In early August, 50 Aṉangu men – Elders, cultural leaders, and young men and boys – came together from across 350,000 square kilometres for a three-day Watiku Tjina Ankunytja (Men’s Walk) across Central Australia.
We are following in the footsteps to do the right thing for Aṉangu Tjuta (many people). They talk about footsteps… you’ve got to go step by step; you have to put a foot on the right track, you will remember, this might be the beginning, what’s coming next? Because young people are walking roughly in the towns and cities… not carefully, thinking about their footsteps. Young people are scattered, they are not thinking about their footsteps. – Jamie Nganinyu, Senior Uti Kulintjaku Watiku team member.
Walking 60 kilometres by foot (tjina ankunytja) through a landscape alive with the spirit of ancestral beings, and following in the footsteps of past generations, was an intensive educational experience. For the Uti Kulintjaku Watiku team, Watiku Tjina Ankunytja is above all an opportunity for knowledge to be passed on through a traditional way of learning.
It’s really important for Elders to go on the walk because they’re the leaders, they know countries more than us, they know stories, they know everything, song for that place. Everything. – Thaddeus Brady, Uti Kulintjaku Watiku team member.
Living in remote communities can be challenging for young people, with isolation, limited employment, boredom, cannabis use and family conflict creating a stressful environment that often leads to withdrawal into homes, screens and marijuana use. The walk offers a positive alternative, giving Aṉangu men of all ages the chance to step away from these pressures and reconnect with the land, where they can see the stars, hear the birds and feel the wind.
Going out to the bush is the main part [of the walks], it helps all the young fellas to refresh their mind… In the community here, they just stay at home… That’s all. That’s all they do every day. That’s their normal thing to do. But taking them out bush, it’s something new. It’s really helping them to get busy on something… It’s different than coming together in the community because community’s still a distraction. Coming together out bush, just men, just young Watiku (men), it’s different. – Thaddeus Brady, Uti Kulintjaku Watiku team member.
The walk was an important time for young men to learn from older Aṉangu men with care and encouragement, and whose ways of teaching are in sharp contrast to mainstream education. It also recognised the leadership and guidance of the senior men who shared their knowledge.
In our culture we don’t ask question to Elders, they would say ‘no, don’t, what are you trying to find out?’. We will just listen, and they will tell us, what we need to know, that’s all. They know what we need to know. – Thaddeus Brady, Uti Kulintjaku Watiku team member.
Watiku Tjina Ankunytja, which began at Tjunti creek and finished in Kaltukutjara (Docker River), brought together men and boys from across the Ngaanyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara region, with participants travelling from communities in South Australia and the Northern Territory.
Building on the success of the 2024 pilot walk, when participants from a group of more than 30 Aṉangu men described the experience as transformative, the journey continues to provide young men with meaningful opportunities to connect and grow.
I could see they were learning, and they were really interested. Young fellas are always inside the house. This was a chance to get a fresh mind and to get out. Now they are feeling like they have done something good, and they are becoming role models. – Stanley Windy, Uti Kulintjaku Watiku team member.
The event was led by the Ngaanyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara Women’s Council, with support from the Central Land Council and the Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Education Committee (PYEC), highlighting the collective commitment to supporting young men’s wellbeing and cultural learning.
Images by Rhett Hammerton.
