September. October 111visits and performs with the students. They’re booked
out 12 months in advance. “It’s all songs and games and
culture and instruments from the Torres Strait,” Hans
says. “When we come into the school and do the per-
for m a nce, they do it w ith us. W hen they si ng i n la ng uage
we get teary, it’s so emotional for us. They’re not [TI]
kids, they’re all these mixed-race [children] learning our
songs and dance.”
A recent highlight was performing at Sydney’s Loreto
Kirribilli School. “One of the richest schools in the
country,” Hans says. “All the girls were in costume and
singing in language. We all got goosebumps.”8QEURNHQERQGV
For Gabriel Bani, culture is about connectivity: “We
connect everyone: it’s about belonging in this world, to
belong somewhere,” he says, explaining that culture
isn’t just dancing and singing, but what’s underneath.
“[It’s] to do with our totemic relationship, our land, therelationship with the constellations, the genealogies, the
seasons,” he says. “So it’s a deep culture but people only
see what’s on top.”
Songs and dances are important, Gabriel says. “They
connect you all the way through ancient history and
contemporary history, and that’s always been a constant
thing,” he explains. “But the core of our culture is our
family kinship structure, and there was a breakdown
within those structures, so that’s where the real work is
now. When you talk about families and kinship struc-
tures, then you talk about land: these are the cornerstones
of culture – family, land and language.”
But, Gabriel adds, values have changed over the years.
“Now it’s a l l to do w ith econom ic g row th a nd the ind i-
vidual – that’s conf licting with traditional practice,” he
says. “The biggest struggle is to get back to those orig-
inal core values. But the wheels are turning, and they
have been turning for some time, and they are getting
movement now; the fire is burning stronger.
“Now at h ig h school g raduat ions, ever y st udent says,
‘My name is... My totem is... My wind is...’ I didn’t
do that at school. People are now connected to their
totemic relationships and people are starting to speak
language now. We were never allowed to do that before- imagine the changes 20 years from now. It’s like Dad
said, life without culture is life without life. Too good.” AG
“The festival ensures our culture not
only survives but continues to be handed
down from one generation to another.”
The Saam Karem Era Kodo Mer
Dance team, from Murray Island,
performs the rarely seen sacred fire
dance at the Winds of Zenadth.Winds of Zenadth
Frequency: biennial Next held: 2020
tropicalnorthqueensland.org.au/where-to-go/torres-strait/