During Sydney Festival, I enrolled myself in Aboriginal language classes, called Bayala. In six hours of classes over three days, we were introduced to the Sydney Aboriginal language of Dharug. We were privileged to be taught by Aunty Jacinta Tobin and Joel Davison; Aunty Jacinta shared a lot of insights about the language as used in community, and taught us language through song, including several beautiful tunes she wrote herself. Aside from being a very effective way of learning vocab, it was a very soulful, fun engagement with the language. Joel shared his expert horticultural knowledge when teaching us about language associated with the environment and the seasons. While there is currently nowhere for people to learn Dharug throughout the year, though there are hopes that this may change in the near future. A huge shout-out to Sydney Festival #SYDFEST and Aunty Jacinta and Joel Davison, for a fascinating and moving learning experience.
