AUTHORSHIP, AUTHORITY & THE PRODUCTION

OF PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE 

...smoking business and the implanting of the matawirr'...

...the lightning-tongue of the ancestral serpent...  

...the Galpu relationship to other clans ...

The ancestral events depicted in the exhibition's paintings—involving Wititj the great Olive Python and the two sisters of the Wagilag clan—are dramatic and powerful. The creation story, of which those events form part, recounts the evolution and encounter between human and animal ancestors who explain and make sense of the world and its creative forces. Among other things, the story heralds the arrival of the first monsoon season and forms the basis both of one of the major ceremonial cycles of Arnhem Land, specifically of the inland freshwater country, and of cultural and fundamental religious beliefs and rules of conduct.

Indeed, the pictorial narrative of the two Wagilag Sisters and their journey and their ordeals documents the foundation of the laws of social and ritual behaviour, in particular the rules relating to marriage, and inspires laws relating to authority, kinship, territory and custodial responsibility. It reaches from the ancient Dreamtime to govern the present and to influence and mould the future.

 

http://epress.anu.edu.au/hrj/1998_02/pdf/5_lendon_hr2_1998.pdf

 

 

 Vintage Milingimbi Didgeridoo old 1950 Wagilak sisters story Wagilag - [ Vertaal deze pagina ]

 Memorial - The Aboriginal Memorial

Galpu, Liyagalawumirr, Wagilag and Wudumin people

artists | clan stories

 

The Galpu, Liyagalawumirr, Wagilag and Wudumin people are linked by the major Dhuwa moiety theme of Wititj the Olive Python.

Liyagalawumirr literally means people with bark over their heads (as a shelter). Neville of the Liyagalawumirr people and Philip Gudthaykudthay's imagery is concerned with the Milky Way Story.

Neville graphically depicts the main elements of this story: Glider Possum, spangled perch and fish bones, Crow and the Fish Trap.

Gudthaykudthay's abstracted landscapes map the scene where the narrative is played out. Paddy Dhathangu, although represented by only one log coffin, was nonetheless one of the main initiators of the Memorial.

The path through the Memorial imitates the course of the Glyde River estuary which flows through the Arafura Swamp to the sea. The hollow log coffins are situated broadly according to where the artists' clans live along the river and its tributaries. This map indicates Galpu, Liyagalawumirr, Wagilag and Wudumin land and position in the memorial poles.

The Wagilag sisters

 One of the most important Dhuwa moiety themes in Central Arnhem Land is that of Wititj the Olive Python and the Wagilag Sisters. This story chronicles the creative acts of the ancestral Sisters as they travelled across Arnhem Land, culminating in an epic encounter with Wititj. The story provides the basis for key aspects of Yolngu social life and its rituals, as well as the laws relating to authority, kinship, territory and, significantly, marriage.

The two Sisters — the older of whom has a child, the younger is pregnant — are fleeing their home in the south east, travelling north towards the sea. As they travel they encounter animals, plants and country, which they name — in essence bringing them into being. They come to the stone quarries at Ngilipidji in the land of the Wagilag clan from where they get their name.

Eventually the Sisters set up camp at a waterhole at Mirarrmina in Liyagalawumirr country. They build a bark hut in which to sleep and the younger Sister gives birth. The Sisters are unaware that the waterhole is the sacred home of Wititj, the giant Olive Python.

Wititj is angered by their presence. Sucking in the waters of the lagoon, he rises erect in the sky, spitting out the water which forms the rain clouds of the first monsoon. The Sisters, sheltering in their bark hut, perform songs and dances to deter the Python and stop the deluge of rain, thunder and lightning. Finally, they drop in exhaustion. Wititj descends and swallows the women and children, their dog and all their belongings.

Shortly afterwards Wititj develops a terrible stomach ache. He rises into the sky above the flooded landscape and his groans attract the attention of other great Snakes from surrounding clan estates. When asked what he has been doing, Wititj lies about what he has eaten, realising he has erred by eating beings of the same moiety — the Sisters and the Python are all Dhuwa.

The pain becomes so great that the Python crashes to the ground, leaving the impression of his body in the earth. He vomits the Sisters but retains the children, who belong to the opposite moiety, the Yirritja. When the Sisters are brought to life again by the bites of stinging caterpillars, Wititj beats them with clapsticks and swallows them again.

The songs and dances performed by the women to stop the rain are revealed in a dream to clansmen who had followed them. The men are instructed to return home; they must teach these rites to others, guaranteeing the continuation of the cycles of nature.
nga.gov.au/AboriginalMemorial/galpu.cfm - In cache

........................

Art Of The Pacif CulturesImage 24-3

• Painted by Mithinarri Gurruwiwi represent the part of the origin myth of eastern Arnhem Land, The first humans the Wawilak sisters-walked about with their digging sticks, singing, dancing, naming things and populating the world with their children. But somehow the offended the Wititj (olive serpent) and he swallowed them but was then called before a council of serpents representing all the clans. Wititj had to admit his wrong doing and spit the sisters out. The conference of snakes signifies the origin of ritual activites. At the center of the painting a dark rectangle is ment to represent’s water hole and the clans cerimonial centerand the Yolngu’s home for both the unborn and the dead. Snakes are associated with water and rain, and are covered in dots which represents eggs and fertility. Used cross hatching (rarrk) red and yellow ocher and black pigment.

