Mangal Bungal: Clever Hands
Queensland Museum is marking NAIDOC Week with three days of cultural events led by the Dingaal community.
Overview
NAIDOC Week festivities at Queensland Museum are a two-for-one affair in 2023. Not only is the South Bank venue marking the occasion, and embracing this year's theme 'for our elders' — it's also farewelling its Connections Across the Coral Sea: A Story of Movement exhibition. How? QM is ticking both boxes with three-day celebration Mangal Bungal: Clever Hands.
From Friday, July 7–Sunday, July 9, the museum's cultural events will be by the Dingaal community, which sits at the heart of Connections Across the Coral Sea. The exhibition, which wraps up on Sunday, displays archaeological findings about Papua New Guinea, Torres Strait and the northeast coast of Queensland's seafaring cultures. Here, diving into how people moved across the titular waterway — and how trade occurred — is on the agenda. Attendees can plunge into both scientific evidence and the Dingaal clan's traditional knowledge.
Free to attend — although some events do require bookings — the Mangal Bungal: Clever Hands lineup starts with a Welcome to Country on the Friday, complete with traditional dance and didgeridoo performances. Storytelling by elders, including hearing Dreamtime tales firsthand, is on offer on both Friday and Saturday.
The On Country planetarium experience over the entire three days will see you surrounded by Dingaal Country's sights and sounds, with the dome-style setup taking participants to Jiigurru (Lizard Island).
Also on offer: a drop-in zone dedicated to Dingaal totems, stories and artworks; ceremonial jewellery making with Dingaal women; and a closing ceremony headlined by Dingaal men doing traditional dances.
Images: Queensland Museum.
