In the language of the Yolngu, or Aboriginal Australians, 'Yothu Yindi' means 'Child and Mother'. It's the main term used by Aboriginals to describe their nurturing sense of kinship and relationship, both towards each other and towards the land. Importantly, Yothu Yindi is also the name of one of Australia's most celebrated bands, whose musical fusion of traditional Aboriginal sounds with contemporary rock, pop and dance has propelled them to global prominence on the world music scene.
Since their formation in 1986, Yothu Yindi - a band with serious brains as well as musical talent - have brought worldwide attention to Aboriginal culture and land rights. The man with his hand on the rudder is Mandawuy Yunpingu, an extraordinary singer, educationalist, political activist, philosopher and general all-round cultural luminary, whose amazing work in forging greater understanding between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians was officially recognised in 1992 when he was named Australian of the Year.
Mandawuy was the first Aboriginal Australian to receive a third level university degree, and he is an important role model for Aboriginal Australians working to throw off the yoke of white oppression. Music is one of the many ways that Mandawuy encourages Yolngu empowerment and widescale understanding and appreciation for Aboriginal culture.
*I chose to take a short cut rather than maybe taking another millennium for people to recognise Aboriginal Australia,* he explains. His Yothu Yindi Foundation - formed in conjunction with the elders of five different Aboriginal tribes - is highly active in promoting Aboriginal education in many other fields apart from music.
*Music has a chemistry about it that is universal. That's why I chose music as one part of what I do. I double my teaching and singing, and in the last fifteen years we've been able to achieve recognition in the music industry. The common people of Australia, and the world for that matter, have been able to recognise Aboriginal Australia through Yothu Yindi's music.*
Dance is another important element to Yothu Yindi, who take traditional Yolngu dance, which often describes the behaviour of crocodiles, wallabies, brolga and other fauna of their homelands, and work it into contemporary performance. What do these dances mean in the wider context?
*They are a way of expressing the environment that we use, and showing people our title to the land,* says Mandawuy, who is very active in the reconciliation process currently underway between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. *The dance says, 'This is why we own this land - because we can do this, and we can do this and do that, and we know this is this'.*
As he speaks, Mandawuy moves through the Yolngu interpretation of the many animals with whom they have shared their land for 100,000 years (his is one of the most ancient cultures in the world). *All of these movements encode knowledge, knowledge for the next generation.*
Is there a risk of ancient Yolngu knowledge being lost?
*That's why I'm doing this,* says the Yolngu leader. *It's to be able to give strength to my own people. My people are lost because of too much influence from the white man's world. Our lives are so fragile, and our culture is fragile; it just needs one arsehole to do something, like a big company, or whatever - any big influence could just tear it apart. And that's why I'm doing all this - that is why the Yothu Yindi Foundation is so important.*
Multiculturalism is a major element on Yothu Yindi's latest album, One Blood, which was partially recorded at The Factory in Dublin, and features the voices of Jim Kerr and Liam O Maonlai with Sharon Shannon on accordion and flute.
*We had a big Irish influence,* observes Mandawuy. *And people back at home, they just love it. They love it! Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal people. It's part of the whole global movement that's happening right now of diverse cultures coming together.*
Respect to the man. Didgeridoo-good! n