musi3102

[musi3102]

‘Treaty’ by Yothu Yindi

‘Treaty’ released by Mushroom (1991), written by Mandawuy Yunupingu, Paul Kelly, Witiyana Marika, Stuart Kellaway, Cal Williams, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, Milkayngu Mununggurr and Peter Garrett.

(How Much Do You Know about Yothu Yindi?, 2021)

The origins of Yothu Yindi go back to the 1970s when three brothers, Djawa, Balupalu and Bakamana (later known as Mandawuy Yunupingu), were playing covers of western music at the Yolngu community of Yirrkala, a former missionary settlement.

(Bloggerme, n.d.)

At this time, the group was known as the ‘Diamond Dogs’, referencing David Bowie’s album by the same name and symbolising the Yunupingu brothers’ Gumatj clan (Garrick, 2021, pp. 8). By 1984, the Yunupingu brothers had a new name, ‘Wawa Mala’ (Group of Brothers Band). They were influenced by Graeme Kelly a ‘Balanda’ (non-Aboriginal) from Yirrkala School and who was interested in fusing indigenous and non-indigenous music, eventually a major component of Yothu Yindi’s music. The lead singer, Mandawuy Yunupingu, had a passion for teaching, music and lyric writing:

(ABC News, 2015)

‘…I wanted to become a teacher – in my spare time, I used to write lyrics that meant something to me.’ (ABC, 2022). He went on to be the first Aboriginal principal of a school and was later awarded an honorary doctorate.

By the mid-1980s, Mandawuy was playing with two nephews, Witiyana Marika on vocals, bilma and dance and Milkayngu Mununggurr on didgeridoo. They joined with ‘The Swamp Jockeys’, whose members included Stuart Kellaway on bass guitar, Cal Williams on lead guitar and Andrew Belletty on drums to form ‘Yothu Yindi’, also adding Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu on keyboard, guitar and percussion. ‘Yothu Yindi’ means ‘child and mother’. It is a metaphor for a relationship where both sides care for each other, ‘And that’s basically the principles that govern our lives…’ (Garrick, 2021, pp. 30). This was the first band in Australia’s history with first nation and non-first nation musicians collaborating.

In the 1960s, a bauxite mine was constructed without considering the Yolgnu people’s wishes. This became known as the Gove Land Rights case. The Yolgnu people took Nabalco Corporation to the Northern Territory Supreme Court. They were, however, unsuccessful. This was one of the earliest cases of Indigenous land rights in Australia and was the spark to ignite activism. Mandawuy comes from a family of activists, including his brothers Galararwuy, Gatjil and his father Munggurrawuy Yunupingu.

In 1988, The Barunga Statement of Aboriginal Rights was created by Indigenous leaders and presented to Prime Minister Bob Hawke.

(Studies, 2021)

This was during the Barunga Festival, a celebration of Indigenous culture and sport. Hawke accepted the treaty and wanted to commit to negotiating for the Aboriginal people, but this never came to fruition. With the injustice Mandawuy’s people felt, and politicians failing to deliver their promises, the song ‘Treaty’ was born referencing these events.

The song was released in 1991 and was the first to include any indigenous Australian language in the lyrics and won song of the year at the APRA awards. The band draws upon ‘Manikay’; a series of songs passed down by generations of ancestors of Yolngu people (ABC Radio National, 2008). The song is a mixture of Yolgnu music and Balanda, the Balanda rock is provided by electric guitars, keyboard and drumkit. The Yolngu rhythms are created by the yidaki (digeridoo) and bilma (clapsticks). The main vocal is provided by Mandawuy though there is also a chorus of mixed Yolngu and Balanda voices (Tim Finn of Split Enz contributed to this). The form of the song conforms to the Balanda rock structure of verses and choruses with an instrumental ‘break’, and the process of intensity through repetition of short motives (Stubington & Dunbar-Hall, 1994), typical of a djatpangarri. The djatpangarri dance and song form is attributed to a famous Gumatj clan member, Dambidjawa (Metzenrath, 2019).

Translations:

The lyrics are in English and Yolngu. The mixing of indigenous and non-indigenous voices is represented in Yolngu ideology by the word ganma, describing the mixing of fresh water from a river with the salt water of the sea.  

The song was first released on the Tribal Voice album and then as a single. It was released in the same year on CD as ‘The Filthy Lucre Remix’ which de-politicised the song, removing most of the English verses, though retaining the central message of ‘Treaty yeah, treaty yeah, treaty now’. However, it accentuated the Yolngu nature with lyrics from the language and greater prominence of the didgeridoo and bilma (Kerr, 2015). It was this version which became a rallying cry of the Aboriginal reconciliation movement which led to the Native Title Act of 1993.

References

ABC. (2022, July 7). Yothu Yindi was a band with a clear vision right from the start. Double J. https://www.abc.net.au/doublej/music-reads/features/yothu-yindi-feature-1997-triple-j-interview-dr-yunupingu/13963328

ABC News. (2015, August 1). Gumatj leader Galarrwuy Yunupingu awarded honorary doctorate at Garma Festival. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-01/galarrwuy-yunupingu-awarded-honorary-doctorate-at-garma-festival/6665756

ABC Radio National. (2008, July 10). Manikay - Ancestral Songs of Arnhem Land. https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/archived/rhythmdivine/manikay---ancestral-songs-of-arnhem-land/3253540

Bloggerme. (n.d.). |. Retrieved August 14, 2023, from https://www.bloggerme.com.au/states/east-arnhem

Corn, A. (2010). Land, song, constitution: exploring expressions of ancestral agency, intercultural diplomacy and family legacy in the music of Yothu Yindi with Mandawuy Yunupiŋu. Popular Music, 29(1), 81–102. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0261143009990390

Garrick, M. (2021). Writing in the Sand (pp. 8–30). HarperCollinsPublishers Australia Pty Limited .

How much do you know about Yothu Yindi? (2021, October 28). ABC Darwin. https://www.abc.net.au/darwin/programs/drive/writing-in-the-sand/13607656

Kerr, J. (2015, March 2). Treaty by Yothu Yindi – a Trojan horse in the culture wars. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/mar/03/treaty-by-yothu-yindi-a-trojan-horse-in-the-culture-wars#:~:text=The%20song%20became%20a%20Trojan

Metzenrath, R. (2019, June 13). Traditional song that inspired Yothu Yindi’s “Treaty” repatriated to Yolgnu Peoples. NITV. https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/traditional-song-that-inspired-yothu-yindis-treaty-repatriated-to-yolgnu-peoples/zde7dftih

Stubington, J., & Dunbar-Hall, P. (1994). Yothu yindi’s “treaty”: Ganma in music. Popular Music, 13, 3. http://www.jstor.org/stable/852915

Studies, A. I. of A. and T. S. I. (2020, October 11). “Treaty” by Yothu Yindi. Aiatsis.gov.au. https://aiatsis.gov.au/blog/treaty-yothu-yindi

Studies, A. I. of A. and T. S. I. (2021, September 15). The Barunga Statement. Aiatsis.gov.au. https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/barunga-statement

Wikipedia. (2020, December 9). Milirrpum v Nabalco Pty Ltd. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milirrpum_v_Nabalco_Pty_Ltd#:~:text=Milirrpum%20v%20Nabalco%20Pty%20Ltd%2C%20also%20known%20as%20the%20Gove

Wikipedia. (2023, August 4). Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Gurrumul_Yunupingu

Yothu Yindi Foundation. (2023). Yothu Yindi. Yothu Yindi. https://www.yothuyindi.com.au/