Dreamtime Stories
Sogni Australiani
66 page full colour book, lovingly illustrated by local indigenous children from Far North Queensland.
This book features three stories from the Djabugay people’s Dreaming, told in three different languages.
In each child the future of the world is contained.
This child will be the custodian of the traditions of his people and bit by bit as he becomes an adult he will have the obligation to hand down this memory to the young, so that they may preserve it, intact for the future generations. The traditions that are handed down through writings, paintings, words or simple gestures are the most important legacies that each one of us may receive from the elders, an enormous wealth in which the history of all is contained including ours. Luca Faccenda
From time immemorial the Djabugay people lived in the rainforests behind Cairns in Tropical Far North Queensland, Australia. The Djabugay is one of the 18 Australian Indigenous cultures which can be described as a true rainforest culture.
Of the original 250 distinct Aboriginal languages spoken before European colonisation, only one third survive and many are facing extinction.
Since 1987, steps have been taken to help preserve the Djabugay language so the Djabugay descendants have access to that language now and in the future. The storylore of the Djabugay recall events that happened many thousands of years ago. These stories have been passed on from generation to generation, an oral tradition that is probably one of the world’s oldest. The children of the Djabugay people retell three of these stories in this book. The children are students at Kuranda District State College where they enjoy studying the Italian language and culture.
This book is being printed in Djabugay, English and Italian languages to help preserve the Djabugay language and to share the Dreamtime stories with other cultures. Part of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be used to assist Djabugay students with their further education expenses.
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