Songspirals: Sharing women’s wisdom of Country through Songlines
Our latest book Songspirals: sharing women’s wisdom of Country through Songlines was launched on the 2nd of August 2019 at Garma Festival in north-east Arnhem Land. To see us yarning up Songspirals at Garma, click here for the book launch and here for a segment from NITV.
Songspirals is the joint winner of the 2020 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, non-fiction category. The judges praised Songspirals as marking “a major contribution to our understanding of contemporary Indigenous culture” which “will surely serve as a model for future [collaborative] projects” between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
Songspirals has been featured on Common Ground, an online Aboriginal-led education platform, promoting the value of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and knowledges.
In 2020, Songspirals has been shortlisted for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards and the Chief Minister’s NT Book Award. Songspirals has also been longlisted for the prestegious Stella Prize and the Australian Book Design Award.
To purchase a copy of the book within Australia click here. For International orders, please follow this link.
About the book
Songspirals are sung by Aboriginal people to awaken Country, to make and remake the life-giving connections between people and place. In this book, we invite the reader to learn more about songspirals, sometimes known as songlines or songcycles, and especially about women’s place in them.
For Yolŋu people from North East Arnhem Land, women and men play different roles in bringing songlines to life, yet the vast majority of what has been published is about men’s aspects of songlines. Songspirals is a rare opportunity for outsiders to gain an intimate and generous insight into Aboriginal women’s role in crying the songlines.
Songspirals are ancient songs, poems, ceremonies and maps that allow Aboriginal people to navigate vast distances, but they are much, much more. Songspirals are radically different ways of understanding humans and their place within the environment. This book invites the reader on a journey of songspirals, of tears, understanding, surprises and wisdom.
‘Songspirals are Life. These are cultural words from wise women. As an Aboriginal woman this is profound to learn. As a human being Songspirals is an absolute privilege to read.’ ALI COBBY ECKERMANN, Yankunytatjara poet.
‘To read Songspirals is to change the way you see, think and feel this country.’ CLARE WRIGHT, Award-winning historian and author.
‘A rare and intimate window into traditional women’s cultural life and their visceral connection to Country. A generous invitation for the rest of us.’ KERRY O’BRIEN, Walkley Award-winning journalist.
Above: author copies of the book arrive in Yirrkala, NT.