Blood and Smoke

The aboriginal language interpreters started turning up today. This is the first time they have managed to get so many of them together in one place in order to conduct training. The goal is to help them learn the art of negotiating their work contracts and getting the word out in their communities that they are available to help if people get in trouble with the law, or need help explaining their medical problems to a doctor, or dealing with government agencies. There are still many communities in the Kimberley where English a second language or not spoken at all. There are two TAFE trainers who flew in from Adelaide to conduct the classes. It’s quite a social event (although these things tend to seem pretty low key). This group of 16 interpreters represent 32 of the languages spoken in the Kimberley.


The traditional smoking ceremony involves burning a special fragrant wood that is found in the Kimberley. It smells a lot like incense. Visitors need to be bathed in the smoke and given an official welcome. There is a traditional place near the springs where the tribes used to meet to socialize and trade. The smoking ceremony is usually conducted there.

I was cutting a box open yesterday to make a snake enclosure for a school project. We had already made a bunch of snakes out of paper plates. The scissors weren't working well, so I grabbed a knife out the kitchen draw. The damn handle disintegrated in my hand! It literally turned to dust! And the metal under the handle sliced my hand. It wasn't that bad, but it was bleeding and I didn't have anything at the school house to patch it up, so I told the kids to stay put, not get into any trouble while I went to find their Mum at the house to help me. The kids panicked, their Mum wasn't at the house, she was coming by in the car to pick them up for the smoking ceremony at the Springs. I hear them in the distance "Diana hurt her hand really bad. There's blood everywhere. We don't know if she's going to live." With that the Mum races over to check on me, realized it isn't that bad and heads off to the Springs. But the kids are busy telling all the interpreters that I'm on the brink of death and there is blood everywhere. When I got to the campfire last night, everyone (even people I didn't know) wanted to make sure my hand was okay. My clutzy reputation had preceded me. It was quite sweet.

I missed the Smoking Ceremoney because I had to patch up my hand, but I was smoked the first day I got here. So I’m okay.