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Wawu Divine Hope (ATOM Study Guide)

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In Cape York, a proud Guugu Yimidhirr community reconciles its Christian missionary past and its Indigenous cultural identity with a unique Easter tradition.

Sharing the heartfelt tales of some of Hope Vale community's thoughtful locals, Wawu Divine Hope explores the spirit of an Aboriginal town in Far North Queensland's Cape York Peninsula through a special annual event. Every Easter the community transforms their graveyard in a unique tradition that combines Christianity, brought by Lutheran missionaries, and Indigenous tradition. The people of Hope Vale gather flowers and transform their graveyard into a garden. In a place normally reserved for grief and solemnity, they spend the Easter weekend celebrating the spiritual gift of life and the lives lived by their ancestors.

In this intimate and visually beautiful new documentary by Guugu Yimidhirr filmmaker Caden Pearson, Wawu Divine Hope reveals how this annual Easter celebration represents more than just a tradition; for some it's a link to the past, for others it's a therapy session in nature, or a painful reminder of a lost loved one, but for all it is a deeply meaningful time to be together as a community.

Wawu Divine Hope provides a rare local insight into the cultural richness and values of a modern Aboriginal community. In this film the cultural life of a community is shown in its daily details – not just the negative statistics or valuable cultural objects. Director Caden Pearson shows the people of Hope Vale embracing Christianity and their missionary past, and gently challenges modern Australians to develop a more sophisticated understanding of colonisation. The role of missionaries and the ways different Aboriginal communities have negotiated the introduction of Christianity is shown here to be complex and not simply destructive.

In Wawu Divine Hope, Hope Vale is presented as a community that has survived by transformation and adaptation. In the Easter celebration we discover a culture that draws strength from both its traditional cultural identity and its mission past. The community's identity and its self-determination are shown here as a proud combination of traditional Indigenous cultures and of the Lutheran values and beliefs established in the mission days.

Curriculum Links:

Wawu Divine Hope is a broadly applicable documentary and can be shown to years 7 to 12. The activities in this study guide have been developed with a view to accommodate this wide range of age groups. Some of the activities and questions in this guide relate to curriculum links for years 10 to 12 and this should be kept in mind when using this guide for younger classes.

The film can be linked to the following subject areas within the Australian Curriculum: