Yesterday, The Prince of Wales spent time in the Northern Territory of Australia, in Gove and Darwin. He was treated to some didgeridoo healing and donned some rather fancy traditional wear on the penultimate day of his Australian visit.
Prince Charles landed at Gove airport and was offered a Woomera (a traditional spear thrower) by Dr Galarrwuy Yunupingu, a well-known aboriginal leader, Gumatj Clan Leader and Chairman of Gumatj Corporation Ltd.
prince charles wears traditional aboriginal wear (clarence house)
After the brief welcome, he then moved on to Mount Nhulun for a ceremonial welcome from leaders of the Dhimurru and Rirratjingu Aboriginal Corporations. Prince Charles was presented with a Mulka String (feather stringed headband) and a Bathi or Dilly Bag (string basket) before the colourful traditional ceremony began.
The ceremony told the story of Mount Nhulun, and featured singing and dancing around a sand sculpture, and the Prince commented that this was the furthest north he had been in Australia.
As part of the welcome “Rirratjingu” dancers perform a “Bunggul” for The Prince of Wales. #RoyalVisitAustralia pic.twitter.com/iNtkkK5Hod
— Clarence House (@ClarenceHouse) April 9, 2018
The royal visitor viewed the Roy Marika Lookout following this, and met with facilitators and students who work in the Dhimurru Indigenous Protected Area; this was established to carefully manage the natural and cultural resource values in the area surrounding the Gove Peninsula.
The Prince went to the top of Roy Marika Lookout to find out about the Dhimurru Indigenous Protected Area. (clarence house)
It was then to the Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Arts Centre for Prince Charles, who was met upon arrival by Rirratjingu traditional owner, Wanyubi Marik, and escorted by a clan elder processional of traditional dance.
Here, the Prince viewed traditional art work from the local area, known for its cultural and artistic heritage, as well as learning about how the art is created with Marrakulu artist Wukun Wanambi, such as printing linocuts and Yolgnu painting.
prince charles views local artists creating (clarence house)
the prince of wales at arts centre (clarence house)
The tour also saw the future King visit the Saltwater Theatrette and view the funeral shroud of M Yunupingu.
It was at the art centre that The Prince of Wales took part in special didgeridoo healing ceremony. The Yidaki ritual involves a didgeridoo being blown close to his chest.
The Royal is known for his own religious conviction and spirituality, so there is little surprise that when the 30-second ritual was over, Charles said: “I feel better already.”
Whilst at the centre HRH received a spiritual blessing where a “Yidaki” is blown directly onto the chest of the person being blessed. #RoyalVisitAustralia pic.twitter.com/hinsm2f38I
— Clarence House (@ClarenceHouse) April 9, 2018
Of course, he greeted locals and when he went to shake one lady’s hand, her phone began to ring. “Shall we see who it is?”, he joked.
Next on the agenda was a trip to Darwin for Charles, landing at the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base, again welcomed by a local elder, this time from the Larrakia Nation.
The Prince of Wales headed straight to a welcome reception at the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Darwin’s Tourist Facility. This tells the story of the RFDS’ history since its foundation in 1939 and includes interactive digital exhibitions showing visitors how Darwin looked during the Second World War.
The Prince of Wales tonight attended a Royal Flying Doctor reception to celebrate the Northern Territory’s multicultural community. (clarence house)
On Sunday, the royal visitor named a new flying medical centre for the charity, ‘Outback Angel’, in Cairns. It compliments the medical provisions it gives to people living in isolated areas, stocked with treatments including antibiotics for infections as well as pain relief and defibrillators.
It is understood that Prince Charles has personally donated a large amount to this service.
Interestingly, the food for the reception was prepared by contestants of tv cooking competition, MasterChef Australia. The Prince met with them before leaving.
Contestants from @masterchefau prepared the food for the reception and His Royal Highness met the judges of the show – George Calombaris, Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan as well as the contestants. #RoyalVisitAustralia @crispycrackling @MattsCravat pic.twitter.com/vAWVPYJ3KA
— Clarence House (@ClarenceHouse) April 9, 2018
1 comment
From prince charles’ words ” I feel better already “, I realize a power of special didgeridoo healing ceremony.