A song of the Torres Strait by Dulcie Loban

A song of the Torres Strait

by Dulcie Loban, Year 8

Back home on Badu Island, all the little kids learn a song and accompanying dance when they are in Kindy. They perform it as part of the school’s cultural celebrations every year. The dance is performed sitting down and uses hand gestures. The song, Argun Bay, is sung in Kala Lagaw Ya, a traditional Torres Strait Islander language. The song describes how the weather is calm and still. The little islands at the back of Badu near the beaches of Gaubuth, Dhamanab and Argun look beautiful. They are searching for wind; the wind out on the ocean; they long for the kuki winds (North-West winds) to come. I am part of the Argun tribe and we often go to Argun Beach on weekends for fishing, hunting and relaxation and to connect with our land.

ARGUN BAY Laga ina laga kala idipudhema, Gaubuthuya, Dhamanabya, Argun Bay Meogi lagal a kapu ngadhasinu Guban tira, tira matha lumayk Gub sipa, gabyudema Kaypaypa dhadha malu Yagar gub kuki