SEIT PATJI
An adventure on TRADITIONAL
Homelands
On a tour of their homelands in the Northern Territory’s Red Centre, the Uluru family share their personal story, including the area’s history of Aboriginal land rights and the Anangu way of life.
WORDS RACHEL LEES
SEIT PATJI
AN ADVENTURE ON TRADITIONAL
Homelands
On a tour of their homelands in the Northern Territory’s Red Centre, the Uluru family share their personal story, including the area’s history of Aboriginal land rights and the Anangu way of life.
WORDS RACHEL LEES
Fitting 35,000 years into a seven-hour tour is no small feat but the Uluru family provide an excellent overview of everything from Tjukurpa (Creation time) and the practice of cultural burns, to Paddy Uluru’s fight for Aboriginal land rights.
As I hold history ...
in my hands, it’s clear we have much to learn about the world’s oldest continuous culture.
See Uluru through the eyes of its Traditional Owners.
The SEIT (Spirit, Emotion, Intellect and Task) Patji Tour takes place just beyond the borders of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. In the heat of a summer’s day, the rust-red earth surrounding Uluru looks parched. But try telling that to Anangu, the Aboriginal people of the Central Australian desert, who have tended to these lands for 35,000 years.
Zebra finches are skilled at finding water.
Sammy Wilson (left) at a Patji rock hole. Image credit: Rachel Lees.
The boisterous birds with distinctive red beaks flit around scattered spinifex and mulga trees, but never stray far from water. Although Anangu (pronounced Arn-ung-oo) rarely need the finch’s help, they share the same watering holes their ancestors used for millennia. At the sacred Patji (homelands) rock hole, Sammy passes me a hulk of sandstone, its surface smoothed into a perfect oval by the hands of countless generations as they used it to grind grass and wattle seeds for damper.
On the road with SEIT Tours.
Travel in comfort on this private tour.
Learn how Anangu thrive in the desert.
Sammy talks about his family's connection to Uluru.
As I hold history in my hands, it’s clear we have much to learn about the world’s oldest continuous culture. In the company of Sammy and his son, Ken, who are members of the traditional Uluru family, the desertscape suddenly feels alive. Traditionally, men hunt for goanna, emu and kangaroo, while women seek out witchetty grubs. While driving, Ken spots a sand goanna and we pull over to investigate. ‘Some people buy from the grocery store, but the bush is free,’ Sammy says.
Baby goanna tracks. Image credit: Rachel Lees.
The lizard turns out to be a juvenile. ‘Let it grow,’ Ken says, exemplifying Anangu’s enduring commitment to sustainability; take only what you need to ensure the continuation of the lifecycle of plants and animals.
Explore Sammy's Patji or homelands.
Be captivated by the Central Desert's red sand and spinifex.
Popcorn flavoured witchetty grubs. Image credit: Rachel Lees.
Sammy and journalist Rachel Lees eye off some grubs.
With no goanna for morning tea, Sammy and Ken dig up a bounty of grubs from the base of an acacia tree. I hold one of the delicate, pillowy moth larvae in my hand as Sammy explains they are a water substitute when eaten raw. Meanwhile, Ken seems to only need to look at a pile of grass and sticks for it to burst into flames and, within minutes, the witchetty grubs are cooked. They taste like popcorn. I go back for seconds. Later, we stand atop a private sand dune to witness an exquisite, multicoloured sunset that turns Uluru and Kata Tjuta into picture perfect silhouettes.
Breaking the reverential silence, Sammy explains, ‘We want to do tours so people understand this land is us, it’s our Country.’
Target market
Minimum age: 5+
Duration
7 hours (approx.)
Best Time To Visit
Runs 1pm or 2pm from April to October, and 7am from November to March.
Cost
From AU$294 per adult
Collection
Discover Aboriginal Experiences
LEARN MORE
Upskilling opportunity
Training course.
CLICK TO UPSKILL
Learn about the campaign to secure land rights to Uluru.
For Sammy, and Australia’s myriad Aboriginal peoples, the meaning of Country goes beyond the land to encompass everything from language, spiritual belief and cultural practice to family and identity. It’s powerful stuff.
‘Come and learn from us,’ Sammy says.
Learn about the campaign to secure land rights to Uluru.
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