Participants:
Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ001132A
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00:40 I'm standing on the western edge of the Gibson desert. It covers
00:44 an area of 15 million hectares or 150,000 sq./km. making it 00:51 the fifth-largest desert in Australia. It's a vast region of 00:56 undulating red sand plants, rocky ridges, dunes, scrubby 01:01 trees and desert grass. This harsh and inhospitable 01:06 environment provides the setting for deeply moving love story and 01:12 an Australian version of Romeo and Juliet. This is a story 01:16 about landscape and the people whose existence and identity is 01:21 the payment on their connection to their land, their country. 01:26 It's a story of a young couple who fall in love, but are 01:30 forbidden to marry by tribal law so against the wishes of their 01:35 elders they elope and run away into the deep desert almost 01:39 inaccessible of regions. After many years of living alone they 01:45 became possibly Australia's last desert nomads living the 01:50 traditional indigenous life style. In the 1970s they were 01:55 forced by severe drought to move into a town on the fringes of 01:59 the desert. They thought they were the last of their line of 02:04 desert nomads and that the time of their people caring for their 02:08 lands had come to an end. This is their story. The story of 02:14 Warri and Jetungca. Don't miss it because it carries an 02:19 important message for all of us today. 02:44 Wiluna is an old gold rush town in the northern region of west 02:48 Australia's golden outback with a real bush atmosphere. It's 02:53 located on the edge of the western desert at the gateway to 02:57 two iconic Australian journeys: The Canning Stock Route and the 03:02 Gunbarrel Highway. The town is located on the tribal lands 03:07 of the Madu people who have lived here in this desert region 03:11 for centuries. At its peak Wiluna was home to the biggest 03:17 gold mine in western Australia and had a population of about 03:21 10,000 people. Most of them were fortune seekers who came here 03:27 hoping to strike it rich in the gold mine. But today Wiluna is 03:34 primarily a Madu indigenous community. It has an active 03:38 administrative center and its young people are being trained 03:42 to be leaders and rangers to care for their land. Any history 03:47 Wiluna has two parallel streams. European history that started 03:53 with surveyor Lawrence Wells in 1892 and centered around cattle 03:58 and gold. And then indigenous history which is infinitely 04:03 longer and centered around the story of the Madu people and 04:08 their attachment to this land. To understand the Madu story 04:12 it's important to understand their relationship to the land. 04:19 When speaking English Aboriginal people often talk about the 04:24 landscape using the name country It's a name not a description. 04:29 an anthropologist described it this way: 05:15 The original inhabitants of this region were the Madu people. 05:19 These indigenous people have a very deep relationship with the 05:24 land. Every aspect of their lives is connected to it. They 05:29 have a spiritual, physical social and cultural connection 05:33 with the land and this vital connection is expressed in every 05:40 Aboriginal art form and ceremonial performance whether 05:43 it be dance, music or painting. 05:45 Kind of like to paint about my people and most of all about my 05:52 country. It's where we lived and where my people lived for 05:59 generations. Well this painting is about my grandfather. He 06:06 wanted to find the two old people. This is my grandfather 06:12 and this is the Canning Stock Route and these are the 06:19 water holes along the way and these two are, this is the old 06:30 lady, that's the old man. I just think that it's important 06:35 to know this stories about the 06:41 old people. People go out there now. It would be good to know 06:46 where those stock holes are to find water. So my painting tells 06:52 a very important story to my people. 06:59 This is the Wiluna Cemetery on the edge of the western 07:04 deserts. This is the land of the Madu people. Madu culture is one 07:10 the oldest in the world. For thousands of years three of 07:14 Australia's western deserts have come under the stewardship of 07:18 the Madu people. Their country includes part of the Great Sandy 07:24 Little Sandy and Gibson Deserts. And here on the edge of their 07:31 country are the graves of Warri and Jetungca. It is possible 07:36 that this couple were Australia's last true 07:39 desert nomads. 07:42 Long after the Madu people have gravitated to urban 07:45 settlements. This couple survived for decades living in 07:50 their country, their ancestral lands, their promised land 07:55 traveling between the water holes, hunting and gathering 07:58 wild fruits and bush taka. Warri and Jetungca met in the 08:04 1930s and fell in love but indigenous tribal law forbade 08:10 them to marry. However, their love was strong and their 08:13 commitment to each other unbreakable. They just had to be 08:19 together. So to avoid severe physical punishment or even 08:22 death the star-crossed lovers eloped and ran away together in 08:28 the middle of the night to live in exile in the desert lands of 08:34 another tribe. Nothing could keep them apart. They were 08:37 prepared to suffer isolation, banishment and the harshness of 08:42 the desert in order to stay together. Warri and Jetungca 08:47 remained in exile for a great many years. They had two sons, 08:52 but were not completely happy because they couldn't live in 08:56 country of their birth to hunt and gather food and participate 09:01 in social gatherings. Eventually their longing for their country 09:06 became too strong to bear, their sadness so profound that they 09:12 chose to return back across the barren plains and sand hills 09:16 until once more they stood in their own country. They were 09:21 back in their promised land. But they found that great changes 09:26 had happened during their absence. There had been an 09:29 exodus of people from the desert lands. Warri and Jetungca 09:34 returned to a land that was almost empty of people. They 09:39 weren't punished for their defiance of tribal marriage laws 09:43 because there were no council elders left to judge them. The 09:48 couple and their sons became just another family moving up 09:52 and down their country. They were home, but it wasn't the 09:56 home they left when they ran away. Now there was hardly 10:01 anyone around. In the years that followed their homecoming 10:05 Warri and Jetungca saw their remaining kinsfolk leave their 10:10 country they loved. And as their own children became adults 10:15 they also left to find wives and didn't return except for brief 10:21 visits. The time came when Warri and Jetungca were the only 10:26 human occupants of their country The only people living in a vast 10:31 expanse of the western Gibson desert. They were left to wander 10:37 as their ancestors had done for centuries, moving from one water 10:42 hole to another, hunting and gathering food, two people alone 10:48 in the desert. When the rains fall and the seasons are good 10:55 there's an abundance of water in the soaks and rock pools and 10:58 there were plenty of animals to hunt. Life is good in the desert 11:03 but back in 1977 it had been three years since there had been 11:10 any rain and the water holes were drying up. The animals were 11:15 dying and there was no food. The drought became more severe 11:19 and Warri and Jetungca's situation became desperate. 11:25 Despite Warri and Jetungca's early defiance the tribal elders 11:29 were constantly worried about how Warri and Jetungca were 11:33 surviving alone in the desert and decided to send out a search 11:37 party. The search for Warri and Jetungca began here where the 11:42 Canning Stock Route starts near Wiluna. The Canning Stock Route 11:47 is an 1850 km chain of wells that operated for a few short 11:51 decades in a moderately successful way for drovers to 11:57 drive cattle through the desert. It's the longest stock route in 12:01 the world. The line of wells crossed the ancestral lands 12:06 or countries of many desert people. It's the road that many 12:10 of Warri and Jetungca's tribe followed out of their desert 12:14 lives and into the fringes of urban life. A childhood friend 12:19 of Warri's and now a senior tribal elder set out with a 12:23 local doctor and others to search for the last of the 12:27 nomads. The elder's name was Mudjung. He desperately wanted 12:32 to find his old friends and rescue them from their desperate 12:36 situation. 12:37 My uncle was one of the senior and more respected elders at the 12:42 time throughout the western and central desert. The families and 12:47 (Clinton Farmer) people knew he was a wise man and he knew the 12:53 desert so well that he knew exactly where to go even though 12:57 there was no tracks to lead him. He relied on the desert 13:03 knowledge that was passed on for generations and for the time 13:08 that our people used to survive this harsh country. 13:12 They searched the barren desert for days and covered hundreds of 13:18 kilometers in their search but found no sign of Warri and 13:22 Jetungca. They went from water hole to water hole hoping to 13:26 find some evidence of the desert nomads. But not a sign. 13:31 When they were about to reluctantly give up their search 13:35 Mudjung lit a grass fire to send up a smoke signal with a fierce 13:40 plume of smoke. And then they waited to see if there would be 13:44 an answer. Suddenly Mudjung shouted and pointed excitedly 13:50 to the north and there it was. In the distance a faint wisp of 13:57 smoke spiraling into the blue sky. Someone was alive out there 14:03 Somebody had made the long journey to the last water hole. 14:08 Could it be Warri and Jetungca? Excitedly the team set off 14:14 behind