Understorey: Koort, Moort, Boodja & Koorlangka
Gina Williams and Guy Ghouse are Western Australian stars who spread the knowledge and understanding of Noongar language and culture far and wide, adapting the four principles shared by Gina Williams’ Ballardong Elder, Uncle Tom Hayden, namely: Koort (heart), Moort (Family/community), Boodja (land) and Koorlangka (children/legacy). At the 2018 National Folk Festival the Understorey team spoke with Gina about her start and inspiration for singing and teaching Noongar songs. Gina invites everyone on Noongar Land to participate in the lasting, living language, of which very few people now hold full knowledge, but which may yet come to be valued as a way of connecting with the land. We also recall local author Thomas M Wilson’s ancestor arriving by ship in 1830 and connecting with Noongar culture, including Noongar language. Now might be time for all of us to embrace the mother tongue of our local environment!
(Song excerpt: Gina Williams and Guy Ghouse “Nyittiny Boodja” from their album “Koorlangka” supplied by the National Folk Festival. Image: Gina Williams interviewed by E PO’, by A Glamorgan)
