Why Warriors Lie Down and Die
Surviving White Australia
by Melanie Pitcher, Alive Magazine
March 2001
A mother from East Arnhem Land had just lost her five-year old to pneumonia. Although the doctor had given her Panadol and Amoxil to treat her son's illness, she had only administered the Panadol to him.
She didn't know if the Amoxil would make him worse or not, so she didn't give it to him. The woman knew what pneumonia was and that coughing and phlegm caused weakness in the body. She also knew that Amoxil was considered an antibiotic, but she didn't understand what the word antibiotics meant and that it was crucial for breaking down the phlegm and stop the coughing which weakened and eventually took her son's life.
This is typical of what's occurring in many Indigenous communities around Australia. For all our technological advancements, high-standard living conditions and access to health and education services, many Indigenous people are suffering from basic health conditions such as renal failure, measles and pneumonia.
According to Richard Trudgen, a community worker for Aboriginal Resource and Development Services Inc (ARDS), the ongoing poor level of health and education in Indigenous Communities stems from a combination of poor communication, a lack of respect by white Australians for Indigenous ways, and the rapid rate of change in society which leaves many Aborigines confused about how to live their lives.
Trudgen has recently written a book on the subject of health and education, drawing upon the life of the Yolngu people, who make up approximately 40 to 50 different Indigenous clan groups in North-East Arnhem Land, Northern Territory. Entitled Why Warriors Lie Down and Die, Trudgen shares stories from the Yolngu community that expresses their perspectives on various issues.
Having lived in the different parts of the region for over 10 years, Trudgen has had the privilege of sitting with the Yolngu and learning about their customs. During his time with the Yolngu, Trudgen witnessed an alarming decline in their health, economic situation and psychological well-being.
Launched first in Darwin and Nhulunbuy, and then in Sydney in October last year by Chairpersons of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, Dr Evelyn Scott, and Council member Ray Martin, Why Warriors Lie Down and Die is set to become a benchmark for future dealings with this important Indigenous group.
LAW OF THEIR LAND
Trudgen's book gives a thorough framework for understanding some of the key communication issues facing Yolngu, who speak numerous dialects of which English is often their fifth most familiar. One issue is the gap between knowledge and language.
The Indigenous culture traditionally learn information orally and by repetition. But this doesn't guarantee they understand what they are learning. When faced with health and education situations, this can be life threatening. Add to this the lack of appropriate training for health and education workers about the communication struggles of the Indigenous community and you have a recipe for disastrous health outcomes.
But it's not as simple as teaching Indigenous communities like the Yolngu basic English and grammar skills and then expecting them to understand Western thought, culture and lifestyle. Trudgen explains in his book that the real answer to the health and education crisis facing the Yolngu is in taking the time to understand and respect their culture and working with them to help them understand the world today and their role in it.
The Western system of education is, in many ways, not appropriate to the development of the Yolngu, as it does not refect their culture. With western influence on Yolngu culture there has been a devaluing of old ways, and many traditional healing practices have been abandoned in favour of what has been perceived to be superior 'white' medicine. Sadly, this belief has not been conducive to strengthening of communities.
It's important for the Yolngu to have a sense of ownership and autonomy over the decisions they make about their lifestyle and the freedom to make decisions that will prosper their community life. With the rapid rate of change in society as a result of the invasion of Western thought, many Yolngu are simply not able to cope with the pressure of living in a foreign world. They feel a sense of helplessness and dependence on welfare, which they find demoralising.
With all of the issues facing the Yolngu, Trudgen would like to see more people involved with the Indigenous community prepared to learn their customs and laws. "The communities are calling out for people, especially Christians, to come and work with them in basic trades such as accounting, carpentry, mechanics and book keeping," he told ALIVE.
"The Yolngu people recognise that Christians are usually people who have a high degree of commitment. They're the ones in the past who stopped a lot of the massacres. They work with people in a different way, especially in our area in Arnhem land where missionaries taught people language."
Trudgen emphasises that it's important for Christians to understand that many Yolngu are in fact already Christians and do not need simple converting from 'pagan practices'. "I'd say up to 75% are Christians," he says. "There would rarely be a traditional person who doesn't believe in God the creator, and many of them would believe in Christ, (although) they may not all have had a full experience of being saved."
Trudgen firmly believes that if Christians are interested in working with Indigenous groups like the Yolngu, they need to see that evangelism goes hand-in-hand with practical assistance. "When Western evangelists come and say, ' All Aboriginal people need to be saved,' then I would say that they've got it wrong. Every person in Arnhem Land has been saved 40 times."
"Every evangelist wants to come and put notches on his guns and say he went to Arnhem land and saved 400 people. He doesn't know that those 400 people have already been Baptists and have said the prayer of salvation - probably 30 or 40 times in their life! But at the same time, their family is dying around them from chronic illness. It just doesn't add up."
Why Warriors Lie Down and Die
Employed by ARDS since 1991, Richard Trudgen works under the direction of the Rev. Djiniyini Gondarra, the CEO of ARDS and a member of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. Gondarra asked Trudgen to write about his experiences so the Australian community would have a chance to understand the complex issues facing the Yolngu and affecting their health and education prospects.
"It's a very different book from others that have been written from the anthropological perspective," says Gondarra. "Other people have written about Aboriginal spirituality, just focusing on ceremony, but not really recognising that Aboriginal people were the first people of this land, they do have a system of law and government and they are not only seen as hunter and gatherer."
It's a book that will sometimes make people angry and sometimes make people say, 'I should've know this. Why wasn't I told this before? Why wasn't this book written 50 years ago?'
"The Northern Territory Government has really recommended it, and I believe the book is a powerful weapon to fight against the apparitions and mystifications about us."
