Family comes first for Whadjuk Ballardong woman Cyndy Moody.
In an act of love in 2017, the award-winning musician gave away her four-month-old son, Jeremiah, to her older sister who was unable to have children.
"I want to have him close to me as he gets older, telling him stories and passing on that knowledge that he was special," she said.
As the mother-of-three grieved her loss, Cyndy decided to write a lullaby in Noongar — Ngany Koorlangka, or My Kid — about mothers everywhere who miss their children.
Cyndy still sees Jeremiah regularly, and often sings the song to him as he falls asleep.
The piece won the 2021 Country Song of the Year at the West Australian Music Awards, and is now being used to teach others about the language through the Noongar Lullabies program.
Keeping language alive
The initiative was launched by the Community Arts Network in 2017, working with Noongar artists, elders, and their families to help revive the ancient language.
Students begin by learning vowels and pronunciation, before reciting chants and performing singalongs in Noongar.
Then, it's over to them to write and record their own lullabies.
Noongar musician Phil Bartlett, who runs the program with Cyndy and wrote the music for Ngany Koorlangka, says his focus is ensuring students are having fun while they learn.
"Before they know it they're picking up words and phrases, and the learning process just happens in their own time," he said.
Northam next in line for lullaby lessons
Classes have so far been held in Bunbury, Collie, Midvale and Mandurah — with Northam the latest town to host the program.
Northam elder Donna Moody sits on the advisory committee at Bilya Koort Boodja, which is the town's Nyoongar culture and environmental knowledge centre.
She says it's important to pass on knowledge to the next generation to help keep languages alive.
"Growing up in Northam and having family connection here — my grandma is one of the oldest elders — for years we spoke Noongar, or Balladong, as a main language … [Nan] kept a lot of the language and was able to pass it down to us," she said.
Weekly workshops
Lullaby sessions will be held once a week at Bilya Koort Boodja in Northam until the end of June, with all Noongar community members welcome to attend.
Cyndy says she can't wait to unlock the local potential.
"I'm from Northam and there's a lot of potential, a lot of talent here. So it's wonderful that it's in my home town," she said.
"Noongar language is lost, and now it's getting re-learnt and recovered. When something's gone it's lost forever, so this is a great opportunity."
