(sky), recognising that the boeradhar, malu and dapar sustain us in everyday life. Thus, sovereignty is about belonging to Creation – a belonging that is preserved through maintaining a sacred balance. Because my people’s spirituality lies in the boeradhar (land), malu (sea) and dapar (sky) we have an intrinsic connection to them. So we see ourselves as part of, and belonging to, Creation. God’s good Creation is, therefore, fundamental to our entire wellbeing. Because we are a seafaring people, I often speak and write more about the sea than the land – although the two are, of course, connected. For example, our ari (rain) comes from the ocean’s moisture, and rainfall is critical for the survival of Saibai’s people and all other Saibai creatures. Our nguki (sacred wells), which are important for drinking and ceremonial purposes, need the ocean because wells need rain. Our cultural plant foods that need rainwater include bisi (casava) and urugubaw (sweet potato). We like to cook these foods, as well as wapi (fish), in woerabaw ikay (coconut milk) in an amay (earth oven). We drink ariu nguki (rainwater) and woerabaw nguki (coconut water). Everything we eat and drink traditionally is pure and alive – nothing is refined or processed. The Creator God gave us these cultural foods for our physical and spiritual nourishment. Because of this, we respect what God has given us by nurturing the land and only taking what we need, ensuring that other people and other creatures also have enough. We believe that God’s ways are written in the boeradhar (land), malu (sea) and dapar (sky), including the Creator’s orientation towards right relationship through respect, sharing and honouring the sacred 71
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