Mudjung in the direction of the distant smoke. And near a 14:21 dried up clay pan Warri and Jetungca were found by their old 14:25 friend Mudjung. He had searched tirelessly with his knowledge of 14:29 the desert that no white man could ever possess and he found 14:33 them just in time. The frail old couple had no food and were 14:38 barely alive. Warri was debilitated with a leg injury 14:43 and was unable to hunt. Jetungca was the sole food 14:48 provider. Warri was kept alive only by the skill of the woman 14:53 that he had supposedly wrongfully taken as his wife 14:57 many years ago. Without Jetungca's devotion Warri would 15:02 have died long ago. He was utterly dependent on her for 15:07 survival. Mudjung asked whether they wanted to stay in the 15:11 desert or return with the rescue team. They said they would come. 15:15 They were weak and could no longer live alone in their 15:19 country without the help and support of young people. 15:23 Warri and Jetungca wanted to see their sons again, but they 15:29 wondered what kind of welcome they would get from those who 15:31 knew that they had broken tribal law. Mudjung assured them that 15:36 they had discussed the matter many times with the elders and 15:41 it had been agreed that no punishment would be given. The 15:48 old couple gathered together a few meager possessions, their 15:52 spears and spear thrower, the carrying dish and ax They walked 15:58 toward the vehicle without a backward glance. Then Warri 16:01 walked away a short distance to stand and gaze about having one 16:07 last look at the country, their country, then climbed onto the 16:12 back of the vehicle. Slowly the vehicle headed towards Wiluna. 16:18 The last of the nomads were leaving their desert lands. In 16:24 Wiluna Warri and Jetungca faced confusion in their new 16:27 surroundings sitting among their own people once more. They found 16:32 communication difficult. After 40 years all alone in the desert 16:36 they weren't used to long conversations or the hustle and 16:40 bustle of a busy town. They were already homesick for their 16:46 country, their desert lands. They longed for the freedom of 16:50 open spaces. They longed to feel the red sand under their feet 16:55 and to hear the howl of the dingo at night. They were 17:01 separated from their land and they were lost. In April 1979, 17:06 less than two years after leaving his ancestral lands, 17:10 Warri became ill and despite treatment died on the 28th of 17:16 April. Jetungca was shattered by her husband's death. She was 17:22 profoundly depressed, unable to accept the fact that the man 17:27 she'd eloped with, the man who had been by her side as her sole 17:31 companion in the desert 17:32 for over 40 years was gone. She lost all interest in life. She 17:38 refused to take food. She just couldn't live without Warri and 17:44 died less than a month later on the 23rd of May 1979. She was 17:51 buried here next to her beloved Warri. They couldn't be 17:55 separated in life and not even death could separate them. They 18:01 lie here beside each other in the local cemetery on the edge 18:06 of their country. When Warri and Jetungca, the last of the nomads 18:14 came into Wiluna from the desert their friend Mudjung, the Madu 18:19 tribal elder, despaired for his people and for his land. With 18:25 the last guardians of the land gone, who would clear the water 18:29 holes and burn the Spinifex grass to bring fresh regrowth. 18:35 Mudjung despaired. Would his people ever return to their 18:39 ancestral lands, their promised land. Well the drought was hard 18:44 and the Madu faced decades of social and political challenges. 18:49 But Mudjung' s dream is being fulfilled today. The Madu lands 18:57 are now part of the most intact arid ecosystem anywhere on 19:02 earth and are home to many of Australia's most threatened 19:06 species like the greater bilby, the black flanked rock wallaby 19:12 and the brush-tailed mulgara. Men's and women's Madu ranger 19:17 teams are restoring traditional burning practices, controlling 19:21 feral animals, rehabilitating water holes and working with 19:27 scientists to protect threatened species like bilbies and rock 19:31 wallabies and to fulfill Mudjung' s dream the association 19:36 also has a fantastic leadership program. 19:38 (Margaret Samson) Ranger program has taught me a lot and gave me 19:46 a lot of understanding of our country and how to connect with 19:50 country because the elders who's got stories to tell the younger 19:55 generation about what country is all about and with this job 20:01 I sort of came closer to being proud of my ancestors I guess 20:08 you know when you go country you feel that connection that you 20:11 have been there before because we connect with country as 20:16 Madu people. 