Garma 2004, Day 4

Photo Stephen Cherry

Photo Stephen Cherry

Photo Stephen Cherry

Photo Trevor van Weeren

Photo Trevor van Weeren

Wukudi Ceremony

In the closing session of the key Garma Forum this afternoon, Yothu Yindi Foundation chair Galarrwuy Yunupingu made pointed reference to the meaning of the Wukudi ceremony staged by Dhudi-Djapu clansmen in Darwin’s Supreme Court to bring closure to the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Dhudi-Djapu leader Dhakiyarr from Fannie Bay Gaol in the 1930s.

Dhakiyarr had been arrested and charged with murder after spearing police constable Albert McColl on Woodah Island off east Arnhem Land. After a brief trial in Darwin in which no defence was presented (and no interpreter provided) Dhakiyarr was found guilty and sentenced to death. An appeal to the High Court saw the verdict overturned, Dhakiyarr pardoned and his release from gaol ordered. The day he was released, he disappeared, sparking persistent rumours that he’d been killed by police.

Galarrwuy introduced two of Dhakiyarr’s descendents, Dhukal Wirrpanda and Djambawa Marawili, the men responsible for the Wukudi project.

Dhukal Wirrpanda told of an unrelenting search for the remains of the tribal leader who disappeared 70 years ago.

Music Pumps at Garma

During the Garma Festival, contemporary music workshops are being conducted with young school bands from across Arnhem Land at the Yirrkala Community Education Centre. Musicians from Yothu Yindi and the John Butler Trio are assisting with the workshops, honing the skills of percussionists, brass players, guitarists, singers and songwriters.

Meanwhile, out at the Yothu Yindi Foundation’s Yirrnga Music Development Centre at Gunyangara, producer Matt Cunliffe and his colleagues have been recording demos for bands from Arnhem Land and beyond in the Ian Potter Foundation Studio.

Blackstone from Elcho Island walked out of the studio on Friday with four songs on CD. On Saturday the 17-piece Angurugu school band from Groote Eylandt (average age 13) recorded 5 songs. Yesterday the world renowned Bengal Bauls put down two tracks and today it was the turn for Sheppy’s Crew from Elcho Island, young kids who’ve formed all boy and all female bands.

Of the latter, Matt Cunliffe says “It the first time in this region that I’ve come across a female drummer and a female doing lead guitar breaks. It’s a really interesting development.”

Each night at Gulkula, three of the bands who’ve been engaged in the workshops or the studio have staged a concert at Gulkula. Last night’s show featured the Bengal Bauls, the Numbulwar School Band (which, at one stage, had twelve singers up front), and the Angurugu School Band augmented by three older women dancers performing in a traditional shuffling style.

Each night the sense of Yolngu pride in the youngsters’ musical talents has been palpable as hundreds of people have jumped up to dance in a sea of black and white.

In a treat for Yolngu and visitors alike, Yothu Yindi are among the bands performing at tonight’s grand finale.

Photo Andrea Keningston

Open Day

Armed with folding chairs, hundreds of residents from the nearby mining town of Nhulunbuy took advantage of the annual Garma open day and flocked into the site this afternoon in cars and buses.

As the sun set through the stringybarks, the visitors were treated to a superb display of bunggul involving hundreds of dancers and songmen from Numbulwar, Gangan, Ramingining, Milingimbi and beyond.
The bunggul culminated in a ceremonial exchange of spiritually significant hand-crafted gifts by visiting clans, a dramatic scene of conciliation, the conclusion of which was greeted with celebratory cheers from the thousand or so Yolngu at Garma.

The crowd then moved from the bunggul ground back toward the main stage where, in a surprise appearance, visiting dancers from NAISDA opened the night’s entertainment with a series of polished performances on the sand.

A 13-piece Yothu Yindi, augmented by four dancers and two brass players, then hit the stage for a relaxed set that kicked off with Gapu and Gapu Contemporary and slipped into One Blood, Yolngu Boy and Garrathia Run. Galarrwuy Yunupingu then stepped up with a farewell speech paying tribute to the sense of unity and mutual understanding that has developed over the past few days.

With the speeches behind them, Yothu Yindi hit their straps and rocked through My Kind Of Life, Djapana, Tribal Voice and a rousing rendition of Treaty.

The rest of the night was given over to younger bands Blackstone and Sheppy’s Crew from Elcho Island, the Girls’ and Boys’ bands from Yirrkala, and primary school rock bands from Milingimbi, Gapuwiyak and Numbulwar.