Umenda - Pitantjara

Happy Weekend!

Pitantjara (Pit) is the first language of ‘the Docker mob’ as they call themselves. There are two people who know how to write in Pit, two elders who currently live in the community. Sadly, there doesn’t seen to be an urgency to pass this knowledge on. Students are taught in their second language, English, (spoken to them only by white fellas) and noone in this community can write in English. Much like me trying to learn in German, Haagen Dazs, now THAT I understand, but that’s about where it would end. As a result, when it comes to school the students are disengaged and disinterested.

Everyone here calls me Umenda, it’s my Pit name, the kids were chuffed to tell me and to call me by a name they had given me, they were chanting it and laughing at me, when I asked them what they were laughing and saying they said ‘You…Umenda, Umenda, Umenda’, lets hope it secretly doesn’t mean white woman who doesn’t know we can see her knickers through her dress.

It’s Saturday night as I write. My weekends here have been filled with pottery, knitting, painting and locating planets and constellations in the night sky. The pottery shed gets my company regularly, I spend a part of most days mixing paints and making tea for the ladies, mainly so that I can be in their company and listen to them singing, I have no idea what they are singing about but it sounds pretty amazing, one will start and before I know it everyone is chanting.

Spending time with Alison and learning pottery has been a wonderful experience, I am a long way from becoming friends with the pottery wheel but enjoying it very much and hoping that someone invents a collapsible wheel that 'folds down and slots under my bed with ease', my money is on Danoz Direct.

Hope everyone has had a great weekend!

Love Umenda xxxx