Please note: Displayed works are relocated regularly and sometimes at the last minute. Therefore, if you are visiting to view a particular work, we recommend contacting the Information Desk first on (02) 9225 1744.www.slideshare.net/.../art-of-the-pacif-cultures - Verenigde Staten - In cache - Vergelijkbaar

.................

info - Search Results

Sculpture
hollow pole; natural earth pigments on wood
253.0cm high
Purchased with funds provided by the Aboriginal Collection Benefactors' Group 2008
360.2008


Further information
The Yirrkala Dhanbal community Association documentation states:

Malaluba’s paintings represent Garrimala, a billabong near where she lives, in the Dhawau clan homeland at Gaga. It is a sacred site for the artist’s mother’s Galpu clan. Wititj is the all powerful rainbow serpent (olive python) that travelled through Galpu clan lands and further on, during the days of early times called Waarr. Djayku the Javanese filesnake is a companion and possible alternate incarnation of Wititj, living amongst the Dhatam, or waterlilies, causing ripples and rainbows (Djari) on the surface of the water (one reference in the cross hatching).

The story of Wititj is of storm and monsoon in the ancestral past. It has particular reference to the mating of Wititj during the beginning of the wet season when the Djarrwa (square shaped thunder cloud) begin forming and the lightning starts striking.

The Galpu clan's miny’tji (sacred clan design behind the lilies) represents Djari (rainbows) and the power of the lightning within them. The sun shining against the scales of the snake form a prism of light like a rainbow. The power of the lightning is made manifest when they strike their tongue, the thunder being the sound they make as they move along the ground. It also refers to the power of the storm created by Wititj, the diagonal lines representing trees that have been knocked down as Wititj moves from place to place. The ribs of the snake also form the basis of the sacred design here. In the mortuary ceremony for Galpu, the slithering line of dancers take on the form of Wititj and coil in the sand searching for their place. As the spirit comes to rest it adopts the metaphor of a python settling its head into the fork in the tree, known as Galmak, the final resting place of Wititj. Other references are the bunches of leaves dancers hold in their hands, wet and shining perhaps like a rainbow.


Exhibition venue
Title: Malaluba Gamana (2008)
Organizer: Niagara Galleries

Venue: Niagara Galleries
Opening: 01 Jul 2008
Closing: 26 Jul 2008
Notes: cat.no. 7collection.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/.../results.do;... - In cache

.................

Mänyimi where the Yacht club is there, where Mararrapan walked across from this side to the

other side is called Golpuy. What you see on the Golpuy factories ŋunha? Golpuy. After that

he went to on the other side where Galupa is along that beach. Right around the point, and on to

Galupa. He kept walking along, right up to that point where the export wharf is… But just

before he crossed to the other side, on this side of the beach, he walked across on that little,

where I said the conveyer belt was, that’s where he stopped. What he would do is walked….

On this side of the point… I mean half way there he stopped because the pheasant bukpuk called

out. Bukpuk. Called out where the refinery is, so that area is Dhuwa. Galpu. And the bukpuk

was taking care of that area because where the wititj (Olive python) stays. And where that area

wasn’t clear it used to have a billabong, a real big billabong, the waterlilies ga paperbark grew

there and there is a little creek that goes down on the other side of the bay at Golpuy represents

 

 

 

 

the tail of the wititj. And as you two have already been here, and you saw the pile of raw bauxite

(powder/dust) that’s how the wititj curled up, and its tail went out at the little creek where the

creek comes out and that is the creek that came out where the billabong used to be. And that’s

the remainder of it, and everything else, this case is the billabong and the fresh water spring that

used to come out, during the wet and just go down on from the rocks straight from the rocks

came down the beach on this side of Bukpukpuy. And that spring was blocked as soon as the

refinery was built. And still there where the Bukpuk sang and called out making sure that

Mararrapan … came around the point, and crossed on the other side and still go along the

beach at Galupa, Galupa to the point there where the wharf is there called Warrimbiri.

Warrimbiri, yäku ŋurru ŋunha the export wharf, where they ship from ??? gets the alumina ore,

and the bauxite. The point where the export wharf is and around that point, is a place called

Djanbirrk Djanbirrkpuy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

. That’s where Mararrapan stopped, at a place called Djanbirrkpuy. …

just around the point and round the corner and the rest of the area from there is Bukpukpuy.

Mararrapan Gumatj dog. And it is to do with the bäru (crocodile). It’s another name for bäru.

