General News
26 January, 2023
The cost of a smoking ceremony
TRADITIONAL Aboriginal welcome ceremonies can leave community events with a $1700 bill for a one-hour performance. And while Loddon Shire Council is offering communities $500 to include Welcome to Country ceremonies in activities, just one grant has...
TRADITIONAL Aboriginal welcome ceremonies can leave community events with a $1700 bill for a one-hour performance.
And while Loddon Shire Council is offering communities $500 to include Welcome to Country ceremonies in activities, just one grant has been handed out.
A basic welcome starts at $440 with more charged for the corporation’s performer to link the ceremony with the event, according to Bendigo-based DJAARA Aboriginal corporation website.
Listing its commercial charges to community groups, DJAARA puts the cost of smoking ceremony at $550 and $330 for a musical performance on didgeridoo.
A flat fee is charged for travel but overnight accommodation is required for performers at events starting before 9.30am or after 5pm.
A Loddon Shire spokesperson said: “The Welcome to Country funding is an ongoing yearly grant. There are two allocations available per year for a community group, until all funds for that year have been exhausted. The grant is an action within Council’s Loddon Aboriginal Partnership Plan 2019-2022.
“The funding is part of council’s event promotion scheme application process, which asks if the event will include a Welcome to Country. Community groups that answer ‘yes’ must fill out the Welcome to Country application form to receive the funding. Of the six applicants who indicated their event would include a Welcome to Country, only one submitted the form for the funding.”
DJAARA was contacted for information on what rates welcome performers were paid and what percentage of fees was retained by the corporation. No response was received.
The minimum daily rate for a TV actor in Australia is $257.84.
On its website, DJAARA says: “The laws, customs and stories that make up Dja Dja Wurrung culture guide the way we behave and the decisions we make every day. We pass these on to our young ones through song dance, storytelling and walking country so that they can carry on our Peoples’ connection to Country.
“To share culture, we give Welcomes to Country, smoking ceremonies, on country talks, tours, and performances across Djandak. These are important events we share to dhelk djuwima (show and share respect) of our cultural knowledge and practices daily.”