Balangarra rangers and students bring dreamtime stories to stage with help from Big Country Puppets program

The origin story of the Balangarra people is set to come to life with some help from life size puppets that are sure to delight children and their families alike at St Joseph’ Primary School, Wyndham. Supported by the Big Country Puppets team, the Balangarri Rangers have spent the past month constructing an enormous rainbow serpent, brolga, jabiru and a bush turkey to tell a dreamtime story of how water came to the East Kimberley. It is the first time the program, run through Theatre Kimberley has come to the East Kimberley and the Balangarri Rangers, along with students from Wyndham District High School and St Joseph’s primary school have been keen to take part in the free community performance. Balangarri Ranger Anthony Johnson explained how elders, community members and his colleagues collaborated to reimagine their dreamtime story with the puppet show called, A River is Born. “The story is about the rainbow serpent asleep at his home then the old people see the snake wake up,” he said. The snake journeys through the land bringing the rain and making the waterways. “That’s how the snake created the waterholes, the rivers, then he left lots of fish. He gave the people food which is the fish and then he went back to his home of Umbulgarri,” he said. Mr Johnson said the story would also explain how the Balangarri people got their name when the rainbow serpent wrapped itself around the jabiru, brolga, bush turkey and the people to protect them from bad spirits. Along with the retelling of the rainbow serpent’s journey, a new story will also be performed showcasing the Balangarra Rangers work on country. Students form the Wyndham District High school and St Josephs Primary School have roles both off and on-stage helping the rangers create the puppets, costumes and props for the performance. Also on the night students will perform a rap song they have co-written with Aboriginal hip Hop artist from Broome, Lyrical Instinct (Jacob Gregory). The Big Country Puppets program has been running since 2016 and is mostly funded through the Indigenous Language and Arts Fund. The project aims to combine art, performance, music, rangers’ scientific knowledge, Aboriginal cultural stories and endangered Aboriginal languages. The free performance is on Thursday at 6pm at St Joseph’s Primary School. Food will be available from 5.30pm courtesy of the EON Foundation. People are advised to bring a chair.