Mararrapan, Ŋararrwi, Mandimirri, all those names. And most of the ?names? is used that is

connected with bäru, we name our dogs. In our mother’s side, Gumatj Yolŋu. and um

Mararrapan is connected with the bäru, and the other nhawi area has to do with the gurtha, and

fire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yow, So one is bäru, the gurtha and the fire, it’s the fire area, and it connects to the um..

quail. So all those things, the quail, the dog Mararrapan, is connected with the bäru. Yow all Yirritja, Gumatj. 7

Dhaŋgal is telling a story about country—her country and her kin’s country; stories of its origins

in the travels and other doings of Ancestral Beings:Mararrapan … a dog that came across

through this land; Gurtha, the fire [that] came down; Wititj the olive python that stays near that

place;

 

 

 

 

Bukpuk the pheasant who calls out. These are Beings who bring places and people into

ordered being—we could say they are concepts that constitute an order; about which an order

hangs. This ordered constitution of the Yolngu cosmos is re-enacted in narratives like to one

Dhaŋgal begins here, the like of which which Dhäŋgal has often performed before, both for

Yolngu learners and for non-Yolngu visitors. These narratives which re-perform the Ancestral

order are also enacted collectively in formal ceremony where song, and dance, and painting add

to the richness of the re-enactment.

Being a crucial part of those narrative performances as listeners, learners of language and

culture will actively contribute to the re-making of places and themselves. Their engagement

with the stories—confused, puzzled, and uncomprehending though it may be for many students,

is a crucial element of the performance. But clearly Dhaŋgal is hoping for more than this

minimal participation as audience by learners of Yolngu language and culture in the Teaching

from Country

programme, she hopes that learners of Yolngu language and culture (Yolngu and

non-Yolngu learners alike) will come to “know about themselves, who they really are...”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Standing Up Alive Mens Gathering ~ Page 1 - [ Vertaal deze pagina ]

 

 Opening the Way; Sharing the Law - [ Vertaal deze pagina ]

 

Gurritjiri & Djalu Gurruwiwi - Waluka - The Mulka Project Online Store - [ Vertaal deze pagina ] 21 Jan 2008 ... This CD features traditional songs of the Galpu clan of northeast Arnhem Land, sung by brothers Gurritjiri and Djalu Gurruwiwi. ... www.yirrkala.com/mulka/catalog/product_info.php?... - In cache   Gurritjiri & Djalu Gurruwiwi - Waluka [CD] $30.00

Click to enlarge This CD features traditional songs of the Galpu clan of northeast Arnhem Land, sung by brothers Gurritjiri and Djalu Gurruwiwi. Djalu is famous as a yidaki maker and teacher who inherited that knowledge from his father Monyu. Gurritjiri, or Alfred, is the son who was given the knowledge of leading the clan's songs.   Djalu Plays and Teaches Yidaki, Volume 1 [CD] $30.00 Click to enlarge This CD illustrates the way Yolngu teach and practice didjeridu rythms. Yidaki Master Djalu Gurruwiwi instructs his son Larrtjannga Gurruwiwi and Barrnyulnyul Wunungmurra. There's an alternation of instruction (all in Galpu language), vocalised 'mouth sounds' of the rhythms, and playing on the instrument, mainly trading between Djalu and Larry, with Barrnyulyul joining in later. This CD and its followup are great ways to see how Yolngu rhythms are put together, memorised and shared. The ideal for a non-Yolngu student would be to start with the primer of Hard Tongue Didgeridoo and then move on to deeper analysis of Djalu's two CDs. This product was added to our catalog on Monday 21 January, 2008.     Djalu plays and Teaches Yidaki. Volume 2 [CD] $30.00 Click to enlarge This album features yidaki patterns for song items from three manikay series that are owned and passed from father to child within the Galpu clan. For each song item presented, the pattern is initially vocalized and then played with yidaki. This demonstrates the complex articulation and breathing techniques through which yidaki patterns are created and taught to others. Narration in both Yolngu-Matha and English is included for the benefit of listeners, to know the stories of the songs. Djalu' first speaks in his own Galpu language, then his sister Dhanggal translates. Djalu's son Larry also plays on the CD. We recommend that serious yidaki students start with Hard Tongue Didgeridoo and then progress to Djalu's instructional CDs. This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 22 January, 2008. ....... Galarrwuy Yunupingu - Gobulu [CD] $30.00 Click to enlarge Contemporary versions of traditional songs of Galarrwuy's maripulu, or mother's mother's Dhalwangu clan at Gurrumuru, with Malngay Yunupingu on yidaki. ....................... Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu - Gurrumul [CD] $30.00 Click to enlarge Blind from birth, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu is a powerhouse of musical creativity. Geoffrey, or Gudjuk as he is also called, is from the Gumatj nation, his mother from the Galpu nation both First Nations peoples from North East Arnhemland. A former member of Yothu Yindi, now with Saltwater Band, Gurrumul solo excursions highlight his amazing talent as a singer/songwriter/musician, his beautiful voice singing the songs of his Gumatj country will never leave you. His solo performances are a rare treat and should not be missed. Geoffrey's own band the Saltwater Band hail from Galiwin'ku on Elcho Island, NE Arnhem Land are a much loved and most popularly noted Indigenous band, partly because of Gurrumul's influence and guidance. With the release of this his first solo album, Geoffrey highlights the tremendous talent he has to offer Indigenous music in Australia, and indeed, the world. Track List 1. Wiyathul 2. Djärimirri 3. Bäpa 4. Gurrumul History (I Was Born Blind) 5. Marrandil 6. Marwurrumburr 7. Galiku 8. Baywara 9. Gäthu Mäwula 10. Galupa 11. Wirrpanu 12. Wukun   Self-explanatory really. Here we are at Gikal' outstation hunting for turtle, Terrence Gaypalarni Gurruwiwi at the front of the boat with his spear. There's been speculation about who would be the next yirdaki master after Djalu, various names have been proposed including Ngongu Ganambarr, Mirarra' Burarrwanga, Marlangay' Yunupingu... In my humble opinion, Terrence Gayparlarni is already a master. I've not known him to make a bad or average instrument. He knows almost all the songs of Dhuwa clan groups, having first learnt Ngaymil manikay, and then Galpu, Rirratjingu, Djapu, Djambarrpuyngu, Marrangu, etc. At only 24 years old years old, Gayparlani is an accomplished yirdaki maker and player, songman, hunter, teacher, dancer, historian, and artist. Having spent a lot of time in the bush, he is equally comfortable in urban and city environments. He has travelled interstate teaching traditional dance, and is looking forward to his first international outing with iDIDJ Australia in the near future. ....................... This is the first of many clips that will be uploaded of the Rripangu Yirdaki Masterclass 2008. Here Dhangal Gurruwiwi delivers the cultural induction introduction, explaining about kinship and other things. During the week-long Masterclass, participants learnt to make and play the yirdaki from Djalu' Gurruwiwi. There were outings to the bush, campfire dancing and singing, hunting and spear-fishing, lessons with Djalu, amongst other things. Rripangu Yirdaki acknowledges the support of the Yothu Yindi Foundation, Rio Tinto Alcan, and the Department of Regional Development, Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources (DBIRD). Expressions of interest are sought for the 2009 series of Masterclasses, see link below for details: http://www.forum.ididj.com.au/2009-yirdaki-masterclass-with-djalu-gurruwiwi-eoi-t611.html ............................... WARNING, contains images of the deceased! Click away now if you may be distressed by seeing images of Alfred Gurritjiri Gurruwiwi and Sylvester Liyakindirr Gurruwiwi. We've spoken to families about this video and everyone whom we've consulted said it is ok to upload it to YouTube. That doesn't make it right to have this video here, but at least it gives families in Arnhem Land a chance to download the clip to their mobile phones and to keep it as memory of loved ones. Anyway, found this video in one of our archive tapes, for a while I thought it was lost as I haven't seen it for years. But as I was searching for other videos, I found this, so here it is. This is a tour to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in May 2004, sponsored by the Australian Government's AUSTRADE. Rripangu Yirdaki - comprising of Djalu Gurruwiwi, his brother Alfred Gurritjiri, Djalu's grandson Sylvester Liyakindirr, Djalu's wife Gurrpiya (also known as Dopiya) Yunupingu, and Djalu's daughter Zelda Balpiyangay - performed at a sister's city conference as well as a Royal Wedding in Dubai. We were only there for a few days, and may possibly be the first Australian Indigenous group to perform in the Middle East, correct me if I'm wrong. I wrote an article about this trip some years back in the Didgeridoo & Co Magazine... the title of that article, West Wind blows to the Middle East, is an apt description of Galpu history and culture, and the place yidaki has in it. Dubai is a amazing place, a city built in the desert and where watering the lawn costs millions of dollars a year. We were treated like kings and stayed at the 6 star hotel, the Novotel - didn't know there was such a thing as a 6 star hotel. And then we got to see the Burj Al Arab, possibly the most luxurious hotel in the world where staying a night there can cost upwards of $28,000 and where the taps are made of gold. We were told all the rooms were booked out and there was a waiting period of several months - not that we could afford to stay there. I've got a lot of fond memories of this trip. Spending quality time with Sylvester and Alfred was a treat, just chatting about stuff and marveling at our surroundings. A lot of the locals had never met Australians before, but meeting Indigenous Australians was something else. They were really curious and had many questions to ask, and the didgeridoo really captivated their attention. Funny thing happened in the foyer of the Novotel too... some American tourists were there and immediately recognised the didgeridoo and proceeded playing Djalu's yidaki circular breathing and all. We had a bit of a captive audience there in the Novotel. We made many friends on that trip, learn about different cultures, ate amazing food, it was a privilege to represent Australia and to do our country proud. A special thank you to Rripangu Yirdaki, and in particular Sylvester and Alfred who are no longer with us, for their service to their country and Indigenous Australia. This will will remain a treasured memory for ever. ..................................... Jeremy Claoke Yidaki workshop London - [ Vertaal deze pagina ] leaders Djalu and Gurritjiri Gurruwiwi - and pictured playing Yidaki during informal ceremony at Bawaka outstation, north east Arnhemland. ... www.aboriginalarts.co.uk/events_workshops_jeremy.htm - In cache - Vergelijkbaar ........................... iDIDJ Philanthropy | iDIDJ Australia - [ Vertaal deze pagina ] Four of our star YouTube yidaki players - Milkay Mununggurr, Nicky Yunupingu, Yomunu Yunupingu, and Sylvester Liyakindirr Gurruwiwi - have passed away from ... www.ididj.com.au/ididjphilanthropy.html - In cache - Vergelijkbaar ........................................

GARMA FESTIVAL 2009
“Art, language, the mountain of Yolngu knowledge – including in healing and ..... five of the Yolngu clans (Gumatj, Rirratjingu, Djapu, Galpu and Wangurri). ...
www.garma.telstra.com/pdfs/2009/GF09backgroundnotes.pdf -

The vision of the

Yothu Yindi Foundation is for Yolngu and other Indigenous Australians to have the same level of

wellbeing and life opportunities and choices as non-Indigenous Australians.

“Garma is a vital element of achieving that vision,” says Mandawuy Yunupingu, founder of Garma

and Deputy Chairman of the Foundation. “It is a vital part of our efforts to present, nurture and

preserve traditional Yolngu culture.

“Art, language, the mountain of Yolngu knowledge – including in healing and wellbeing – the

spirituality, much of it borne of the land, is disappearing. Cultural traditions and practices of

Garma 2009 Background Notes page 4

traditional dance, song, ceremony – our social rituals and belief expressions – are being lost, not

passed on to the next generation. The bonds, the ties are being broken. This cultural structure is vital

for social cohesion, for holding communities and clans and families together and therefore for

community development – and that includes economic development and even economic opportunities

through that culture – and community wellbeing”…………………….

Indigenous Cultural Tourism

–Men's Program

–Women's Program

Registration is available to members of the general public

to attend Garma through a 5-day special Indigenous

Cultural Tourism program with Indigenous and non-Indigenous professional guides.

Following the success of recent years, we have further developed the Indigenous Cultural

Tourism program, increasing the direct involvement of Yolngu guides and cultural leaders,

and tailoring the Garma programs into a unique Indigenous Cultural Tourism program which

delivers superb experiences, specially organised for men and women. But in order to retain the

intimate and substantive essence and ambience of the program, we are continuing to strictly

limit the number of places available.

The Indigenous Cultural Tourism program is designed to be compatible with Yolngu culture.

So those privileged to come to Garma on the program will split for much of the time into

tailored separate women’s and men’s groups, with appropriate Yolngu guides and presenters,

but come together as one group for such special sessions and other features as a Cultural

Induction session; the famous nightly bunggul (dance ceremony); and presentations on

Garma 2009 Background Notes page 6

language, flora and fauna, and interpretation of dance and song.

Garma provides a unique cultural immersion experience – Yolngu culture on Yolngu terms on

Yolngu land. It is an award-winning model for insightful, intimate Indigenous tourism. The

unique line-up of entertainment, education and real cultural interaction includes a spectacular

celebration of cultural traditions and practices – dance, song, music and art – which is truly

authentic. And all proceeds go to the operation of Yothu Yindi Foundation social, cultural and

economic programs.

Indigenous Cultural Tourism registration includes permits, Gove Airport ground transfers,

meals and camping accommodation……………………………..

Yidaki Masterclass NOT AVAILABLE FROM 2008-2012

At its 2007 annual general meeting, the board of the Yothu Yindi Foundation decided that the

Garma Festival's Yidaki Masterclass would be cancelled for five years following the death of

Garma 2009 Background Notes page 7

the Masterclass co-convener.

This decision was taken after a request from the immediate family and as a matter of respect

in accordance with Yolngu cultural tradition. The next Yidaki Masterclass will be at the

Garma Festival of 2013.

Djalu Gurruwiwi will continue to teach yidaki but not at the Festival. Any Yidaki Masterclass

enquiries will be forwarded to his management…………………………….

Behaviour protocols

At the Garma Festival, you are requested to observe and work within Yolngu protocols.

 Remember you are on Yolngu land and entering Yolngu time.

 Yolngu perceptions, priorities and preoccupations are different from those of mainstream Australia. Be patient, and

try to leave at home your expectations of how things are learnt, and how events should run.

 Traditionally Yolngu learn by observation, by looking and listening. Asking too many questions can be inappropriate.

So, when you have questions, choose them carefully and thoughtfully.

 Respect Yolngu people’s personal space, particularly in the camping areas

 Avoid strolling around and visiting Yolngu campsites unless specifically invited and accompanied by Yolngu.

 Please exercise courtesy and sensitivity when taking photographs – seek the permission of the subjects if taking

close-ups, or photographs of small groups, particularly in the women’s programs and men’s programs cultural and

health sessions.

 Visitors should NOT leave the Gulkula site on their own and should only walk along specifically marked Festival

trails. This is about showing respect for land and is also a safety issue. Please ensure someone knows your travel

plans.

 Treat the old people with the greatest of respect – they hold the knowledge and the power.

 Please be conscious that dress standards may often vary from what is considered acceptable at your home. By

dressing conservatively you will avoid the possibility of causing offence…………………………………..

GENERAL CONDITIONS FOR PERMITS

IMPORTANT: THESE PERMIT CONDITIONS APPLY TO ALL GARMA FESTIVAL ATTENDEES8. This permit is valid only for visiting Aboriginal land or for the purposes stated herein. Unless otherwise stated in the permit,

work or commercial activities or business negotiations of any kind are not to be carried out on Aboriginal land.

 

Garma 2009 Features Festival, reflecting the belief that while Garma is a crucial event for Indigenous Australians and the .... Gon-Galpu involving workshops on spear-making and hunting; ... interpretive walks, women's workshops on healing, ethno-botany, ...
www.garma.telstra.com/pdfs/2009/YOTH004Newsletter.pdf -

Garma Festival of Traditional Culture

Bu\gul: The heart of Garma

The bu\gul forms the heart of Garma and is emphasised as a core expression of Yol\u intellectual

and spiritual life, an important part of the learning experiences of visitors, and a key element of the

Yothu Yindi Foundation’s achievements in sharing knowledge and culture, and nurturing, maintaining

and protecting cultural traditions and practices.

What are Manikay, Bu\gul and Miny’tji?

In addition to ownership in country, each Yol\u mala possesses its own hereditary canon of yäku

(names), manikay (songs), bu\gul (dances) and miny’tji (designs) which stands as a permanent

record of the original observations made by wa\arr (ancestral progenitors) as they named, shaped,

founded and populated the Yol\u wäŋa (homelands) for their human descendants. Manikay are

performed in lengthy series of brief items that are organised in canonical sequences of the sacred

subjects that are also owned by each mala. There is a manikay series for each of the wäŋa that a

mala owns with its own distinctive sequence of subjects that expounds in fine detail the ecological

and sacred qualities that are specific to it.

Manikay series are typically performed by men with bilma (paired clap sticks) singing and yidaki

(didgeridu) accompaniment, and can be performed on their own in their luku (root) format. In

ceremonies, however, men, women and children dance bu\gul items that accompany each manikay

item, and wear costumes and miny’tji drawn from their subjects. Ceremonial processes traditionally

include funerals, initiations, purifications, dispute settlements and diplomatic exchanges. Ceremonial

highlights at the Garma Festival of Traditional Culture in past years include: the erection of the

larrakitj (hollow log coffin) on the ceremony ground at Gulkula in 1999; the performance of a

manikay series owned by the extinct Burarr\u mala by their descendants in 2002; a ceremonial

exchange between the Gupapuy\u and Gumatj mala in 2005; the presentation by the Maringa

Dancers from Milingimbi of rare Gamala\ga, Mälarra and Gurryindi repertoires that had not been

performed for two decades in 2006; and this year, the Mimih Spirit Dancers from Maningrida

participated again after some years of absence and the Warnindilyakwa Dancers from Groote Eylandt

participated for the first time in the Bu\gul.

The most obvious identifiers of a manikay series as the property of a particular mala are its dämbu

(head) which is its overarching melodic structure, and the approximate length and pitch of the

yidaki that accompanies it. It is important to note here that manikay is one of the very few

Australian musical traditions that employ both the fundamental and overblown pitches of the

didgeridu.

The lyrics of each brief manikay item are known as its yutu\gurr (thigh) and are predominately

drawn from cryptic lexicons of sacred yäku that each mala possesses. Each manikay item has an

“ABA” form which comprises (A) an unaccompanied hummed introduction, (B) an accompanied full

rendition of the yutu\gurr lyrics and (A) an unaccompanied sung coda with the possibility of either

A section being tacit.

The manikay tradition also extends to the milkarri (crying) songs performed in ceremonies by

women which share the same melodic and lyrical content as the fuller manikay series performed by

men. It also allows for the rotational augmentation of manikay series with composed yuta (new)

items in formal performance contexts. Both yuta manikay items and women’s milkarri typically

incorporate semi-improvised expressions of warwu (grief, sorrow) for those who have gone before

which capture the aesthetic essence of the manikay tradition as a whole. The albums of Yothu Yindi

Band feature entirely

traditional settings of

both individual and

chained manikay items as

well as more

contemporised songs such

as “Djäpana: Sunset

Dreaming”, “Timeless

Land” and “Ghost Spirits”

that draw heavily on

manikay repertoires

owned by the Gumatj

and Rirratji\u mala.

Dr Aaron Corn

Australian Post-Doctoral Fellow

Sydney Conservatorium of

Music

Sydney University…………………………………………………..

