balance. If we wish to preserve what God has, and is, writing, we need to cherish what God values most – and that is right relationships. These relationships go beyond relationships between God and people, and people and people – they include, “the earth … and all that is in it.” Saibai has eight clans, and each clan has a totem. The totem of my father’s clan, Saibai Koedal, is the Malu (saltwater) Koedal (crocodile). The totem of my mother’s clan, Burum Thabu, is the Thabu (carpet snake), a large, non-venomous and semi-arboreal python. Our totems symbolise the symbiotic life-giving relationships between a particular clan’s members, between clan members and their Kulba Mabaygal (ancestors), and between clan members and their places and sites. These relationships are special – they exist in a sacred balance, as everything in and around Saibai does. Another function of our sacred totems is to foster clan unity – that is unity between the people of different clans. While people now marry for love, marriages were previously arranged between different clans in order to unify them. Totems still identify and connect Saibai’s different clans to this day, with different clans playing different ceremonial roles. Clans are identified by songs, dances, winds and skies. My crocodile totem also gives me strength, whether I am on Saibai or away. I wear a green cotton crocodile dress when I need this strength. After last year’s devastating referendum result when the majority of voters and a majority of states voted “no”, I wore my dress to give me strength – as a reminder of my connection to my people, my ancestors and my island home. 72
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