Lullabies are designed to be soothing, but creating them was just as comforting for the community members who took part in Lullabies Belmont, discovers Nina Levy.

As guests arrived for the launch of Koorndaarm Bidi, the album and songbook of Noongar lullabies created during CAN’s Belmont Lullabies project, they were welcomed by gentle guitar strums, samples from the album played by Kobi Arthur Morrison on guitar.

It was a fitting atmosphere for the launch of a new collection of Noongar lullabies, songs designed to soothe and calm young minds and bodies in preparation for sleep. The name Koorndaarm Bidi means Dreaming Path in Noongar, and these lullabies follow the journey of sleep; from bedtime, through a night of dreams, to the dawn of a new day.

The lullabies were written and recorded by First Nations community members, led by Noongar songwriters and musicians Della Rae Morrison and her son Kobi, and doll-making artist Geri Hayden.

Listening to community members talk about their experiences during the project, it was clear that the process of making the lullabies was as soothing as the product, with many speaking about the comfort they drew from participation.

“As a mother I found participating in this program to be an incredibly emotional and healing journey,” said Hannah Higgins, a Thubi Warra woman who was born and raised on Noongar boodja, and is one of the songwriters and vocalists featured on the album.

“I had a really, incredibly challenging time to begin with, as a new mum, and struggled with postnatal depression and postnatal anxiety.

“So it was really wonderful to be able to work with Kobi and Della in such a safe space to write this beautiful poem that was then put to music. I'm so very thankful that this program came along at exactly the right time for me.”

As a lead artist, Kobi felt this benefit too. “We had a couple of participants in the group elaborate as to how it was perfect timing for them for various reasons, which was wonderful to hear about. And made it a whole lot more special that it was also the right timing for me,” he said.

“As facilitators we were very deliberately celebrating aspects of care, and love, and respect. And the project [which began in July 2023] was occurring at a time when care, love and respect was very difficult to find in our wider society. The wider society had made things very, very difficult and put me in a pretty dark state. And so I have massive respect for this project because it got me through some very hard times.”

For Kobi’s grandmother Patricia Morrison, the project presented the opportunity to write a song about the memories of her childhood, a time when Noongar people were forced to live on the outskirts of town. “Children grew up while camping in the bush, starting school when families still lived in tents,” she says. Based on that childhood song, Patricia’s lullaby “Noongie Noongie” is about truth-telling and remembering an often hidden history.

Gunggandji woman and mum of 3 Noongar young adult children Carrie Milson has been writing poems for many years, but until she participated in Lullabies Belmont, no one else had seen those poems.

“Many years ago I had a loss,” she said. “I lost a baby. While I was still pregnant I had written this little poem. So it’s very special. We translated it into Noongar and Kobi put some beautiful music to it. Della and Kobi waved their magic musical wand and the next minute there's a song, made out of my words.

“We’re working on something else now too, one of my poems put to music.”

The significance of transforming a personal experience into art was shared by Hannah Higgins, who – like many of the participants – contributed artwork to the beautiful Koorndarm Bidi songbook.

“I feel incredibly lucky that I got to create this artwork with my son when he was about two and a half, she said. “He used watercolours to paint the background, and I then decided that I wanted to use the artwork to tell the story of myself and Leo and his father Craig, coming together as a family at night, singing our lullaby together. And so then surrounding us are the stars. So that's our little family story. Every night we sing our lullaby together.”

Tenelle Wilken, a Larrakia woman born and living on Noongar land, also relishes the opportunity to be able to sing her own lullaby with her family.

“I'm one of six kids and when we were growing up, mum used to sing to us a lot and put all the instructions in the morning and waking up into songs to get us motivated. My lullaby comes from a song that mum used to sing to us. We've continued singing that song with my daughter Neve, and even my husband will now sing it to Neve to get up in the morning.”

Like many community members, Tenelle also spoke of the satisfaction and enjoyment she found in taking part in the song-writing and recording process.

“What an experience to be able to go into a recording studio! We've got little clips of Neve singing on the microphone as well, she says. “And so that’s something we've been able to experience for the first time together, singing in the recording studio.”

The resulting collection of lullabies is filled with gentle love, tranquil harmonies and catchy melodies, and its free to access on the CAN website. The beautiful songbook, with a cover designed by Karrajarri, Nuggaja, Noongar, Maori artist Jarnda Councillor-Barnes, is filled with illustrations by the Belmont Lullabies community members, and is available in hard copy from the CAN office, or electronically online, both free!