the Elder celebrated life’s multi-dimensional nature, accessed spiritual levels and dimensions of time and space, and utilised the teachings of the world’s many faiths and cultures. To people who did not understand higher levels, and they were the majority, he was an ancient seer in a modern world. He knew things which they did not, so they called him wise and wanted to hear his wisdom. However, for now he was being guided by the Ancestors and the Universe to reintroduce Rob to country.
* * *
There was still much for the Elder to reveal so once again the two men left the dark, early morning streets of Alice Springs as resident pink and grey galahs woke each other with soft, muffled calls. They drove south for an hour and a half arriving at the wide and sandy Finke River (Lhere Pirnte) crossing as the sun began to rise. Rob slowed down and eased to the side of the road.
Ripples of cloud sat above the eastern horizon, highlighted by mauves and soft pinks as first sunlight soundlessly touched the landscape. The wide countryside was changing into day and the stillness of pre-dawn was disappearing.
After a few minutes of silent appreciation they calmly drove off, the Elder directing Rob to a dusty track beyond the bitumen. The 4WD rolled effortlessly over corrugations in the red dirt, a welcome consequence of Rob reducing air pressure in the tyres. They drove on until the Elder signalled to stop and Rob pulled off the track. Walking into the bush, their food and water bottles in small daypacks, they were well prepared to explore.
On this particular morning the men were heading towards a cave storehouse where tjurunga stones and boards had been kept for generations. Each traditional clan kept its sacred and secret objects in special places and severe punishment was inflicted if uninitiated clansmen went near them. Caves were often used because they afforded both security and dry shelter. They had gone about two kilometres when the Elder stopped and turned to Rob.
“No-one has walked here for decades, but the Ancestors are guiding me so we’ll reach the cave safely. You can’t go in because you’re not initiated into our Law. When we’re close I’ll show respect by announcing our approach and ask permission to go forward. I’ll speak in old Aranda.” Then he added with emphasis. “The old language was kept alive in initiation ceremonies and secret men’s business and came from the forefathers before the forefathers. A time before the Dreamtime, before the physical world we now walk and talk in.”
Rob inhaled suddenly, the Elder’s last two sentences figuratively grabbing him by the throat. What the Elder had expressed was incredible. It represented other times and dimensions of life unknown to science and history! But what was the full story? Would he hear more ‘other-worldly’ information?
The Elder asked Rob to wait as he walked forward, chanting in the old language and fulfilling his obligation, before moving out of sight. About twenty minutes later he returned, his body language passive, his face in pain.
“There’s nothing in the cave, all the tjurunga are gone...”
His voice faded as feelings of sadness and disappointment overtook him. Rob did not respond in words but communicated sincere support with his eyes when they met the Elder’s troubled stare.
“They probably went years ago, like all the others. This theft still hurts our culture deeply. But I think some of those tjurunga will return one day.”
The Elder’s remark was very surprising after finding the cave storehouse empty, but he placed his right hand over his heart.
“I’m confident that three tjurunga can be found. They belong to a Dreaming Track (Tywerrenge impatye) or Songline, but went missing decades ago! As a custodian it’s my job to find them. Once they’re back ‘home’ we’ll perform ceremonies on the Songline’s sacred sites. Dancing and chanting will energise people and country again.”
Rob could see in the Elder’s expressive eyes how much the return of the sacred objects meant to him.
“It’s so important isn’t it. Your connection to country’s so deep, and I understand why they have to be returned. People need to know you’re looking for them, so the word has to go out. What about a website, would that help? I’ll show you a few ideas when we get back to Alice.”
The Elder smiled gratefully as he barely took in what Rob said. His thoughts were taken up by the loss of so many sacred objects over the years and his fresh determination to bring three of them home.
* * *
They sat down on large, smooth rocks and opened their water bottles, as an image flashed into Rob’s mind, surprising him because it was sudden as well as strangely familiar. After a few moments he began to describe it out loud.
“Five Aboriginal men are walking, one behind the other, through identical country to this. They’re moving along at a good pace, it’s early morning and they look like men of importance. That’s it!” Rob exclaimed into the quietness. “I had the same vision on the plane flying out to Uluru, but what did I see? Was I one of the senior men walking towards the cave?”
The Elder heard every word, and apparently others between them. “That’s when you were here before. Your vision enabled you to re-enter the dimension of a previous life! That gift came back clearly and quickly in just a few days!”
What more could Rob say? He went quiet, but was agitated within, the sound of his breath almost audible over the slight breeze. He was processing this huge realisation mentally and emotionally, and was not ready to get up. With eyes closed and his mind replaying the vision, his breaths now balanced, he gently shook his head from side to side in awe. After a lengthy pause and another mouthful of water he was ready to keep going.
Rob was comfortable that the Elder always knew which way to go, but the peculiar thing was he definitely felt this walk was familiar. Did his feeling confirm he had walked here many years ago as a traditional man? The Elder said he had, and the indications were becoming stronger and stronger. For now he would allow his feelings and the Elder’s words to resonate within and keep walking the familiar track.
After half an hour they stopped for a drink, and Rob, who had internalised the incredible idea that he was a Western Aranda man in a previous life, had the urge to mention a favourite subject.
“I’ve collected a few legends about the Cosmos including one about Constellation Scorpius. It’s by Mountford and Roberts who introduced a lot of Aussies to Aboriginal legends. It’s fantastic how your culture tells stories about gigantic constellations. They’re vivid, spectacular journeys. Much more colourful than big bang theories about stars and planets. Here’s a taste,” Rob said, taking a folded piece of paper out of his shirt pocket.
The guilty boy initiate, his indiscreet lover and the elders who chased them into the sky, became stars in and near the Constellation. Hunting boomerangs thrown by angry elders formed part of its tail, and they’re still there in that starry scorpion rising above the eastern horizon on Winter nights.
“How’s that. What a fantastic way to bring the stars to life!”
“Yes, it’s beautiful. I know that story because it heralds the start of Winter. And it’s very entertaining, but the young law breakers had to be punished, so it’s a lesson for later generations,” the Elder added.
Rob looked into a brightening blue sky and marvelled at the setting moon, clearly defined just above distant purple hills. That night he expected to see the beauty of the Cosmos in all its splendour, lavishly decorated with precious gems.
The Elder caught Rob’s buoyant mood.
“Visitors come here and can’t believe how close the stars are. Imagine if they knew our stories, like you said earlier. The whole sky would come to life and they’d have a bigger idea of the Cosmos and the culture. They’d want to tell the world.”
Rob loved the Elder’s enthusiasm for his culture, and sensed his next words would relate to him.
“When the elder in Broome said to you... “that tree ... he’s my father” he spoke on many levels. He was song man and medicine man – high honours in traditional