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Our Birds: Ŋilimurruŋgu Wäyin Malanynha

SHORTLISTED – 2020 CHIEF MINISTERS NT BOOK AWARDS FOR YOUNG ADULT/CHILDREN

SHORTLISTED – 2019 CBCA BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD (Eve Pownall Award for Information Books)

A delightful gift book of birds from around Yirrkala, which is Siena’s home in North-east Arnhem Land. This beautiful little book includes the English and Yolŋu names of the birds and their Yolŋu moiety. In Yolŋu culture, everything is divided into two moieties: Yirritja and Dhuwa – and as a result all things are classified, from a body of water to a specific type of tree or bird. Birds give themselves their Yolŋu name by the sounds they make. Our Birds also includes beautifully captured landscapes from a child’s perspective. When Siena was 12, she took up photography on her iPad, but was gifted a camera from her aunty. In a short period of time, Siena was an avid photographer and had published her own book of birds. This book is the result of that inspiration.


For each book sold, a donation will go to the Small Seeds Big Reads: Magabala Books for Little Hands philanthropic initiative.

$18.99

Praise for Our Birds: Ŋilimurruŋgu Wäyin Malanynha

"Our Birds tells the stories of some of the birds and places of Yirrkala… An enchanting vision of childhood in Australia, this book is also a lovely way to contemplate familiar birds in a different light."

Cara Schulz
Australian Birdlife

 

"It’s a love song from a young Indigenous girl who appreciates the gift of the natural world around her and the wisdom of the ancient culture she’s part of."

Marjorie Lewis-Jones
South Sydney Herald

Siena Stubbs

Siena Mayutu Wurmarri Stubbs is a young Yolŋu woman of the Gumatj clan of the Yirritja moiety. Her homeland is Buwaka.

When Siena was 12, she took up photography on her...

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Watch a NITV video of Siena talking about the original book she self published.