Gumatj Clan Pattern

YOTHU YINDI

Freedom and Global Survival

Interview with Mandawuy Yunupingu of Yothu Yindi by Fred Tietjen
- excerpted from Rhythm Music Magazine May, 1994

Mandawuy Yunupingu of the Gumatj clan from North East Arnhem Land was pronounced Australian of the Year for 1992 for his accomplishments in the national and international arenas. Mandawuy is the leader of the group Yothu Yindi, hailed by Billboard Magazine as the flagship of Australian music. He is one of his country's fore most cultural ambassadors. His band swept the awards of the Australian music industry and played at the United Nations to innaugurate the Year of Indigenous Peoples in 1993. Their second Album, last years Tribal Voice (1993), went double Platinum in Australia; the band is now poised to launch their fourth tour to America in April (1994).

Yothu Yindi combine Aboriginal (Yolngu) and non-aboriginal (balanda) musicians and instrumentation. Amidst the clack of the bilma (clap-sticks) and growls from the yidaki (didjeridu) that seem to well up from the center of the earth, they weave strands of song-cycles of the Gumatj and Rirratjingu clans onto rock-solid drums and guitars, and infuse the whole with their uncompromising political message.

Their message is two-fold. The first relates more strongly to Australian politics, though it has its bearing on the question of land rights for indigenous peoples everywhere. Australian Aboriginal people trace their origins back 40,000 years. The first continued white presence on the continent began some 200 years ago, when English turned the continent into a massive penal colony, shipping off their convicts to the fatal shore (title of a book by Robert Hughes on the subject) in order to relieve their over-crowded prisons at home. The British regarded the continent as terra nullius or unoccupied land (meaning that no colonial power had laid claims to it), and claimed it for their own in 1788. The Aboriginal inhabitants were equated with animals, and were massacred well into the 20th century. Their situation today resembles that of the American Indian in many respects, a history of genocide, resettlement, and deprivation leading to all too often to internalized oppression, hopelessness, unemployment and alcoholism.

But in their new album, Freedom, Yothu Yindi celebrate a new cause for hope, commonly known as the Mabo decision. Eddy Mabo was a member of the Mer community on Murray Island in the Torres Strait who together with other prominent members of the community brought a case that attempted to overturn the terra nullius doctrine. He argued that the Mer settlement on the island had been continuous-- that it had always belonged to them, and that terra nullius therefore did not apply to the island. He lost. But the Murray islanders appealed, and this time they won. The Australian High Court surprised everyone by handing down a near-unanimous decision (one dissenter), saying that the unbroken Mer presence on Murray island did indeed secure ownership for that clan, overturning the concept of terra nullius for that particular piece of land and, by extension, for others like it.

Eddy Mabo died before the High Court decision, but Mandawuy's brother Galarrwuy commemorates his achievement in the song called, Mabo, hammering the message home with stilted but uncompromising bluntness. "Terra Nullius, Terra Nullius...." The brothers are not the first generation of their family to be involved in the struggle. Their father, along with the father of Yothu Yindi Wittiana Marika, were both leaders of the Gumatj and Rirratjingu clans in Northeast Arnhem Land. In the 1960's they initiated the Aboriginal Land Rights movement petitioning the government for the right to exercise Aboriginal authority regarding the use of land and the granting of mining rights in their traditional homeland areas. The band named their first album "Homeland Movement". It was recorded in 1988, Euro-Australia's bicentennial, an event the band protested in a number of concerts in Sydney.

But the Aboriginal message goes beyond Australian politics. The name Yothu Yindi means "child and mother" in the Gumatj language, reflecting how the Yolngu relate to their environment. They see the maintenance of the earth's ecological integrity as key to their physical and cultural survival. Through singing, dancing, painting and ceremony, they become co-participants in the on-going creation and re-animation of all life forms.

More than celebrities and world class musicians, the members of Yothu Yindi are cultural emissaries of the Yolngu people. Their album Freedom is a visionary statement of hope for a shared destiny of a global community. With the ecological future of the earth at stake, our fate as a species may be linked to the cultural survival of indigenous peoples and their ability to transmit their native wisdom.

--Fred Tietjen--

Q. What is the impact of Aboriginal music and culture on the world?

A. I think it is becoming a very central focus point from all around the world. People are starting to relate to Australia through our music. They are starting to find out more about the art of this country. They are starting to connect with other global indigenous people as well. They can make the connection and understand and learn something from us. I think our main view is to be cultural ambassadors abroad and try and teach those people who are looking for something that they feel is the right thing. I think we've got something to offer in that area.

Q. How do you feel about being named Australian of the year?

A. For me and my family its a proud moment. I feel that it signifies a social and political change. Its a much warmer sort of change, in terms of the Australian ability to recognize and be involved in the big picture, and wanting to learn about original culture. I reckon it has been a turning-point for most Australians. It also added to my brothers recognition , Galarrwuy Yunupingu, who was named as Australian of the year in 1978. I was surprised when I got the call. We were in Boston when I got this phone call from the Australia council telling me I was unanimously voted Australian of the Year. So I told my brother , Galarrwuy , who happened to be touring with us and he reckoned "Wow , that's special". So you can imagine how much strength we've got doubling.

