Buru

Buru is Marrugeku’s work for children. Buru (dirt-land-earth; time-seasons-place) is a story sequence inspired by the six Yawuru seasons. They are Man-gala—wet season; Marrul—big tides/mangrove fruit; Wirralburu—wind change/salmon time; Barrgana—cold time/creek fish; Wirlburu—first hot wind blows; Laja—build up to wet, proper hot time, first thunder and lightning, animals come out again.

Buru has been specially devised in consultation with the Broome community and key story holders. Some of the retellings are traditional, some contemporary, drawn from the lives of young Broome people.

Buru tells traditional stories including Janyju—the Red Lizard story as told by Karajarri elder and Yawuru language specialist Doris Edgar and Walmanyjun—the Greedy Turtle story as told by Yawuru/Jabirr Jabirr elder Cissy Djiagween. Buru also acknowledges the two custodial Boss Lizard figures, as shared with Marrugeku by senior Yawuru law man Patrick Dodson.

These stories connect land, environment, story, culture and social life, letting the land and the weather speak, through the semi-traditional lives of young people in Broome, and giving urban Australia a window into a very different environment. The core concept for the project was to explore the experiences of the young people of Broome now. Drawing on the lived experience of the young participants, the project moves between contemporary dance and text-based scenes reflecting life for young people in Broome and through stilt dance, music and digital and real time storytelling we will juxtapose these with telling traditional stories of Yawuru seasons.

Buru returns to Marrugeku’s internationally acclaimed process of translating traditional stories into contemporary stilt dance (Mimi, Crying Baby) in a way that speaks to multiple audiences in the community.