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For the women who make up the Tiwi Strong Women’s Choir, music is a part of their everyday lives. It’s how the islanders tell traditional stories about their land, heritage and community and how they pass on their history to future generations.
“Singing makes me feel good and proud. I feel happy singing with them. I feel alive and happy inside,” says group member Gemma Munkara of being part of the choir that has members ranging in age from their 50s to 80s. “We’ve got to keep on singing. It is in us, and we have to spread it to the young ones.”
Another choir member, Marie-Carmel Kantilla, tells Woman’s Day how the group works to support the rest of the community, young and old. “It’s a part of our life, making people aware of our culture, helping each other with problems. We are caring for them, all the ladies. When the young ones come to us for support, we make them feel that they’re loved.”
When musician Genevieve Campbell first heard the women singing in 2006, she was immediately entranced.
The Strong Women.
L-R: Gemma, Regina, Nina, Marie-Carmel
(Image: Genevieve Campbell)SHARING KNOWLEDGE
“I was struck by how strong each individual voice was, while also being so beautifully combined as they sang together,” she explains. “As a musician I was fascinated by the way they followed each other, with no obvious ‘leader’ or conductor and how they changed their songs a little each time they sang.”
She travelled to the islands, which span an area of 8320km north of Darwin, to meet them and begin a collaboration that’s lasted for 20 years.
“They told me about their songs and how they held all of the important history and knowledge and language,” says Genevieve. “It is very moving hearing Elders retell, or more often they’ll sing, the ancient stories.”
The Strong Women have always sung for local events, special occasions and ceremonies and are mentors, healers and cultural Custodians in the community. Choir member Anthea Kerinaiua hopes to ensure the songs will always be sung and remembered.
“We want the stories to carry on for the future, it’s so important for the next generation, to know the songs in our language. We share our knowledge together with them,” she explains.
Jacinta Tipungwuti agrees. “It’s good to keep it going, to bring the young people in. We feel good, we share stories, bringing that song from our country, bringing us together and remembering where we came from.”
Genevieve partnered with The Strong Women on their new book.
(Image: Tiffany Parker)LESSONS FOR LIFE
To help with this, the Strong Women and Genevieve have collaborated on a book, Muri la: Songs And Stories Of The Tiwi Islands.
“The women want their community to use this book as a resource for the words, especially in the old songs that are in danger of being forgotten,” she says. “I hope it will also put their story out there into the broader community so that as Australians we can be proud of the rich cultures that make up this country.”
Many of the women have known each other all their lives and spend their days in each other’s company.
“The ladies are special to me because they’re my family – they are all daughters, aunties, sisters, nieces,” says Gemma. “They give me strength, we all look after each other and keep each other strong.”
They also help each other when they sing. “Sometimes when we are trying out a new song, we correct each other when we make mistakes with the words and we laugh about it and we all have fun,” says Anthea Kerinaiua. “We help each other out.”
Murli la: Songs And Stories Of The Tiwi Islands by the Ngarukuruwala Women’s Group with Genevieve Campbell is a collaboration between Hardie Grant and the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.
To purchase your copy of the book, click here.
Regina is raising her granddaughter to be the next generation of Strong Women.
(Image: Bruce Cartwright)
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