Voices Essays
George Burarrwanga clan <<< Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu clan <<<
This is part 1 of Dha:wu'mirr Dharpa, a story about message sticks by Gumatj elder Andrew Galitju. Part 1 and 2 of this story shows Galitju making message sticks. Galitju, Yirrirnirnba and Mirarra' provide commentary on how old people used these message sticks before telecommunications, paper, and air travel found their way to Arnhem Land. For those interested in Yolngu language and culture, additional written comments will be added here in due time, to aid in your understanding of Yolngu grammatical structure as well as to expand your vocabulary. A bit about Galitju... as well as making an appearance in the feature film Yolngu Boy, Andrew Galitju is known throughout Arnhem Land and the 'Top End' of the Northern Territory as a legendary hunter, cross-cultural educator, and all-round nice guy. When I first met Galitju some 10 years ago, it was with Yolngu friends who paid him a visit in order to purchase turtle meat from his deep freezer. There is always a ready supply of magpie goose, stingray, fish, turtle and other culinary delights in Galitju's house! Galitju is my "brother-in-law", father to yirdaki extraordinaire 'DJ' Burarrwanga, second father to George Rr*rr*mb*, and grandfather to Henry Mirarra' Burarrwanga.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/we-need-to-find-ways-to-meet-the-future-with-hope-not-on-our-knees/story-e6frg6zo-1225875425689 We need to find ways to meet the future with hope, not on our knees Galarrwuy Yunupingu From: The Australian June 05, 2010 12:00AM
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/15/2846035.htm?section=justin ……………Tears of crocodile man fall in grief for his people<? Tracee Hutchison SIXTEEN years ago, Mandawuy Yunupingu sang his way into the heart of the nation with the anthem of his people, Treaty, a plea for understanding between black and white Australia. In every sense, the lead singer of Yothu Yindi, the crocodile man, became the face of reconciliation. The song was an international hit. Yunupingu was named Australian of the Year. Since then, the 50-year-old has watched the momentum for reconciliation peter out and his hopes for a treaty dissipate. As the Federal Government pushes through legislation that he believes will further undermine the rights and welfare of indigenous Australians, the man who once held so much hope for a more equitable Australia fears not only for the future of his people but for his own. In January Yunupingu entered a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre. The man so many thought would never fall was fighting for his life. "As the saying goes with rock and roll, alcohol and drugs can take you to the road of no return, the road of despair," he said from his home in north-east Arnhem Land. "I now know how much damage excessive consumption of alcohol can do." Winning the battle for sobriety is just one of Yunupingu's health challenges. He is also diabetic and will soon have dialysis treatment for renal failure. He is a long way from the optimistic voice that spoke from his warrior's heart, a heart that carried the hopes of so many Australians, black and white. But Yunupingu's story is more than that of another rock music casualty. It is intrinsically tied to the struggle of his people. His family (the name means "rock that stands against time") is synonymous with the struggle for Aboriginal land rights. The famous 1963 bark petition from the Yolngu people of north-east Arnhem Land marks the first Aboriginal land claim and hangs in the national Parliament. Elder brother Galarrwuy, a senior elder of north-east Arnhem Land, was Australian of the Year in 1978 and remains a force in Australian politics. Life for Mandawuy Yunupingu, as for so many indigenous Australians, is inescapably political. "Of course I despair. Of course I do," he says of the Federal Government's "I'm disappointed in the way anyone would be as a modern Aboriginal person, as a modern educated person, would be. People can see the scales tipping over against the Yolngu (Aboriginal) way and it needs to be balanced. They (the Government) are turning back the clocks to suit their needs, to suit their time frame in a way that we can't understand." http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/tears-of-the-crocodile-man/2007/08/12/1186857347036.html
| A people's survival; 091003
Gurrumul (Dramatico/Rough Trade) **** Het helpt je in ieder geval Gurrumuls muziek in een kader te plaatsen. Met zijn nette, mooie en vooral ’eigen’ ballades, ondersteund door fijnbesnaard (linkshandig gespeeld) gitaarwerk en goed verzorgd spel tussen zanger en achtergrondkoor, is Gurrumul al even de best verkopende Aboriginalmuzikant in Australië. Nu is de rest van de wereld aan de beurt. Grote kans dat Gurrumul ook daar succes heeft. Lief, heel lief, komt hij over. Met zijn licht bezwerende stem houdt Gurrumul een beetje het midden tussen de Filipijn Freddy Aguilar (’Anak’) en die andere blinde gitarist/zanger José Feliciano. De zang van Gurrumul ligt net zo gemakkelijk in het gehoor. Hij weet zijn toehoorders ook snel voor zich in te nemen. Niet met traditionele muziek van de Aboriginals, verwacht ook geen didgeridoo of andere muzikale invloeden van Aboriginals. Gurrumul laat zich begeleiden door viool en cello. Niet echt wat je zegt Australische wereldmuziek. En toch weet je al direct als Gurrumul gaat zingen, deze muziek komt uit Oceanië. Gurrumul vertelt zijn verhalen zingend. Hij bezingt zijn levensverhaal in zijn eigen talen – voor de liefhebber, dat zijn Gälpu, Gumatj, Djambarrpuynju – af en toe aangevuld met wat Engels. Gezongen verhalen van dicht op zijn eigen huid en die van zijn luisteraars. En juist daarin schuilt Gurrumuls kracht. *****************************************************
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