Letter from Australia: private practice

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/04/aboriginal-medical-services-nyirdi-mawarnkarra

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Mother-in-law relationships contain a special level of meaning in Aboriginal groups: mother-in-laws are forbidden from speaking to, looking at or being in the same room as their son-in-laws, and vice versa. In Ngarluma country, a vast coastal tract of land in northern Western Australia, this rule is termed nyirdi. It poses specific challenges to relatives who must mediate between the two, and to Aboriginal Medical Services that provide specialised healthcare to indigenous people.

Mawarnkarra means "one with power to heal" in the Yindjibarndi language, and is the name of the Aboriginal community-controlled health service in Roebourne (Ieramagardu). Established in 1985 and managed by a board of elders, it operates to improve health by addressing prevention and cure, as well as their social, spiritual, emotional and cultural determinants.

There are over 140 such Aboriginal community controlled health services across Australia, and Mawarnkarra Health Service is one that has successfully met the challenge of nyirdi. It contains two separate waiting areas, two parallel corridors and several exits. Additional measures of comfort include toilets located outside, and a verandah that runs the width of the building that permits patients to be seated with a view over the land.

A mawarnkarra may use the healing properties of emu oil as a salve or for massage, and as such, the emu, or jarngunna, represents Mawarnkarra Health Service. The 40C+ temperatures around November drive the emus southward, but prove perfect for hunting goanna lizards while the Ngarluma people commence their lore time.

Lore is undertaken to keep culture and country strong. It involves the teaching of Ngarluma heritage, ritual performances and initiation ceremonies. It's a busy time for Mawarnkarra Health Service, as families come from vast distances to participate.

For many years, the Mawarnkarra staff have been granted access by the elders to the sacred lore grounds. There, deep in spinifex and coolabah country, where cool creeks run and sun-burned stones cause foot blisters, the elders discuss health needs with the clinicians, who then treat people so they can carry on their traditions.

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