Q. What role does Galarrwuy play in Yothu Yindi and in the Northern Territories?

A. Well he's the Northern Land Council Chairman, so he looks after this big statutory organization that talks to the federal government on Land Issues. Here in Yirrkala , He plays the role of chief, the man in charge as clan leader for my tribes. He also works with the band. He does most of the album cover art-work( Tribal Voice, Freedom) and writing songs. He was executive producer on Tribal Voice .That's within his department

Q. Can you tell me about the Mabo decision and Terra Nullius?.

A. In the process of the release of Tribal voice the government and Aboriginal people have addressed and acknowledged through legislation that Aboriginal people have recognized Native Title to their land and country. When the English came and colonized Australia they did not recognize tribal sovereignty and followed a doctrine called "Terra Nullius" which means that land is uninhabited. The Mabo decision handed down by the High Court has invalidated that doctrine and gives Aboriginal people bargaining power for the same equal-rights that anyone else in this country has. The Mabo decision recognizes that we Aboriginal people were living here before the British came.

Q. Can you talk about the song "Mabo"?

A. "Mabo" is on our release Freedom. It was written by my older brother Galarrwuy. It's his reflection on the struggle we've had. A group of elders from our country, my father, and the father of Wittiyana Marika were founders of the Aboriginal Rights Movement. They took the government to High court and lost the fight there. We were addressing the same issue as Eddy Mabo, but we lost on the grounds that this place Australia, our homeland, was owned by the crown.

(Author's note: The British regarded the Australian continent as "terra nullius", or un-occupied land, as no other colonial nation had claims to it, and claimed it as their own in 1788. Eddy Mabo, along with other prominent members of the Mer Community on Murray Island in the Torres Strait, argued that the Mer Settlement on the island had been continuous - had always belonged to them and that, "terra nullius" did not apply to the island.

Then when the Mabo decision was overturned we just wanted to celebrate that. So my brother wrote that song centered on our struggle here with a view of connecting our thinking through the lyrics that you hear in the song. The Lyrics connect us to the island people of the Torres Straits. That's been going on for generations and generations. We got a spiritual link in there. The Lyrics talk about the Rainmaker, The Spirits Man. They also include the hard-core legal view, "We were right that we were here, they were wrong that we weren't here, Terra Nullius," (lyrics from "Mabo").

Q. Can you talk about the difference between the traditional song cycles and the contemporary songs you compose?

A. Most of the songs I write in a contemporary way are drawn from the traditional "Roots Sound" I feel that's the driving force in my music. That's where my natural ability resides. So I try to work within their context, despite the different genres I use, in order to bring in meanings derived from the Yolngu side of songs. For example, the cut "Djapana" is centered on the Yolngu side in rhythm, beat - everything really. I added things that I feel I could share with people who otherwise don't know the "Djapana" context. Aboriginal people who come from within my region already understand the structure of the song itself. Whereas others that are not familiar with our languages and culture can relate to it because of the inclusion of contemporary side of the lyrics.

Q. In your performance of traditional songs. can you tell me what is the relationship between bilma, yidaki, singing , and dancing.?

A. Since the beginning of time the Law was Bilma. The Law was Yidaki. So when we want to emphasize things that make every general Law what it is today, We sing about its history. Then we dance about it. There's always the abstract level to it and there's always the normal level to the whole thing. So there's the art of music , art of dance, and the art of defining the land. There's also the art of sand-making. Well, you are talking about the land and shaping the land. Talking about a particular idea, then that idea becomes an idea that everyone relates to, its the Law, You know? So I find it really interesting to add all these things together and say "wow" this makes up the bulk of our Law , and the bulk of our Law is practiced through all these art-forms. I think its perfect for me. Because I feel the Yidaki and Bilma , helping each other, balancing all the time. There's the abstract level to singing, at the secret-sacred level, that we think is positive, and that is generated through various forms.

I think I won't tell you about these forms. It's only that I'm restricted not to tell you because of my obligations to my Law. But the forms are there in their sophistication and complexity. All we need to do is tap in and that just what we are trying to do. Inform and teach our younger generation to respect it and respect becomes their power base. It is important to know those positive energies, in order to live positively in a community.

What is the relationship between Aboriginal Law, Land and Yolngu People?

Sacred Law and normal law have always held a balanced view on the whole thing. For Aboriginal people it is everything we are connected to. Its a heart connection to the land and to the many forms of our Ancestral spiritual- leaders that we see as people looking after different things in the world. We practice the Crocodile dance, we do the fire dance, because the crocodile created fire and is the symbol of creativity. You got to respect land and give back to Mother Earth. If you respect her, she'll give back to you. We have ways of respecting in a spiritual sense, we have ways of doing it.. For example at a place that is considered to be sacred. There are ways that people practice all the time. Let's say you catch a fish or a kangaroo in that region, you take it back to your camp you cook , you eat it. Anything you don't eat you put in a circle and that circle becomes an aspect of giving back to mother earth. It'll come back to you in the original form as well. If its a fish, you want that fish to come back. So Mother Earth can re-create it and bring it back to you.

