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Meeting Places

By Josie Cavanagh

Meeting places are very important in Aboriginal culture.  Elders and others meet together to discuss the well-being of the community.  All these gatherings address one things which might affect the traditional skills, ancient stories and day to day life of the Aboriginal people.  The heads of one or several communities will add their cultural experiences to the meeting by sharing their mesmerizing stories of ancient ancestors which are represented in their drawings.  These gatherings provide an opportunity to come together to celebrate and consolidate their traditional cultural practices and identity.

Josie Cavanagh is an experienced aboriginal artist.  She has depicted the meeting colorfully, and we have this fabric in 3 colorways (with Ecru--pictured-- being our most popular).  Various circles in the artwork represent the waterholes and the people sitting around the circle to discuss community matters.

Here’s some information on a specific “meeting place” site from the website www.theculturetrip.com

Wilpena Pound

Called ‘meeting place’ in the regional Adnyamathanha language, Yura Muda folklore believes that Wilpena Pound was created by two Dreaming serpents who ate so many people during a celebration that they became unable to move, their stricken bodies forming this vast mountain range. This natural amphitheatre is the highlight of South Australia’s Flinders Ranges, about five hours’ drive north of Adelaide.

Photo:  Wilpena Pound © Faj2323 / Wikimedia Commons

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