Port Adelaide has revealed its first AFLW Indigenous guernsey, Kari Karra (emu in the sky), designed by cultural performing artists and sisters, Jakirah and Tikana Telfer.
Indigenous Round takes place across two weekends, with Alberton Oval set to host a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture in Round Four, following the theme of, ‘celebrating our journey, past, present and emerging.’
The Telfer sisters, hailing from the Mullawirra Meyunna (dry forest clan) of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, were asked to design the jumper, with the club valuing the pair’s deep connection to their culture and to Port Adelaide.
Jakirah and Tikana both participated in Port Adelaide’s Aboriginal programs throughout their schooling and now are employed by the club to deliver similar programs to young people.
They’ve also led large-scale cultural performances during the AFL’s Indigenous Round with their dance group ‘Yellaka’, where over 300 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from the Santos Aboriginal Power Cup formed the shape of the Aboriginal flag on-field.
Port Adelaide players Gemma Houghton, Laquoiya and Litonya Cockatoo-Motlap had an early preview of the design and shared in a cleansing ceremony on country, led by Karl Winda Telfer, senior cultural custodian, and his daughters, Jakirah and Tikana.
“To be part of this cultural sharing, this cultural cleansing and to wear the guernseys for the first time, it was more than a special moment for me,” Houghton said.
“To be connected and present in the moment, and to hear the story of the guernsey from the young women was incredibly moving.
“A soon as we heard the story of the design, I felt immediately drawn and deeply connected, in a way that I haven’t felt with any other guernsey. It’s meant to be, the way it weaves the story of the country, the club and the women together. I’m honoured to wear it.”
The design, Kari Karra, shares the story of sky country, centring around the emu in the sky and on the country, showing its connection to the emu egg, the women, the rock, the water, the stars and the lightning.
The Port Adelaide Football Club stands where the karis – the emus – used to roam. The emu can only walk forwards, never backwards, so its tracks guide the players forward, signifying a new beginning for the first Port Adelaide AFLW team.
Purle womma is the star plain, with the women represented by certain stairs that hold strong munaintya (dreaming). The stars come together connected as sisters, in the same way the players come together, connected as sisters.
In Jakirah and Tikana’s culture, women are represented by the rock and the water, shown in the design by the rockpools. The kari woppa – emu feathers – are ancient feathers with ancient story. The two feathers, one on the front and one on the back, represent coming together as one, with the emu one of the few birds that has more than one feather sharing a quill.
The muka-kari – the emu egg – marks the centre of the milky way, the football in the centre circle, and the circle where Aboriginal culture began and where the game of football begins. In the same way the male emu nurtures the egg, men have nurtured the game, but now, it’s the women’s turn.
Jakirah and Tikana were grateful for the chance to tell such a meaningful story through their artwork.
“Knowing the significance of this historical guernsey design came with great responsibility,” they said.
“But we know the story and the spirit of this place, it’s our country. We were humbled to be asked to design this year’s Indigenous Round guernsey for Port Adelaide.
“Journeying through this design, we learned that our great-grandfather Howard Abbott, was the leading goal-kicker for Port Adelaide in in 1939, and now three generations on, our guernsey will be another historic moment.
“The Emu is precocial, meaning that once hatched from the egg, the emu will almost immediately walk, feed and fend for itself. It is independent and creates its own path for itself, in the same way the Port women have.
“The egg represents new beginnings. Men have nurtured this game as they do the egg, until it hatches, where a new journey begins. It’s time for the women now, for the lightning to break through the egg.
“What’s significant for us is how the story and this moment in time really connect.”
Replica guernseys in adult and youth sizes are available to pre-order online now, with a portion of the profit of sales going towards the continued support of the Port Adelaide’s Aboriginal programs.
