Taiwanese musician Sang Mei-Chaun grew up worlds away from the remote Northern Territory but quickly found common ground with its people.

Key points: Today is the final day of the Barunga Festival, held in the remote community 400 kilometres from Darwin

Today is the final day of the Barunga Festival, held in the remote community 400 kilometres from Darwin The theme of this year's three-day festival is celebrating Indigenous languages

The theme of this year's three-day festival is celebrating Indigenous languages The festival helps pass on language and culture to the next generation of young people

As a child, she was forbidden from speaking her mother tongue, and understands all too well why many Aboriginal people are fighting to preserve their languages.

Also known by her Paiwan tribal name Seredaw Dariyaljan, Ms Sang has travelled from Taiwan to perform at the Northern Territory's Barunga Festival this weekend.

The three-day festival of music, sport and Indigenous cultural activities is hosted each year in the tiny remote community of Barunga, about 400 kilometres south-east of Darwin.

"My father often said if you can't speak your own language then you don't know who you are," Ms Sang said, with help from a translator.

"He used to say language is as important as breathing, without language it's like having no air."

Ms Sang said as a child she was punished at school for speaking the Paiwan language.

"Until I was about 10 years old at primary school I wasn't allowed to speak my native language, but I spoke my Indigenous language at home."

"I was confused and I couldn't understand why in our own village we couldn't speak our own language."

She now teaches children in Taiwan traditional Paiwan songs.

Ms Sang visited another one of the Territory's Indigenous communities during an artist residency in Australia last year and wiped away tears while reflecting on her invite to Barunga.

Children dance bungul at Barunga Festival. ( ABC News: Felicity James )

"I went back to Taiwan and I told the children in my village where I'd been and what I'd seen," Ms Sang said.

"I told the kids back in the village that they should cherish the fact that they still have their own identity and language."

"Being here is kind of like being in my home village, it's a very close community — even though I don't speak English very well, I feel safe in this place."

'Sit down and have a yarn'

Jawowyn elder Jocelyn McCartney, is part of the Banatjarl Strongbala Wimun Group that teaches festival visitors weaving, cooking and bush medicine.

Like many of the Territory's Indigenous elders, Ms McCartney said she was worried about passing on language and culture to the next generation of young people, but that the festival helped with this process.

"It's real good for all of us, especially our women, coming together from different communities, getting together as one and teaching all our kids — all our girls especially — about their culture," she said.

"It's important for [visitors] to come and sit down and have a yarn too, to have a talk with us."

Jawowyn elder Jocelyn McCartney said the Barunga Festival helped pass on language and culture. ( ABC News: Felicity James )

Barunga school children have been performing songs they have written in Kriol and English at the festival for several years, with help from singer-songwriters Justine Clarke and Serina Pech.

This year they performed their song "Boom Boom" for the first time — a song about rheumatic heart disease, which is prevalent in some remote Territory communities and is being experienced by three of their classmates.

"For them to be able to sing to visitors, to the wider community, it's everything to them I think," Ms Clarke said.

Ms Clarke said it wasn't until she travelled to the Territory's remote community's for Playschool's 40th anniversary 11 years ago that she realised the role Indigenous language played in people's lives.

Understanding skin names, moieties and the use of Kriol and English was part of a steep learning curve, Ms Clarke said.

"I think when you get out here in the Northern Territory, you can see their land, you can see their community, it's very clear, whereas in cities it's much harder for us to kind of grasp it," she said.

"I had no idea, I felt very, very ignorant, and it's made me really want to come back every year and learn more."