Every song begins with Country.
Bulwal mabera wana badju-dha - Strength, Vision, Legacy grew from the 2025 NAIDOC theme - a call to honour the wisdom of our old people and the footsteps they left for us to follow and pass onto our bubs. Each year, we find inspiration from the national NAIDOC theme, and so we decided to channel this into a new song - writing together as a choir.
Past NAIDOC theme songs, Black, Loud and Proud and Because of Her We Can, written by Janice Luland, have become favourites for Mudjingaal Yangamba and our audiences. These beautiful songs lift our voices and spirits every time we sing them.
We began this new song in the way we always gather - sharing a meal, sitting and talking stories.
We yarned about what Strength, Vision, and Legacy meant to each of us. Some of us wrote quietly, some shared aloud. Common words and feelings rose up: courage of Elders, love, language, and future and always at the heart - Country, saltwater and fresh and the legacies that flow and tie us together.
Once we had the lyrics, we wove Dhurga language into the chorus to strengthen our message. This is our legacy. Strengthening language for our community through song. As the song continued to take form over the coming weeks, it carried the sound of that day - laughter, reflection, and the steady heartbeat of Country beneath our feet.
When we sing Bulwal mabera wana badju-dha we feel our Elders beside us. Their strength flows through our breath, their stories move through our voices. Singing in language keeps those stories alive. It reminds us who we are: Mudjingaal Yangamba, Spirit Singing on Saltwater Country.