What is the Garma Festival?
The Garma Festival is an annual Yolngu cultural festival held at Gulkula in northeast Arnhem Land. It celebrates Yolngu culture and brings together leaders to discuss Indigenous affairs.
Garma began in 1999 and is run by the Yothu Yindi Foundation. It is held over several days in early August on a ceremonial ground overlooking the Gulf of Carpentaria, near Nhulunbuy.
The festival features bunggul, traditional Yolngu dance and song, along with art, music, storytelling and workshops on cultural knowledge.
Ideas and politics
Garma also hosts a key forum where Indigenous leaders, politicians, business people and researchers discuss policy, education and health. Prime ministers often attend and give speeches.
In 2022, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese used his Garma speech to outline proposed wording for a referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, which was held in 2023 and did not pass.
Tickets are limited, and many visitors book well ahead. Most guests camp at the site, and the remote location means flights to Nhulunbuy are the usual way to get there. Youth programs and a Yolngu-led learning space are important parts of the event.
Did You Know?
Garma is a Yolngu word describing a meeting place where knowledge comes together.