SBS is proud to present this NITV-commissioned documentary, simulcast across both SBS and NITV on January 26.
In 2012, a group of Indigenous NRL players including Dean Widders, Preston Campbell, Timana Tahu and George Rose came together to develop a pre-game ceremony that would be a response to New Zealand’s much loved, universally recognised and hugely respected haka.
Rather than simply taking an existing dance, the players came up with a series of movements that reflected cultural symbols – the clan, the warrior, the boomerang, the spear.
They concluded their new dance with a moment of reflection – to them, this emphasised that the silences are just as important, or even more important, than the spoken words.
Through this process the players also recognised that there was no equivalent to a war dance in the Aboriginal cultures. Instead, in these millenniums’ old cultures, we hunt quietly.
Since then, the original cohort, led by Dean, has collaborated to build support for their vision – including the mighty Indigenous All-Stars teams – to engage with the pre-game cultural performance.
For the players, it is a way of highlighting the contribution that Indigenous players have made to the game of rugby league – heroes like Arthur Beetson, Laurie Daley, Preston Campbell, Larry Corowa, Anthony Mundine – and the role the game has had in empowering many Aboriginal sports people.
Dean seeks advice from Bangarra Theatre Company’s Stephen Page (a co-creator of the dance) and Wesley Enoch, artistic director of the Sydney Festival, about the best ways to take stories of culture to the world. Wesley sets Dean a challenge.
If Dean can persuade a high-profile group of people to participate, Wesley will include the dance at The Vigil, the Survival Day ceremony that will be held at the Barangaroo headland and televised nationally in January 2021.