Indigenous Cultural Tourism

Ranger Tourism Training Program

Go\-Galpu: Men’s Program

Go\-Wapitja: Women’s Program

In 2007, we continued the unique Indigenous Cultural Tourism Program at Garma, incorporating

Women’s Program and Men’s Program activities, and structured along traditional Yol\u lines, but

retaining the very important Ranger Tourism Training Program. This new structure and operation

facilitates an expanded role for Yol\u and, importantly, more assistance for Yol\u in on-going workskills

and economic opportunities in tourism.

83 guests (48 women and 35 men) attended Garma specifically on the Cultural Tourism Program.

Of course, all |apaki (non-yol\gu) guests to Garma – more than 1200 of them in 2007 – are really

“tourists”, but as well as the Key Forum, Performance Symposium and Yidaki Masterclass categories

of registration, and the Youth categories, we still offer a program for visitors which featured a

unique level of intimate, substantive cultural interaction with Yol\u through special activities, Yol\u

guiding, field trips and presentations as well as allowing guests to enjoy and experience the regular

and general highlights of Garma like the Bu\gul, art presentations, music performances, film

screenings, and astronomy sessions.

Garma now brings more tourists into the Northern Territory than any other single NT event, apart

from the Darwin Cup, and holds a prominent place on the Australian Indigenous tourism and cultural

calendars. It has a high-profile international reputation, every year attracting a high level of

international and domestic media coverage.….

Trips were also made into the rainforest and stringy-bark forest to collect medicines, with particular

attention being paid to the tree or plant to be used. Medicinal plant collections were taken to the

shelters. There, senior women conducted seminars on their classifications, uses, preparations,

associated rituals and other associated desirable or compatible treatments. This was followed by

some practical demonstrations of particular medicinal preparation and usage. The teaching, both

formal and informal, followed traditional methods of instruction by expert senior and young middleaged

women and men.

 

 

 

 Key Forum report - Untitled  Foundation/Garma Festival. Photographer Stephen Cherry. Go\-Galpu: Men's Program ...... Indigenous people need spiritual healing and recognition of their

 ...
www.garma.telstra.com/pdfs/2007/GF07report.pdf -

The Mulka Project

This year’s festival included the opening of the Mulka Project, Yirrkala's new multimedia archive and

production centre. The centre is located in the Buku-Larr\gay Mulka community art centre and

provides a foyer, theatrette, office and a public booth with internet access and digital cultural

heritage archives. The centre is a gathering place for the community to come together and see and

hear documentation of the old days and create new documentation on both the old and the new.

On the afternoon of 3 August, many

Garma visitors gathered in front of

Buku-Larr\gay Mulka for the opening.

Art centre coordinator Will Stubbs

was master of ceremonies, introducing

the background of the project and

leading the way to speeches by town

clerk and Yirrkala Traditional land

owner Djuwalpi Marika, NT Chief

Minister of Clare Martin, Federal

Minister for the Arts and Sport

Senator George Brandis, and keynote

speaker Dr Gawirrin Gumana AO,

senior Yol\u statesman and artist, and

last living painter of the Yirrkala

Church Panels. Dr Gumana spoke of

the meaning of 'mulka' as a

ceremonial holding place and the

symbolism of the alternate meaning

'dry hands' before officially dedicating

the building to the artists of the

Saltwater Collection, a landmark suite

of paintings declaring Yol\u

knowledge and ownership of sea

country, the sale of which to the Australian National Maritime Museum provide the seed funding for

the construction of the new building. Gawirrin unveiled a dedication plaque listing the artists

involved. The audience then proceeded into the new building, ceremonially sung in by Witiyana

Marika with Yidaki Master Class instructor Djalu Gurruwiwi on yidaki.

Once inside, the packed audience was treated to some new films produced by the community's

youth. The Yothu Yindi Foundation organized and supported the Mulka Project's inaugural workshop,

a film technique program with David Vadiveloo and Rachel Edwardson of Community Prophets.

David has worked for years in Aboriginal communities, building capacity for local people to tell their

own stories as well as to be employable film professionals. Starting two weeks before Garma, he and

Rachel delivered a hands-on program for Mulka staff and secondary students from the Yirrkala

Community Education Centre that resulted in two finished films that were debuted at the opening

as well as other in-progress works. (Standout students continued to work with David & Rachel

throughout the festival, in the role of directors for a professional camera crew. The footage will be

edited for potential use for TV and other Garma Festival promotion). This program was a great

success and the community looks forward to more follow-up work with David and Rachel, who were

in turn enthusiastic about the Mulka Project's facilities and the talent of the community's youth.

Multimedia students with Randin Graves and trainers David Vadiveloo and

Rachel Edwards in the Mulka theatrette. Photograph © Yothu Yindi

Foundation/Garma Festival. Photographer Andrea Kingston

18

Yirrkala Community Education Centre Open Day

The annual Yirrkala CEC open day provided an

opportunity for students and teachers to showcase the

wonderful work of the school and its bilingual program.

The day was open to all clans and registered Garma

participants. It was a day full of fun activities for all

ages. There was dancing, plays, music and food. It

provided a glimpse into the unique history of the

school and its emphasis on localised curriculum. The 15

Year 12 graduates in two years testify to the program’s

success.

