All Australians are now able to experience traditional Indigenous games through a new Australian Sports Commission initiative announced in early July.

Children from the Tangentyere region joined the official launch of Yulunga: Traditional Indigenous Games in Alice Springs as part of NAIDOC Week celebrations.
 
The remarkable collection of more than 100 games and activities is the result extensive research over 10 years by Dr Ken Edwards to preserve Indigenous sporting heritage.

They come from all parts of Australia and the Torres Strait Islands and are now available online, designed to be used in schools as an educational resource and a guide to inclusive games for all ages.

Yulunga means ‘playing’ in the language of the Kamilaroi (Gamori) people of north-western New South Wales.

This publication provides all Australians with a greater understanding and appreciation of ‘yulunga’ in Indigenous culture, the way it was many thousands of years ago and continues today.

Historically, sport has played a major role in Indigenous society and Yulunga: Traditional Indigenous Games captures activities that have evolved from traditional pastimes.

Many of the original accounts of Indigenous games were recorded during the nineteenth century by explorers, government officials, settlers, scientists and missionaries. This project involved wide consultation with Indigenous communities to ensure the activities included were an accurate reflection of Australian Indigenous play culture.

The result is an array of sports from ball to corroboree and water games. Each has background on the origin of the game and its name, plus easy-to-follow tips on how to play.  For example, ‘Waayin’ was derived from the study of animal and bird tracks that was an important part of educating Aboriginal children. In the northern part of the NT, ‘waayin’ refers to land animals and reptiles with this game involving drawing tracks on the ground and the other players guessing what they might be. 

The Australian Sports Commission is committed to improving the access and availability of sport and structured physical activity programs for all Australians. They do this through programs such as the Indigenous Sport program, Active After-School Communities program, Women and Sport program and the Sports Ability program.

The Australian Sports Commission’s Active After-school Communities (AASC) program currently delivers sport and structured physical activity programs for around 3,500 children in the NT, and 150,000 nationwide.

Yulunga: Traditional Indigenous Games will be an asset for all 3,200 AASC sites across Australia and is available free at www.ausport.gov.au/isp