What Does Makarrata Really Mean?🗡️

What does Makarrata really mean? I’ll give you a clue – it’s to do with something that Aboriginal warriors typically carry. But first, why are we interested what Makarrata means? Well, it’s in the Uluru Statement from the Heart, something that Australians will be voting on this year, at least in part. The one-page, single A4 sheet statement can be downloaded from their website. It states, “We call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution.” That’s what we’re voting on later this year. “We seek a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history.”

What is Makarrata? “Makarrata is the culmination of our agenda: the coming together after a struggle. It captures our aspirations for a fair and truthful relationship with the people of Australia and a better future for our children based on justice and self-determination.”

Sounds great, doesn’t it? Well...

If we ask Google, “What is Makarrata?”, we get a fairly sanitised version unsurprisingly: “A coming together after a struggle, facing the facts of wrongs and living again in peace.” Oh, how nice.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, it can also mean “a treaty or agreement”.

What if we ask AI, ChatGPT: “It encapsulates a complex and multifaceted concept that goes beyond a simple translation. It conveys the ideas of resolution, agreement, coming together after a conflict, and seeking justice and healing.” Yes, yes, yes, very good stuff.

But hang on, what if we check the authoritative word of Australian’s national broadcaster, the ABC. This is an article from 2017, “What is Makarrata? It’s more than a synonym for treaty”. The article states, “’Makarrata has so many layers of meaning’, says” – I apologise, I cannot pronounce her name, but she’s the principal of Arnhem Land’s Yirrkala School. She stated, “The first one, and the main one, is peace after a dispute. Makarrata literally means a spear penetrating, usually the thigh, of a person that has done wrong… so that they cannot hunt anymore, that they cannot walk properly, that they cannot run properly; to maim them, to settle them down, to calm them — that’s Makarrata.” Ouch!

Here’s the Encyclopedia Britannica definition: “Makarrata – Trial method. During a ritualised meeting, the accused ran the gauntlet of his accusers, who threw spears at him; a wounded thigh was taken as proof of guilt.” Hmm.

And here’s the final report on the matter commissioned by the Parliament of Australia in 2018. “Section 5. Other issues raised by the Statement from the Heart. “5.11: The makarrata ceremony is where men get speared in the leg, which symbolises that there is no more bad feeling between the two clan groups and no further intention to break the law. The main participants will then do a totemic dance. Spears will be thrown at the dancers: these may be dodged. The Makarrata concludes with a spear being thrust through the leg of the lawbreakers. By taking the spear in the leg and having the blood flow down into the land—in front of witnesses—you make the peace. When they have a Makarrata, it is under the law. If someone tries to keep fighting after the Makarrata, the law will punish him or her severely (likely by death).”

If this gets voted into parliament, exactly which politicians will be participating again and how literally will they be interpreting the meaning? Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has stated, and these are his exact words: “On behalf of the Australian Labor Party, I commit to the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full”.

Don’t get me wrong, I love spears, but I prefer that they don’t get jabbed into people’s thighs. I’m all for open dialogue, but why should we support a term that has such violent connotations?

THE ULURU STATEMENT
https://ulurustatement.org/the-statement/

WHAT IS A MAKARRATA? THE YOLNGU WORD IS MORE THAN A SYNONYM FOR TREATY
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-10/makarrata-explainer-yolngu-word-more-than-synonym-for-treaty/8790452

MAKARRATA: TRIAL METHOD (AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL PEOPLES: LEADERSHIP AND SOCIAL CONTROL)
https://www.britannica.com/topic/makarrata

OTHER ISSUES RAISED BY THE STATEMENT FROM THE HEART
https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Former_Committees/Constitutional_Recognition_2018/ConstRecognition/Final_Report/section?id=committees%2Freportjnt%2F024213%2F26677

ANTHONY ALBANESE HAS COMMITTED TO THE ULURU STATEMENT FROM THE HEART IN FULL
https://7news.com.au/news/indigenous-australians/anthony-albanese-has-committed-to-the-uluru-statement-from-the-heart-this-is-what-it-means-c-6946829

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Allégro by Emmit Fenn