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Renewing the Yolŋu ‘Bothways’ philosophy: Warramiri transculturation education at Gäwa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2019

Ben van Gelderen  and
Kathy Guthadjaka
Ben van Gelderen*
Affiliation:
College of Education, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina Campus, Ellengowan Drive, Darwin, Northern Territory 0811, Australia
Kathy Guthadjaka
Affiliation:
Northern Institute, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina Campus, Ellengowan Drive, Darwin, Northern Territory 0811, Australia
*
Author for correspondence: Ben van Gelderen, E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

‘Bothways’ was an expression first utilised by Yolŋu educators in the late 1980s to convey the profound intercultural epistemological foundations of Yolŋu society that should also apply to modern Balanda (white) schooling systems. Despite the pressures from national, standardised curriculum and assessment regimes, ‘Bothways’ has not been abandoned by remote Yolŋu communities in the 21st century. In this paper we briefly revisit the first iterations of the ‘Bothways’ philosophy to demonstrate its symmetry with the Yolŋu transculturation heritage (of the Warramiri in particular), developed through many centuries of contact with sea-faring visitors. Lastly, we present data from community research at Gäwa, a Warramiri homeland on Elcho Island, which demonstrates that through a series of ‘multiple balances’, negotiation around issues of bilingual pedagogy, cultural knowledge transmission, parental engagement and student–teacher dynamic continues to renew the ‘Bothways’ approach.

Keywords

Bothways philosophyGäwaIndigenous transculturationWarramiri historyYolŋu education
Type
Research Article
Information
The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , Volume 50 , Issue 1 , August 2021 , pp. 147 - 157
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2019

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