There was a meeting of many cultures as Kogarah Store held its NAIDOC Week celebration today.
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Murawarri man Bruce Shillingsworth travelled from Bourke with his son, Bruce Junior to explain the significance of NAIDOC to a diverse group of Kogarah locals including members of the local Nepalese, Chinese, Indian, Malaysian, Fijian and Ukrainian communities.
"Yama," Bruce said, which means welcome in the language of the Budjiti nation.
"I see there's a lot of diverse people all over the world here," he said. "It's an honour and privilege to welcome you to our First Nations Land."
He acknowledged the Bidjigal people of the Eora Nation, who are the Traditional Custodians of all lands, waters and sky in the Georges River area.
Bruce explained the meaning of the traditional smoking ceremony.
"Smoking is a cleansing. We like it because it gets rid of bad spirits and keeps the good spirits. When the smoke comes around make sure you get it over your head because in our head is where the bad spirits dwell."
Bruce and his son performed a number of traditional dances including the Law Dance.
"This is done to remind us to respect the land. We have got to respect the river, trees and earth. We can't mess with the ecosystem. If we cut down the trees we would have nothing to eat," he said.
Bruce explained that the Murawarri people of the Budjiti nation take as their totem the paddy mellon or Baanba.
It is their job to look after the paddy mellow which plays a vital role in spreading tree seeds across the land and bringing new growth,
This was followed by the Nulliwa dance or Talking to the Land.
"We have lived on this land for so long because we have looked after it," Bruce said.
Following the performances, the audience was able to participate in the preparation of traditional First Nations bread or Widja.
This was followed by First Nations painting.
Kogarah Storehouse general manager Lala Noronha said the main aim of the day was to let the many diverse migrant communities of the St George region learn about the significance of NAIDOC Week.
"New migrants coming to this country and who decide to stay want to learn about the First Nations history and culture," Lala said.
"Mostly the people who come here now and call Australia home want to know about the significance of NAIDOC Week. We have people here from Bangladesh, India, China, Malaysia, Fiji and the Ukraine. It is a meeting of many cultures."
The NAIDOC Week celebration at Kogarah Storehouse was made possible under the Georges River Council community grants program.
The grant was specifically for introducing First Nations history and culture to the local culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) community.
