Leroy Lester is one of the cultural presenters at Voyages Ayers Rock Resort at Uluru Kata-Tjuta National Park.
His tours include guided garden walks, bush yarns, ecology and museum tours of Wintjiri where you can learn Anangu land conservation and management practices and geology of the sites. He also explains elements of Aboriginal habitation and the history of European occupation.
Meeting place.
For the community out here at Mutitjulu, people travel to Uluru because of it's beauty and sacredness and the rocks are worshipped like other mountains across the world.
Leroy Lester says the sites are a meeting place, many ancestral beings visited here in the creation period so Uluru is like a magnet. He says "See all ancestral beings met here. And after that, modern day Aborigines met here for ceremonies, see still magnetising people. Then after that it's all the tourists, magnetised to the same rock. So it's a meeting place. from day dot creation period then Aborigines, now tourists."
What not to do at Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park
The biggest message when entering country is that all people visiting the Uluru Kata-Tjuta National Park is not to leave anything behind. Leroy Lester makes it it clear that people are also not to leave their family remains or crystals in the caves or on country.
Leroy says that spiritual people that celebrate and meditate, (the crystal people) leave offerings. He says "Some want to come in the park and join hands and make a big ring around the rock um and ah meditate."
People sneak into the national park at midnight and sit around the waterhole under the moonlight when the Rangers are sleeping and meditate at midnight. Leroy says "The problem we're having here, those people celebrating life and spirituality they bringing in ashes from the deceased and they spreading it in the caves here. So that's what Anangu trying to stop."
What is found in caves and on site in the Uluru Kata-Tjuta National Park?
Leroy Lester says that mysterious white powder in little crevices and caves with crystals are left as offerings. He says "That's a problem that's been happening and that's why we closed the Jurri Jurri caves, because that's where it happened first. He said "Where it first happened, they got the container of the box of ashes and they got the address of the Adelaide crematorium and busted that person a hefty fine from National Parks."
"Uluru if they keep putting ashes here, Uluru can end up as the worlds largest tombstone, that sounds shocking. See that's visitors coming and doing that. See that's a big tombstone. There's a lot of ghosts here. Many Ghosts. Let alone the 38 people already perished from falling, you know people coming and putting ashes here."
Cultural training and sharing knowledge
Leroy Lester started out as a park ranger before he started as a cultural presenter at Ayers Rock Resort. He was trained by his Elders in taking out the new staff and non Indigenous staff on his homelands and teach them about culture and the way things are and operate in the desert.
Leroy says his teachers were "My big sister's, my Aunty, my Nanna's, Uncles and my Jamu's (Grandfather's). He says he is limited in what he can share but has been trusted to pass on knowledge to visitors.
"I let the women talk about their gathering, I just do the hunting, that's what they trust me with."
Language
Leroy Lester understands Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara, he understands Luritja and doesn't speak it much it much. He says" Bit up further north very similar language to us, Yuendumu Puppanya way, Walpiri way, hints of our language in there. We can understand one another, just can't speak it. Very similar language, Western Desert dialect. Compared to Europe; Irish English, Scottish English, Welsh English. You can understand one another."
He explains "Different to Alice Springs that's Arrente, Arrente a different dialect, totally different. See you got Northern, Eastern Central, Western Arrente, Southern Arrente and totally different language, compare that to Europe and you got to say that'll be French, totally different."
The drought.
In the desert most people are muti-lingual. The drought made you muti-lingual. Leroy says "It pushes you over, you got to go and live with the in-laws for two years and learning the lingo. Next drought you got Lake Nash, the other side of Alice Springs, see learning their language. Next drought you're down other side of Lake Ayer other side of Flinders Ranges learning Arrabunna language."
" See drought made you multi-lingual."
In all the conversations that Leroy referred to in his cultural presentations water was the main theme in how and what Anangu people did on country and in certain times of the year. From rock painting to cooking methods, fire management and caring for country, water plays the biggest role in everyday life for traditional people.
Water security
Yulara is name for water hole, Leroy explains there are two limestone aquifer springs. Yulara number one near the airport and Yulara number two near the dump. Yulara is the name of the two springs here. Leroy says "The Ayers Rock Resort will last for thousands of years because of the water , flowing river," he says " the only thing would be the mining in the area. You know Western Australia where the water flows from, you know BHP and Rio Tinto are just over the border."
"If they do any fracking and the poison comes in, then we all affected."
Anangu Yankunytjatjara cultural guide Leroy Lester hosting Indigenous cultural activities at Voyages Ayers Rock Resort. Source: Voyages Ayers Rock Resort
