Presenting Nicky Dharnmirrwuy Yunupingu | Yothu Yindi member

ididjaustralia · **Posted:** Tue Dec 04, 2007 10:38 pm

This is Nicky Dhanmirrwuy Yunupingu, current yidaki player for Yothu Yindi band. Nicky is an all round nice guy with not a bad bone in his body, and at 25 years old, is a talent to be reckoned with. A conservative yidakimirr who plays straight-down-the-line classical rhythms only, Nicky counts his grandfather on his mother's side (ngathi'mirringu) - Wandjuk Marika - as his teacher. When asked to play his own individual style Nicky pauses long and hard, searching his mind for an appropriate tune but ends up playing a memorised classical djatpangarri song.

Nicky plays at Gumatj and Rirratjingu ceremonies at Ski Beach and Yirrkala, and also participates in dance when not playing yidaki in ceremony.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHAvT_I9eQs[/youtube]

Guan

stockie · **Posted:** Tue Dec 04, 2007 11:45 pm

To me this kinda sounds a bit what I would in northern hemesdfeer term as sounding WAL style it is very Dit a mor Guan I like your work on getting this stuff but its very confusing for us players that have O.C.D in terms of playing styles tee hee is there a lot of cross over in styles of playing these days when people are free forming?

flyangler18 · **Posted:** Wed Dec 05, 2007 12:15 am

Quote:

To me this kinda sounds a bit what I would in northern hemesdfeer term as sounding WAL style it is very Dit a mor Guan I like your work on getting this stuff but its very confusing for us players that have O.C.D in terms of playing styles tee hee is there a lot of cross over in styles of playing these days when people are free forming?

Stockie, I'm a little confused by your question- are you suggesting this is 'cross over' based on an absence of toots, or the phrasing? Not all Yolngu songs have toots, and pigeon-holing styles into convenient categories isn't possible, I think.

stockie · **Posted:** Wed Dec 05, 2007 12:35 am

Yes with the Phrasing and there does seem to be a habit of pigion holing things by everyone else so why cant I. what I was meaning is its the phrasing sounds what is teremed (by everyone else and therefore by myself) as Wal done on a Yidaki not a Mago (which again is a topic of conversation in its own right)

flyangler18 · **Posted:** Wed Dec 05, 2007 12:56 am

There are familial and ceremonial connections between some areas of WAL and Yolngu, so it makes sense that some common threads arise during didjeridu play. Listen to the Galpu song 'Ba:rra' (West Wind) and you will hear some distinct similarities to the 'di ta mor' patterning affiliated with WAL. When we didj folk talk about 'WAL' and 'NEAL', it's probably in the most general terms to make distinctions between 'schools' of didjeridu playing style- but really doesn't mean much beyond that.

ididjaustralia · **Posted:** Fri Dec 07, 2007 1:45 am

Hi Stockie,

What's O.C.D.?

Guan

ididjaustralia · **Posted:** Fri Dec 07, 2007 1:57 am

flyangler18 wrote:

Listen to the Galpu song 'Ba:rra' (West Wind) and you will hear some distinct similarities to the 'di ta mor' patterning affiliated with WAL.

I have to agree with Jason there. Stockie's question does cause me to ponder nonetheless. I have a recording of Nicky playing djatpangarri style on a Mirarra' yidaki (I should put up on YouTube tomorrow) and I swear it sounds very very close to Raymond Marpin's rendition of bungalinybungaliny style, right down to the multiple sudden stops midway thru the song.

I wonder how djatpangarri style came about in NE Arnhem Land. Does anyone know? It seems to be purely a Gove phenomenon, and is not found at Milingimbi, Ramingining, Lake Evella, or Elcho Island as far as I know. Could it have something to do with WWII and the particular interactions at the time between Yolngu from Gove and Aboriginal people from other parts of Arnhem Land? I seem to recall that the djatpangarri song "Comic" was created at the time of WWII, but I'm wondering about the song genre as a whole and how it came to be. Djatpangarri, it should be remembered, is a recreational style of play. It isn't ceremonial in that it isn't performed at funeral, initiation and other ceremonies.

Guan

kdidj · **Joined:** Fri Mar 23, 2007 1:03 am **Posts:** 470

OCD is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Maybe some of Trevor Jones' writings refer to the beginnings of the djatpangarri song style as he recorded a fair bit of it.

