When the World Was Soft: Yindjibarndi Creation Stories

(Paperback)

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Yindjibarndi believe all creation is written in our landscape and was sung long ago, filling our Ngurra (Country) with sacred meanings and deep religious significance. At the dawn of time, Ngurra Nyujunggamu, the world was soft as clay and the sky was very low. Our Creator, Minkala, sang the songs from which all life and Ngurra evolved. These are some of our stories.

Our grandmothers and grandfathers sing our songs and tell our stories every day, just like our old people long ago sang songs and told stories to their children.
And now we are sharing them with you.


Dynamically illustrated by Alex Mankiewicz with striking artwork by members of the Juluwarlu Art Group, When the World Was Soft is a powerful gift of culture for young and old.

Author Bio

Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal Corporation is based in Roebourne and Ngurrawaana Community, in WA's Pilbara region. Its purpose is to collect and promote knowledge of Yindjibarndi culture - our Ngurra, plants and animals; our language, genealogy, mythology, social history, and biography - to sustain our Yindjibarndi identity, giving self-esteem, respect, and other values we consider vital to our lives, our well-being, and our culture's future. We do this for our children and our future generations so that they too, are inspired to contribute to our Australian national community. Juluwarlu's cultural recording and archiving project was started by Lorraine Coppin in the Ngurrawaana Community on the Yindjibarndi tablelands in 1998 with Elder Woodley King and his grandson, Michael Woodley, and was incorporated in 2000.