‘The songline runs on’: Yunupingu’s family pledge to carry on Garma founder’s work
Warning to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers: This story contains images and references to a deceased person.
Gulkula, Northern Territory: On Gumatj country in northeast Arnhem Land, hundreds of people gathered at the ceremonial site of Gulkula for the 24th Garma Festival, the first without its founder and beloved Yolngu elder, Yunupingu.
The festival opened on Friday morning with a solemn procession of the Gumatj clan, led by granddaughter Warrana Marika who clutched a portrait of the late Aboriginal leader as the family walked through the crowd while paying homage with traditional song.
Warrana Marika clutched a portrait of Dr Yunupingu as the family walked through the crowd.Credit: Rhett Wyman
Yunupingu’s legacy as a land rights activist, leader of his Gumatj clan, and man who had the ear of every prime minister until his death in April, was woven into this year’s festival through the theme of djambatj.
In a moving memorial ceremony, Yunupingu’s brother Djunga Djunga explained the word meant “brilliant, intelligent, significant … someone who catches and feeds his family and his tribe.”
“That is what he was. Someone who stood up in the morning, saw his children hungry, got a fishing line or spear and went hunting for kangaroo or wallaby,” he said.
Djunga Djunga Yunupingu.Credit: Rhett Wyman
“He left us full. Full with energy, with strength, with power.”
Wiping away tears as she spoke, