Mandawuy Yunupingu | |
|---|---|
Gudjuk | |
 Yunupingu performing withYothu Yindi in 2000 | |
| Born | Tom Djambayang Bakamana Yunupingu (1956-09-17)17 September 1956 Yirrkala, Northern Territory, Australia |
| Died | 2 June 2013(2013-06-02) (aged 56) Yirrkala, Northern Territory, Australia |
| Other names | Gudjuk, Dr Yunupingu |
| Occupation(s) | Musician,school principal |
| Years active | 1985–2013 |
| Father | Mungurrawuy Yunupingu |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | Aboriginal rock |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals |
| Formerly of | Yothu Yindi |
Musical artist | |
Mandawuy Djarrtjuntjun YunupinguAC, formerlyTom Djambayang Bakamana Yunupingu, and also known asDr Yunupingu (17 September 1956 – 2 June 2013), was a teacher and musician, and frontman of theAboriginal rock groupYothu Yindi from 1986. He was anAboriginal Australian man of theYolŋu people, with askin name ofGudjuk.
Yunupingu was a singer-songwriter and guitarist with the band. Yothu Yindi released six albums between 1989 and 2000, and their top 20ARIA Singles Chart appearances were "Treaty" (1991) and "Djäpana (Sunset Dreaming)" (1992). The band was inducted into theARIA Hall of Fame in 2012.
In 1989 Yunupingu became assistant principal of theYirrkala Community School and was principal for the following two years. He helped establish the Yolngu Action Group and introduced theboth-ways education system, which recognised traditional Aboriginal teaching alongside Western methods. His wifeYalmay Yunupingu taught alongside him at the school.
Yunupingu was appointedAustralian of the Year for 1992 by theNational Australia Day Council. In 1993, he was one of sixIndigenous Australians who jointly presented theBoyer Lectures "Voices of the Land" for theInternational Year for the World's Indigenous People. In April 1998, he was awarded anhonorary doctorate by theQueensland University of Technology.
Yunupingu was born as Tom Djambayang Bakamana Yunupingu on 17 September 1956 inYirrkala,Arnhem Land, anAboriginal reserve in the northeastern part of theNorthern Territory.[1][2] He was a member of theGumatj people, one of sixteen groups of theYolngu people.[3] Hisskin name was Gudjuk, but his name was changed to Mandawuy in 1990 when a family member with the same name died, in line with Yolngu custom. He described his names as "Mandawuy" means 'from clay'; Djarrtjuntjun means 'roots of the paperbark tree that still burn and throw off heat after a fire has died down'; Yunupingu depicts a solid rock that, having travelled from freshwater, stands in salty waters, its base deep in the earth. I am Gudjuk the fire kite".[3]
His father was Munggurrawuy Yunupingu (c. 1907–1978), aGumatj clan leader and artist.[4] His mother, Makurrngu – one of Munggurrawuy's 12 wives – was a member of the Galpu clan.[5][6] His oldest sister,Gulumbu Yunupingu (1945 – 9 May 2012), was also an artist and healer.[4][5] His other sisters areNyapanyapa and Barrupu, who are also artists.[4] His older brother,Galarrwuy Yunupingu (1948 – 2023), a senior elder of Arnhem Land, wasAustralian of the Year in 1978, and was anIndigenous land rights campaigner.[4][5]
Yunupingu attendedYirrkala Community School.[7]
In 1983, Yunupingu published "Outstation schools at Yirrkala" inAboriginal Child at School, where he described the advantages to Indigenous people by "[determining] their own way of living, provided, they manage budgeting through Isolated Children's Allowance, staffing their schools, developing curriculum, and teacher training".[8] In March 1987 he contributed to the book,Educational needs of the Homelands Centres of the L̲aynhapuy Region, North East Arnhem Land : report of the Balanga ̲na Project : a Schools Commission Project of national significance.[9]
He was the first Aboriginal person from Arnhem Land to gain a university degree, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in education fromDeakin University in 1988. In 1989 he became assistant principal of the Yirrkala Community School. He helped establish the Yolngu Action Group and introduced the Both Ways system at his school, which recognised traditional Aboriginal teaching alongside Western methods.[10][11] In 1990 he took over as principal of Yirrkala Community School.[12] Also that year he authored "Language and power : the Yolngu rise to power at Yirrkala School", detailing his work with Yolngu Action Group.[10] He remained principal until late 1991, leaving to expand his musical career.[13]
In 1992 Yunupingu worked with rock musicianJimmy Barnes on a project called "Sister Schools", the aim of which was to ensure that "schools with few or noAboriginal children will forge educational and social links with schools with large numbers of Aboriginal children, in an attempt to foster tolerance and understanding". Before the launch of the project, "the Yunupingu kids" (Mandawuy's children) recorded a song[14] written by Yunupingu called "School"[15] with Barnes' children in their bandThe Tin Lids. As part of the project, endorsed by the government, schools with few or no Aboriginal children would forge educational and social links with schools with many Aboriginal children, by exchanging letters, photographs, and other media. Around 100 schools expressed interest in the project, which was launched in August 1992 by connecting the school in Yirrkala with Gib Gate Primary School nearMittagong in New South Wales.[14] In 1994, a primary school inDeloraine, Tasmania, hosted a group of children fromAli Curung, NT, for six days as part of the scheme.[16]
His wife,Yalmay Yunupingu, taught at the school for around 40 years before her retirement in 2023, and was also a dedicated teacher and mentor in bilingual education.[17]
By 1985, with Yunupingu on vocals and guitar, he formed a Yolngu band including Witiyana Marika onmanikay (traditional vocals),bilma (ironwoodclapsticks) and dance, Milkayngu Mununggurr onyidaki (didgeridoo), andGurrumul Yunupingu – his nephew – on keyboards, guitar and percussion.[18][19][20] The following year the Yolngu group combined with abalanda (non-Indigenous) group, Swamp Jockeys, which had Andrew Belletty on drums, Stuart Kellaway on bass guitar and Cal Williams on lead guitar.[18][19][20] The new collective,Yothu Yindi, performedAboriginal rock which fused traditional indigenous music and dance with Western popular music.[18][20]yothu yindi means "child and mother" and refers to the kinship of north-east Arnhem Land.[18][20]
In the group's early years their performing was restricted to holidays as Yunupingu completed his tertiary studies and then started work as a teacher.[18][20] By 1988 Yothu Yindi had toured Australia and North America supportingMidnight Oil.[18][20] Late that year they recorded their debut studio album,Homeland Movement, which appeared in March the following year.[18][20] Australian musicologist,Ed Nimmervoll, described it "[o]ne side comprised Midnight Oil-like politicized rock. The other side of the album concentrated on traditionally based songs like "Djäpana" (Sunset Dreaming), written by former teacher Mandawuy Yunupingu".[20] He was credited on the album as Mandawuy Bakamana Yunupingu and provided vocals, guitar andbilma.[18][19][21]
The band achieved national recognition for their single, "Treaty", the remixed version was released in June 1991, which reached No. 11 on theARIA Singles Chart and stayed in the top 50 for 20 weeks.[22] Mandawuy and Galarrwuy had wanted a song to highlight the lack of progress on a treaty between Aboriginal peoples and the federal government.[7] The song contains words in Gumatj, Yunupingu's variety ofYolngumatha. It was written by Australian musician,Paul Kelly, with Yothu Yindi members Yunupingu, Kellaway, Williams, Gurrumul, Mununggurr and Marika.[23][24] The associated album,Tribal Voice appeared in October 1991, which peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Albums Chart.[18][22] A re-recorded version of "Djäpana (Sunset Dreaming)" was issued as the second single from the album and reached No. 13.[18][22]
Yunupingu's work onTribal Voice was described byAllmusic's Jonathan Lewis, "[his] voice is suited perfectly to [traditional songs], but it is the rock tracks that are the weak links in this disc. Yunupingu is not a particularly good pop singer, and the music is sometimes insipid".[25] Nevertheless both "Treaty" in 1992 and "Djäpana (Sunset Dreaming)" in 1993 charted on theBillboardHot Dance Club Play singles charts, with "Treaty" peaking at No. 6,[26]Tribal Voice peaked at No. 3 on theBillboard Top World Music Albums chart in 1992.[27] In 1991 "Treaty", co-written by Yunupingu, won the inaugural Song of the Year Award at theAPRA Music Awards presented byAustralasian Performing Right Association.[28] In May 2001 it was listed in theAPRA Top 30 Australian songs of all time.[23][29]
Yothu Yindi completed four more studio albums,Freedom (November 1993),Birrkuta - Wild Honey (November 1996),One Blood (June 1999) andGarma (November 2000).[18][20] They toured Australia, North America, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Papua New Guinea and Hong Kong.[11][18][20] Yunupingu strove to achieve a better understanding of Aboriginal culture bybalanda and was a prominent advocate of reconciliation between all Australians.[30]
Yunupingu and the band established the Yothu Yindi Foundation in 1990 and since 1999 promoted the annualGarma Festival.[30][31] From May 2007 the foundation has supported theDilthan Yolngunha (Healing Place), which usestraditional healing practices andmainstream medicine.[32][33]
Yunupingu died on 2 June 2013, aged 56 following a long battle with kidney disease.[12][42] After his death, thePrime Minister of Australia at the time,Julia Gillard, said: "We have today lost a great Australian voice in the efforts towardsreconciliation."[12][43]
In June 2014, the annualDr Yunupingu Award for Human Rights was created as one of three awards at the newly-establishedNational Indigenous Human Rights Awards inSydney,New South Wales. His wifeYalmay delivered one of the keynote speeches at the inaugural awards ceremony on 24 June.[44]
On 17 September 2020, Google celebrated Yunupingu's 64th birthday with aGoogle Doodle.[45]
Yunupingu was married to a fellow teacher,Yalmay Marika Yunupingu[46] of the Rirritjingu clan, also referred to as Yalmay Marika[5] and Yalmay Yunupingu.[44] He is survived by five daughters and five grandsons.[6][30]
Yunupingu was friends with musicianJimmy Barnes, with the men working together on "Sister Schools", a federal government program initiated by Aboriginal Affairs MinisterRobert Tickner, which aimed to link Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal schoolchildren around the country. The children of both men sang together asThe Tin Lids and The Yunupingu Kids, on a song called "School" in August 1992.[47]
One of his grandsons, Rrawun Maymuru, is lead singer ofEast Journey.[48] In May 2013, theNational Indigenous Music Awards announced that Yothu Yindi were to be honoured at their awards ceremony in August, in which Maymuru was to be backed by original band members.[48] Yunupingu declared "My heart is full of joy. I am so happy to see that in my lifetime Indigenous music has come such a long way. And to have these talented artists come together to honour the groundbreaking work of Yothu Yindi makes me proud beyond words. Yow Manymak."[48]
His nephewGeoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu also played in Yothu Yindi. Gurrumul later formed theSaltwater Band and also had a solo career.[18][20][30] Other members of the extended Yunupingu family have also performed in Yothu Yindi: Galarrwuy (guitars and vocals); Mangatjay (dance); Yomunu; Gapanbulu (yidaki); Gavin Makuma (yidaki,bilma, vocals); Malngay Kevin (yidaki,bilma, dancer, vocals); and Narripapa Nicky (yidaki, dancer).[18][19][20] His nephew, Gavin Makuma Yunupingu, was jailed in 2002 over the death of Betsy Yunupingu, his cousin.[43][49] Another nephew, Nicky Yunupingu, died by suicide in July 2008.[43][50]
Yunupingu was diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure, which in turn contributed to advancedkidney failure, for which he received haemodialysis three times a week inDarwin.[43] His condition was announced in 2007 following his attendance in January at a rehabilitation clinic after years of beer drinking – between one and fourcartons (i.e. two to eight gallons, or 9 to 36 litres) daily, according to his psychiatrist.[13][43][51] By December 2008 he was resigned to the fact that he may die without having seen the longed-for settlement between white and black Australia:
I'm still waiting for that treaty to come along, for my grandsons, ... Even if it's not there in the days that I am living, it might come in the days that I am not living. I know a treaty will change things, my grandsons will have a different view, a much more positive view, a luckier view. Luckier in that they feel part of Australia, you know
— Mandawuy Yunupingu, 6 December 2008,The Australian.[6]
By October 2009 he was on a kidney transplant waiting list.[43] He also undertook traditional healing practices. His sister Gulumbu was one of a group of senior Yolngu women who had helped set upDilthan Yolngunha – a healing place – with the support of the Yothu Yindi Foundation.[51] Yunupingu was one of its first patients.[6][51]
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)[61]The article discusses the development of outstation schools at Yirrkala which are of advantage to Aboriginal people as they can determine their own way of living, provided, they manage budgeting through Isolated Children's Allowance, staffing their schools, developing curriculum, and teacher training.
Decisions on school matters made by Yolngu Action Group, who have control over both ways curriculum for both Yolngu and European culture.
Writers: Bakamana Yunipingu [sic]/Stuart Kellaway/Gurrumul Yunipingu [sic]/Milkayggu Mununggurr/Cal Williams/Paul Kelly
For details of papers see entries under authors: F Christie; C Collins; B Dwyer; J Hunt; I Lowe; S Ryan; J Sobski; N Stephen; M-R Ungunmerr-Baumann; M Yunupingu.
Appendices; lists of missions and reserves, note on linguistic skills of Lutheran missionaries, comparison with North American situation, statement on language and power by Munduwuy (Mandawuy) Bakamana Yunupingu and national language policy papers.
Chair of the National Reference Group: Mandawuy Yunupingu.
Describes the philosophy of the band Yothu Yindi and the concept of dynamic balance or harmony the words Yothu Yindi represent; describes how the Yolngu kinship system links people; discusses his own education and explains how the concepts ofngathu (a sacred bread made from flour of cycad palm nuts) andganma have inspired the development of a Yolngu curriculum; argues that non-Aboriginal people need to make an effort to understand the logic of Aboriginal knowledge.
Previously published as:Wild light. Port Melbourne: William Heinemann Australia, 1995.
Mandawuy Yunupingu discusses his philosophy of life firmly rooted in his Yolngu heritage; aims to incorporate Yolngu knowledge systems into the Australian academic system; need to respect and value the Yolngu curriculum.
In the early 1990s, the Australian band Yothu Yindi rose to national prominence with hit songs like 'Treaty' and 'Djpana' that would become part of Australia's cultural fabric. Aaron Corn takes us on a journey with Mandawuy Yunupinu through the ideas and events behind some of Yothu Yindi's best known songs.
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