A performance event like no other
Tickets Available Soon
Malkgulumbu, Beswick Falls, a hidden treasure on Jawoyn Land in the South Western corner of Arnhem Land. An ancient playground, this incredible site is open to the public for one weekend, just once a year, when the Wugularr (Beswick) Community invite you to share their songs, stories, dance and music.
About the Event – Saturday 28 July 2012
Presented by Djilpin Arts in partnership with the Australian Shakespeare Company, WALKING WITH SPIRITS is Beswick Community’s annual open cultural celebration. Held 20 kms from the Community at the spectacular wilderness location Malkgulumbu, WALKING WITH SPIRITS features traditional corroborree from several Arnhem Land languages together with songs and stories told in dance, music, puppetry, fire and film. Initiated by the community in 2002, WALKING WITH SPIRITS is held every year. Visitors are invited to camp for the weekend in this spectacular lakeside setting, open to the public only once a year.
Numbers are strictly limited and bookings are essential.
TICKETS
There are limited tickets available for this event and it does sell out, so pre-bookings are essential.
Full price $85
Concession $60
Children (5-15 yo) $35
TICKETS AVAILABLE SOON at the Australian Shakespeare Company or phone 1300 122 344.
GETTING THERE
Wugularr (Beswick) Community is located 107 kms South-East of Katherine. From Katherine drive South on the Stuart Highway for 51kms, then turn left into the Central Arnhem Road (Barunga, Beswick, Bulman, Nhulunbuy turnoff), drive for 56 kms into the community.
WHEN YOU ARRIVE
When you arrive into the community drive straight ahead about 500metres and turn right, go to Ghunmarn Culture Centre, the red two storey building. You MUST collect your entry pass here before going back to the turn-off.
The turn off to the Falls is signposted, the road is a bush track – 4WD highly recommended. The dirt road is about 20kms, and is prone to sand and bull dust bogs. While we make every effort to prepare the road, it gets very dusty under heavy traffic. We recommend you seal any cameras or other equipment in plastic to protect from dust damage.
ENTRY ONTO ABORIGINAL LAND
Malkgulumbu is on the Beswick Aboriginal Land Trust and its traditional owners are the Jawoyn people. Permits are normally required but are WAIVED FOR THIS EVENT ONLY. Access is from 9am Saturday 30th August to 9am Monday 1st August.
No alcohol is allowed into the community or event site. Please respect the wishes of the community and do not bring grog to Walking With Spirits. (The land area is under Federal jurisdiction and penalties may apply).
CAMPING
Your ticket allows you to camp at Malkgulumbu. Campers must be self sufficient, this is a wilderness location. Bush (pit) toilets are provided, campers must bring all camping equipment, food, water, mosquito repellent and sun protection. Evenings can be cold and windy.
First aid (St John’s Ambulance) will be on site. There is a health clinic in the Community. The nearest hospital is in Katherine.
You may swim in the bottom lake and creeks, fish and walk in the area. Please take your rubbish with you.
REFRESHMENTS
Hot food and cold drinks will be available between 2 and 8pm on Saturday only. Please bring all other food. Cash sales only.
ART
The full range can be browsed at Ghunmarn Culture Centre in the community, which will be open all weekend. The Blanasi Collection is also available for viewing in the Centre.
20 GREAT EVENTS TO GET YOU ON THE ROAD
WALKING WITH SPIRITS FESTIVAL
“We walk through the rustle of paperbarks and settle by campfires. With the moon rising over the sandstone ridge and shadows of the Aboriginal songmen and dancers flickering all around, we are on a journey older than any of us, one that began in the age of the ancestors. The Walking with Spirits festival is held each year at the end of July or early August at Malkgulumbu, a waterfall and sacred site on the land of the Jawoyn people, near the remote community of Wugularr, about 100 kilometres south of Katherine. On a night like this, camped with my family and our Aboriginal friends, is where I love to be. It is a place of unforgettable beauty and tranquility, with a deep sense of what is shared and how the land shapes us all. Djilpin Arts, the creative company led by Aboriginal musician and actor Tom E. Lewis, and supported by the Australian Shakespeare Company, blends music, dance, puppetry, animation, short films, and burning 3D images blazing against the night sky.
SPIRITUAL Take your family on a journey into the past in a sacred setting.”
- Jeff McMullen
Journalist, Filmaker and Author
The Sunday Age Explore
BEYOND THEATRE, A TRUE SENSE OF PLACE
There are old and wise voices, but along the way they will joined by the laughter of the young.
“We walk through the rustle of the paperbarks and settle by the campfires. With the moon rising over the sandstone ridge and shadows of the Aboriginal songmen and dancers flickering all around, we are on a journey older than any of us, one that began in the age of the ancestors. It is a place of unforgettable beauty and tranquility with a deep sense of what is shared and how the land shapes us all. Djilpin Arts, the creative company led by Tom E. Lewis, and supported by the Australian Shakespeare Company, blends music, dance, puppetry, animation, short films and burning 3D images blazing against the night sky. In all my world of wandering, on a night like this, this is where I want to be.”
- Jeff McMullen, Patron
“The land is our church and everything in it is one, the dancers not only represent, but enter into the spirits of the animals, plants and seasons. The corroborree ground is a theatre, with the fireplace as its centre. We warm our spirits at the fireplace and around it, and we pass on the stories and sing the songs and thus keep our history and our culture going. Therefore the listening ear and the watchful eye of you in the audience are as important as the people singing and dancing.
- Tom E. Lewis, Artistic Director
