language of the Jingili people in Kulumindini/Elliott is spoken by just six people at last count, but some Territory musicians are working to keep it alive.

WORDS TIERNEY WHITE

THE JINGILI SONG Project is a special collaboration between Territory musicians Stuart Joel Nuggett (Stu) and David Garnham, first launched in 2023 with a tour around the NT to include performances and language workshops for children. Since then, it’s toured another three times, now touring the NT for a second time with the Ngawungka Ngarriyi Tour.

Stu’s a Jingili man from Kulumindini/Elliott, a small town on the Stuart Highway that lands about halfway between Darwin and Mparntwe/ Alice Springs. He sings in both English and Jingulu, and these days calls Mparntwe home.

Earlier this year, Stu, Garnham, and Garnham’s band, The Reasons to Live, embarked on a national tour supported by Artback NT, kicking off in Darwin before heading south to Victoria, New South Wales, and the ACT. They played a swag of venues and festivals, including Cresfest and, excitingly, the National Folk Festival.

Stu says he’s proud to share his language and tour the NT again.

“It feels good, yeah, doing it at festival venues and teaching the language [in the workshops] it’s good to be doing it. And with Dave again, travelling through the Territory – it’s like a drug, really, you do it again, and you get a buzz, you could say!”

Stu reckons the collaboration with Garnham and his band mates, Mark Smith, Dan Davies, and Aden Mackay, has been very special.

“We’ve been playing together for a while now, it’s more like a family band now. They feel how important it is and what I’m doing, with help from Dave, just how important language is,” he says.

“I’m teaching them, too, and they can feel it, too – how much effort they put in. They leave their jobs, they go on these tours, and it’s very special for me, it’s very special for them. I really thank them – I wouldn’t be doing this without them, it’s very special.”

Likewise, Garnham says he and his band mates have been humbled by the opportunity.

“Not just for myself, but for the band too, we see it as a massive honour to be a part of it, to be able to see what happens behind the scenes. It’s always exciting to go on tour and do shows – but being able to work with Stu with the kids and his mum, and working on new songs in language, you know, it’s a very precious and rare space,” he says.

“Sadly, for some Indigenous people, it’s a rare space for them to work in or even be exposed to their language. For us to be able to learn from Stu’s and his mum Janet’s vision is such a privilege.”

The Jingili Song Project’s been such a hit, it’s just been announced as a finalist for the National Folk Music Awards for Folk Community/Cultural Project of the Year, with winners announced later this month.

As part of the NT tour, shows roll out in Tennant Creek, Alice Springs, Mataranka, and Wagait Beach, with a workshop program early in the month, including Elliott. Stu says taking the show back to Country is incredibly special.

“Going back to the roots, where it comes from, to acknowledge that and to be in that area, in that special place where the language came from, the birthplace … coming back to Country, especially with the young ones, the next generation, it’s very special.”

NGAWUNGKA NGARRIYI TOUR – NT TOUR

Shows
FRI 26 SEP, 8.30PM | TENNANT CREEK MEMORIAL CLUB | FREE
SUN 28 SEP, 5PM | LAST SUNDAY FOLK UP, WATERTANK CAFÉ $20/10
FRI 3 OCT, 8.30PM | TENNANT CREEK MEMORIAL CLUB | FREE
SAT 4 OCT, 5.30PM | TERRITORY MANOR, MATARANKA | FREE
SUN 5 OCT, 2PM | COX COUNTRY CLUB, WAGAIT BEACH | FREE

Children’s Jingulu Song Workshop
TUE 30 SEP, 10.15AM | ALICE SPRINGS LIBRARY
WED 1 OCT, 11AM | TENNANT CREEK LIBRARY
THU 2 OCT | ELLIOTT LIBRARY

Children’s Jingulu Song Workshop & Recording
THU 2 OCT | ELLIOTT RECREATION CENTRE

_{Image: Mark Smith, Dan Davies, David Garnham, Stuart Joel Nuggett & Aden Mackay. Photo: Tully Hemsley}