More Ngamakoon

Steve gladly drove me up to Ngamakoon at Trevor's suggestion. Steve seemed nearly as excited as I did about the invitation. He obviously had great respect for Uncle Paul Sampi. Uncle Paul (or Ngama Paul, as he's called by unrelated people within the community) is about 76 years old and one of the most powerful people around. He is truly a repository of history and culture. Much like his son Trevor, Uncle Paul harbors not a trace of distrust or malice for outsiders. Also like his son, Paul Sampi is warm, friendly, and an expert at putting new acquiantances at ease. Unlike Trevor, Paul enjoys talking.

Within a few minutes of my arrival, Uncle Paul had me convinced that we were great friends. He told me how much he loves visiting America - especially San Francisco. He spoke tenderly of past researchers who'd worked in the community and expressed his delight at my interest in doing research among the Bardi. He asked about my specific research interests and my motivation. He suggested possible collaborators and asked if I had any questions he could answer personally. I immediately blurted out how curious I was about the process of making a boomerang. While I worried about secret-sacred knowledge and how reckless I'd been by shouting out a query without considering how sensitive the topic might be, Uncle Paul's face lit up. He whispered something to Trevor, who walked back to a shed and came back with a couple boomerangs. Uncle Paul held one up and said, "you mean these?"

From Oz Fieldtrip 2008

He then proceed to tell me all about not only the process of making boomerangs, but how one fights with them. "You need good vision to fight with boomerangs," he said before launching into stories of taking on 6 opponents single-handedly. Once again, I was shocked by how open and generous Bardi men were. He then proceeded to retrieve a number of incredible tools.

Stone axes:

From Oz Fieldtrip 2008

Kimberley points:

From Oz Fieldtrip 2008

He also asked Trevor to haul out one of his paintings. Trevor's a really good, completely untrained artist.

From Oz Fieldtrip 2008

I was in taken aback by how unguarded these men were. Reading and hearing about other anthropologists' misadventures among indigenous peoples, I had expected a cold reception full of pointed questions and sideways glances. I consistently received the opposite. I really and truly did not want to leave when Steve intimated that we should say goodbye and get back to the block. I'd be back soon, however...