During your tour of the US in 1988 you met with the Native Americans and toured with the John Trudell band as your opening act. What were the similarities and differences in your experience of being Indigenous people?

I was still learning about Native American people. I was looking at the ways that Aboriginal American People live like or thought like. I was anxious to learn the views that John Trudell had. His view was that its a strong political, uphill fight for Indian People. You are three-hundred years in front of us in regards to colonization. With 500 years of European colonization that changes much that would have occurred. The similarities I felt, was that people like the Hopi and the Navajo Indians in Flagstaff, Arizona talked about racism, mining , spirituality and religious freedom, and all those things they talked about connected to what we were talking about at that time. We were talking about the cultural genocide that was happening here in Australia.. In that year of 88 the big happening here was the bi-centennial celebration in Australia, so I talked to several Navaho and Hopi about the ways that we Aboriginals were treated here in Australia with racism and people merely ignoring us. It was ignorance in the way that white people were suppressing Us. This similarity was one of our connections with Native Americans that was most interesting to me,

That's the first time I was talking to Indian people. Previously I had only seen movies of how the white people have portrayed American Indians. So when I went there I was really blown away that most of the Hopi and Navajo Elders were women. They were the most outspoken of the whole flock. Men were there but they were kind of reserved you know.?

Author. "Yes, a story I heard about that is that for the Dineh~ (Navajo) the land passes through the women. The only way a man has access to the land is through his relationship with a woman. And if he doesn't treat her right, she puts his blanket and moccasins outside the front door and that means he has to leave---and that means he doesn't have any land. That's big trouble. The Navajo make sure that they treat women's power with respect. It keeps thing in balance.

Well, that's what I was surprised to see. When I came back and told my family, I said, Hey, did you know that with {Navajo} Indian people. All the women were in charge of things. So, It opened up a lot of eyes with us, from our point of view.

Tribal sovereignty for Native Americans has not been addressed in any significant way by the US government. Do you have any comments on this?

I think it's only right that basic human-rights should be a matter of precedence., similar to what Mabo has opened up for us here. It's given us freedom to equally share in whatever the possibilities are for the future. It gives us strength to stand and to be able to work equally with any other people, guaranteeing us the same human rights and protection by the same common law that covers any other people in this country .It's about understanding and freedom. And in (Australia), that opens the area in which black and white relationship is the ultimate relationship.

I think that if American Indian people are strong about it, there are in front of a lot of things. If America is the country we think they are , and if they want to have a future, then they should be doing something right for the Native American people, the original people of America, on whose land they live.

Is there any benefit for white Australians, now, to include historically excluded Aboriginal perspectives and values?

Well, I think it opens up a lot of relationships. ( explore nature of meaning Yothu Yindi in this context) On the work side of things, the moral side of things, and I reckon a whole spiritual side of things, a connection to nature. I think that through the education we will be bringing about it is going to lead in the white man's ways, in their high schools, universities, colleges. Aboriginal education will be part of a {curriculum} informing white Australia about the many changes that are taking place.. It will only occur if a good solid black/white relationship happens now, with all the political changes that are occurring now, that would then become a driving force for change to occur in order to make this big dream come true.

Do you think that (non-aboriginal) people understand what you are offering them?

They can if they tap in, and listen carefully.

What is the future for Aboriginal people?

I think we have a destiny we want to color. With the changes that we put in place now Aboriginal Australia will keep developing in its own way to be independent, but also a part of the big picture.

Can you talk about the composition of the song "Our Generation"? On Freedom? The music for Our generation was written by Andrew Farris from INXS who wanted to collaborate with us on the whole thing. What I did was strip away some of the lyrics he sent and kept his music there and added what I thought was a world connection. I wanted to go down to a Roots level and have the freedom to tap into that and make people adjust to Aboriginal perspectives and values.

I thought that working with Andrew Ferris was good because he brought in things centered on a contemporary way. His lyrics focused ,from a white artists perspective, on pollution, destruction, violence, war, and I just turned it around to include the indigenous perspective so we could tap into the commonalty of attitudes.. Mandawuy ,

( singing)

Someone in the city holds a piece of paper, someone in the bush holds the Law in their hands. Last chance for freedom ,in our generation, we're not the only people ,

( lyrics from the song Our Generation on "Freedom".) "That's the one. It sums it up.".

What would happen to the world if Yolngu people stopped singing, dancing, painting, playing Yidaki and Bilma?

"The whole world would die. It would just stop. The world would stop."

"Only the Indigenous people of this world respect Mother Earth. Our role is to protect her. Our role is to tell people that exploit her "Stop doing it before it's too late." That's our role as indigenous people. We do that through our songs, we do that through our music, We do that through our art. My ultimate aim is to protect Mother Earth from damage before it's too late."

Mandawuy Yunupingu Gumatj clan, co-founder of Yothu Yindi and Australian of the Year 1992.