Tjitjiku Inma

Of the 145 Indigenous languages still spoken in Australia, 110 are critically endangered. The National Indigenous Language Survey Report, 2005.

Tjitjiku Inma, a significant Carclew project to assist conservation of the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara languages and community stories, was delivered in outback South Australia.

In the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands and the Maralinga Tjarutja Lands, Carclew played a leading role in an inclusive effort to teach and record Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara ‘inma’ – traditional ceremonies told through community stories and dances.

Carclew has worked closely with Pitjantjatjara communities to create learning resources comprising of key inma. These tools (a book, DVD and CD) can be used by teachers, families and community leaders to assist in the learning process around these crucial cultural assets.

The project Tjitjiku (/chi-chi-ku/) Inma (loosely translated as ‘Children’s Ceremony’), was developed 7 years ago by Pitjantjatjara elders who were concerned that their stories were in jeopardy. Faced with modern cultural pressures, fewer Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara children were learning the Anangu language and without this language the inma was also being compromised.

Carclew has worked with Pitjantjatjara communities to reverse the decline, to help retain the traditional languages and inma within Indigenous communities and at the same time provide skills training for young Indigenous participants.

Tjitjiku Inma has involved 11 Pitjantjatjara communities and in excess of 500 Indigenous school students.

Importantly, this teaching effort is being supported by the state government education system, at schools in the communities and in metropolitan Adelaide. The children are also being encouraged to talk to their family members about the stories, so the whole community becomes involved.

As part of the project young people aged between 16 and 25 were employed to assist in the delivery of the project and provide translations for the DVD and book. A further 30 students from across the 11 participating communities participated in the recording and reporting of the project, acting as on-site translators and interacting with the elders.

This project is funded through Federal Government Closing the Gap, Remote Service Delivery and Indigenous Language Support programs.