Buku-Larr\gay Mulka

Community Art Centre

As well as a visit to the school and the multimedia

centre, many registered Garma participants visited the

Buku-Larr\gay Mulka Community Art Centre. The

artists of the Centre have established a worldwide

reputation for excellence, having won many of

Australia's major Indigenous art prizes.

The sacred art of this region details the spiritual forces

behind the creation and continuing identity of the

fresh and saltwater country of the Miwatj region of

north-eastern Arnhem Land.

Buku-Larr\gay Mulka supplies individuals and high range

retail outlets nationally and internationally with

artworks and shows solo and group exhibitions with

prestigious private galleries worldwide.

Yidaki Masterclass

The 2007 Yidaki Master Class saw the participation of more than 20 students from Europe, North

and South America, and Australia. The program was similar to past years, involving the same main

instructor, Galpu clan elder Djalu Gurruwiwi, and was again coordinated by Buku-Larrn\ay Mulka,

Yirrkala's community art centre. Sadly, the class suffered a great loss only weeks before the festival

with the passing of the other teacher, a Djapu man who was the original yidaki player with the band

Yothu Yindi. The loss was deeply felt, but Djalu paid a fitting tribute by enlisting the additional help

of Warpurpur Mununggurr, a young 'son' of the deceased who is a fine yidaki player himself.

Talented player and craftsman Mirarra Burarrwa\a and Djalu's wife Dhopiya also helped throughout

the festival.

The first morning opened

with a cultural information

session with Djalu and his

sister Dhaggal and cousin

Djapirri Mununggirritj that

provided some interesting

details of Yol\u behaviour,

kinship and ceremony. In

the afternoon, the class

travelled to Buku-Larr\gay

Mulka to view the historic

artwork, learn something

about Yol\u history and

kinship, try the many

available instruments and

witness the opening of the

Mulka Project.

The second day saw the

group out bush cutting

yidaki, several of which

were completed before

the festival was over.

Yirrkala CEC students with Youth Forum Mentor Kyle

Vander Kuyp at the Open Day celebrations.

Photograph © Yothu Yindi Foundation/Garma Festival.

Photographer Stephen Cherry

Yidaki Masterclass at Garma 2007. Photograph © Yothu Yindi Foundation/Garma Festival.

Photographer Mark Rogers

19

Many students chose to take home instruments that had been worked on and painted during the

long weekend. These were worked on and off on Saturday and Sunday between more lessons.

Monday was the “day in the bush”. It started at Binydjarrnga, where the group followed along and

assisted in carrying the haul caught by Djalu, his son Vernon, and Mirarra. The three hunters

displayed great prowess with their spears and spearthrowers, bringing in fish, mudcrabs and several

stingray (an acquired taste). Meanwhile, some women from Djalu's family went to collect oysters,

mussels, and more mudcrabs. Some of this was cooked up and enjoyed on the white sands of

Binydjarrnga. An added adventure remained for four members of the class, the survivors, who were

stranded for several hours with two flat tyres, while the rest of the class, the splitters, left and did

nothing to help them! Fortunately art centre staff later came to the rescue.

The last day finished up with more lessons, and concluded at lunch time with farewells and Djalu

playing on the chest of each participant in turn, to send them away with power and confidence to

continue playing proudly back home.

Randin Graves

Yidaki Masterclass Coordinator

Buku-Larr\gay Mulka Art Centre

PLEASE NOTE: Yidaki Masterclass is NOT AVAILABLE in 2008

At its 2007 annual general meeting, the board of the Yothu Yindi Foundation decided that the

Garma Festival's Yidaki Masterclass would be cancelled for an extended period following the death

of the Masterclass co-convener. This decision was taken after a request from the immediate family

and as a matter of respect in accordance with Yol\u cultural tradition. Men interested in the yidaki

are encouraged to register in the Indigenous Cultural Tourism Program as a way of participating in

Garma.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rripaŋu Yidaki:

Aboriginal social frameworks

in a Musical Ecotourism Business 

 

"......Rripaŋu Yidaki is a grassroots tourism business, dedicated to the craft and study of the [yidaki] didjeridu, initiated, owned, and maintained by one Aboriginal family in the far north of Australia.

Its business model, while unconventional, is premised on long-standing local Aboriginal social frameworks, such as kinship networks and exchange customs. Field research and communication with the family and its visitors carried out over the past 2 years indicate that these social frameworks are uniquely suited to meet the stated needs and desires of this family enterprise and its self-selecting clientele.

The family's business model also avoids the inequities inherent in the models of more developed and capitalised Aboriginal tourism enterprises seen elsewhere in Australia. While some visitors and promoters have described Rripaŋu Yidaki as an ecotourist enterprise, the term 'ecotourism' remains a foreign category to local Aboriginal systems of thought and valuation. Yet virtually all of Rripaŋu Yidaki's operations fit within accepted definitions of ecotourism, and the family accepts the label as a valid description of their business......"