A grandfather and aboriginal elder traveled nearly 2,000 miles to perform a special dance with his granddaughter, who graduated college.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corp., Gali Yalkarriwuy Gurruwiwi was highly proud of his granddaughter Sasha Mulungunhawuy Yumbulul and her accomplishments and didn’t want to miss her special day. So, he flew from Elcho Island to Healesville, Australia, to witness her graduate from Worawa Aboriginal College in 2015.
It was her year 10 graduation.
With his wife, Jane Garrutju, by his side, the aboriginal elder expressed how he was a proud grandfather.
“I am proud of my grandchildren, Sasha and Alicia. I am proud that this college was taken care of and that they got a good education,” Gali, who doesn’t know his age, said.
Gali didn’t feel well the morning of the ceremony, but he didn’t allow that to stop him from performing the dance with his granddaughters.
The performance is a traditional dance called Lunggurrma, meaning north wind, and includes a feathered ceremonial Banumbirr (morning star pole).
According to Sasha, the dance isn’t solely performed for special occasions. She said her grandfather and his grandchildren would dance when people visit the island.
Dancing with Gali has been something she has enjoyed her life, so when her grandfather traveled afar to perform it for her graduation ceremony, joining him was a no-brainer for her.
In addition to dancing Lunggurrma with Gali, Sasha adores other things connected to her culture, such as hunting, savaging for oysters and mangrove worms, traditional dance (bunggul), and exchanging campfire stories.
The family highly values culture. While at Worawa (founded in 1983 by Hyllus Maris), Sasha remained connected to her culture since the premise of the boarding school is to educate the indigenous students in a way that leads them to a bright future while celebrating their culture and past.
“I speak three Indigenous languages, she told the outlet. “Going to a boarding school like this, I [learned] new Indigenous languages and cultures from different communities as well.”
Being away from her family is a struggle. Still, her family has supported Sasha and the other grandchildren in pursuing their dreams and becoming who they want to be, especially the aboriginal elder.
“[Gali’s] very strong in teaching his grandchildren to cling on to their values, to be able to balance Western culture and our culture,” Jane said. “They need to know who they are, where they come from.”
As a year 10 graduate, Sasha enjoys embracing both her culture and Western culture. Regarding her next steps, Sasha plans on attending Clontarf Aboriginal College for years 11 and 12. She also plans on working as a nurse for her community and Melbourne.
She also wants to inspire young girls and prove that they can pursue their dreams and goals and be happy!