Kyle

pacdidj · **Posted:** Fri Dec 07, 2007 7:10 am

ididjaustralia wrote:

I wonder how djatpangarri style came about in NE Arnhem Land. Does anyone know? It seems to be purely a Gove phenomenon, and is not found at Milingimbi, Ramingining, Lake Evella, or Elcho Island as far as I know. Could it have something to do with WWII and the particular interactions at the time between Yolngu from Gove and Aboriginal people from other parts of Arnhem Land? I seem to recall that the djatpangarri song "Comic" was created at the time of WWII, but I'm wondering about the song genre as a whole and how it came to be. Djatpangarri, it should be remembered, is a recreational style of play. It isn't ceremonial in that it isn't performed at funeral, initiation and other ceremonies.

Guan

From Yothu Yindi's website:

Quote:

“Treaty” is also innovative in its incorporation of an historic djatpangarri song item. djatpangarri is a style music and dance that was pioneered by young men at Yirrkala in the late 1930s and was performed there for popular entertainment until the early 1970s. For local Yolngu audiences, “Treaty” has reintroduced the young to a fun form of song and dance that their parents and grandparents enjoyed in their youths while the song reminds older listeners a time before the advent of mining on the Gove Peninsula. On Tribal Voice (1992), “Treaty” is preceded by another historic djatpangarri item, “Gapu [Water],” which shares a similar melodic structure.

That's Aaron Corn's little blurb. I think Waterman also wrote something about Djatpangarri back in 52. I'll have a look when I get home this evening.

Best,
Phil

ididjaustralia · **Posted:** Fri Dec 07, 2007 2:39 pm

Good pointer Kyle. I checked my copy of Elkin's and Jone's "Arnhem Land Music" and there is indeed quite a bit of info on djatpangarri:

Quote:

The Djedbangari comes from the Riradjingo, Dua moiety, speaking group of Yirrkalla. The originator and "headman" of this song form, as we have it, is Dambidjaua, who received his inspiration during the war. [...] In August 1949, I recorded samples of it at Mainoru, most of which are in Record 7A. They were sung and danced by a small party of young Riradjingo men who had arrived there a few days previously.

There's reference to the Rembarrnga people, to Djoli Laiwanga, Beswick, Mainoru, etc. It would appear that djatpangarri is the result of cross-fertilization of ideas and musical traditions, though the full story is surely more complex.

Some other interesting quotes from the monograph:

Quote:

Actually, although the Songman on any occasion is headman or master of the ceremonies, the didjeridu "puller" seems to be master of the dancers; indeed, there almost seems to be a degree of rivalry between Songman and "Puller"...

The Djedbangari, however, has one interesting didjeridu feature. It shows the active role which that instrument can play, as distinct from being merely an accompaniment to the Songman...

The Djedbangari contain the most intricate and fascinating rhythms to be found in all the Arnhem Land music. The didgeridoo playing is always of the finest order of virtuosity, and exhibits a never-ending flow of ideas...

Guan

ididjaustralia · **Posted:** Tue Jan 15, 2008 9:48 pm

Found this pic of Nicky on the web...

Guan

Peter Lister · **Posted:** Wed Jan 16, 2008 12:16 pm

Somewhere in the recesses of my once acute mind there is something lurking - an image/voice of Wandjuk saying Dhambidjawa created this style of playing while the two of them were waiting for the boat (Larrpan?) to arrive at Yirrkala (from Cairns of course) - the boat was late - Moyles' recordings ?? Vol 4 ?? Must check.....

Peter Lister · **Posted:** Wed Jan 16, 2008 1:52 pm

Good ol' Manikay.com; SNT Vol 4, track 6, The song about the 'Cora' (not the 'Larrpan') - spoken explanation by Wandjuk;

http://www.manikay.com/albums/sfnt4.shtml

" (d) Wandjuk talks about the ship, Cora (Yirrkala 1963)

Track 6d: Wandjuk talks about the song, Cora as follows: That song is Cora. The same man, Dambijawa, made that song because we were waiting for such a long time for our cargo to bring in from Brisbane to Melville Bay. And that why he worry. And then he made up song. "

Wandjuk Marika, legend; Alice Moyle, legend; John Burrows, legendary.

kdidj · **Joined:** Fri Mar 23, 2007 1:03 am **Posts:** 470

Peter Lister wrote:

Wandjuk Marika, legend; Alice Moyle, legend; John Burrows, legendary.

I've got to agree with you there Peter.

flyangler18 · **Posted:** Thu Jan 17, 2008 12:31 am

Quote:

I've got to agree with you there Peter.

Undeniably.

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