20:18 The story of the Madu people is a story of contact, conflict, 20:24 exile and survival, of exodus and return. Above all, it's a 20:31 story of family, culture and country. Warri, Jetungca and 20:39 Mudjong believed they were seeing the end of their people's 20:41 cultural relationship with the land that was so precious to 20:44 them. But it wasn't the end. As new generations of Madu have 20:49 returned to their country, their promised land. Today we have 20:54 learned just a fraction of the long history of the Madu people 20:58 and how their identity is tied to the land. After many years 21:04 away on the fringes of their country the Madu have now 21:08 returned to actively caring for their traditional land and are 21:12 growing their young people as leaders. Mudjung, the Madu elder 21:16 with the dream of bringing his people back to their land, their 21:22 promised land and Warri and Jetungca, the last nomads, would 21:25 be pleased. There is a wonderful and appropriate 21:31 promise found in Genesis chapter 28 and verse 15. 21:33 Here's what it says: 21:50 It's a promise made to the patriarch Jacob and his 21:53 descendants but it also applies to each one of us as well. 21:58 And what about us? What is the source of our spiritual identity? 22:03 As you consider this question you can take comfort from the 22:08 words of the Bible: 22:16 You see, we too have a promised land. Yes God has a plan for 22:21 your life and he has a promised land in store for each of us and 22:26 he wants to see you enter your promised land. Your immediate 22:30 promised land could be the renewing of your marriage, the 22:35 salvation of your children, breaking some bad habit, being 22:40 set free from some addiction or just freedom from negative 22:45 thinking. Whatever it is, God will give you victory and he 22:50 will lead you to a better place, your promised land. But more 22:56 importantly there's an ultimate promised land that God is 23:00 preparing for us. Do you remember the wonderful promise 23:04 he made in John chapter 14 verses 1 to 3. 23:08 Here's what he said: 23:30 Yes, Jesus is preparing a place for you in that ultimate 23:36 promised land. All you've got to do is accept him and follow him, 23:41 and he'll lead you there. Why not decide right now that you 23:47 are going to possess your promised land. God is good. He will 23:52 lead you there. Why not ask him to do that right now as we pray. 23:59 Dear Heavenly Father, today we have learned a little of the 24:04 long history of the Madu people and how their identity is tied 24:10 to the land. We've also heard the moving love story of Warri 24:15 Jetungca and their passion for their land. Father our spiritual 24:23 identity is also tied to the land, the promised land, the 24:28 heavenly place that you are preparing for us and today we 24:32 want to accept and follow Jesus and have him lead us there. We 24:38 ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. 24:42 The story of Warri and Jetongca, their moving love story and 24:51 their survival in the outback has captured the interest of 24:55 people all over the world and it's so encouraging to find that 24:59 the Madu people have now returned to actively caring for 25:03 their traditional lands, their promised land but perhaps even 25:08 more importantly it's reassuring to know that we too have a 25:12 promise of land and that God has a plan for our lives here and 25:17 beyond. If you'd like to know more about God's plan for you 25:21 and our planet then I'd like to tell you about the free gift we 25:26 have for all our viewers today. It's an inspiring book called 25:32 Eternal Endings. This popular book shares the 25:35 secret of finding 25:36 true happiness in our lives. It shows us ways to deal with the 25:41 challenges we face in everyday life. This book is our gift to 25:46 to you and is absolutely free. There is no cost and no 25:51 obligation whatsoever. So please don't miss this wonderful 25:55 opportunity to receive this gift we have for you today. Here's 25:59 the information you need: Phone or text us at 0436333555 or 26:08 visit our website www.tij.tv to request today's free offer and 26:16 we'll send it to you totally free of charge and with no 26:19 obligation. So don't delay. Call or text 0436333555 Australia 26:27 or 0204222042 in New Zealand or visit our website www.tij.tv 26:38 to request today's offer. Write to us at: 27:01 Don't delay. Call or text us now If you've enjoyed today's 27:09 journey be sure to join us again next week when we will share 27:14 another of life's journey's together and experience another 27:17 new and thought provoking perspective on the peace, 27:22 insight, understanding and hope that only the Bible can give us. 27:25 The Incredible Journey truly is television that changes lives. 27:32 Until next week remember the ultimate destination of life's 27:36 journey. Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth. And God will 27:41 wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more 27:45 death nor sorrow nor crying. There shall be no more pain for 27:49 the former things have passed away. |
Revised 2020-10-08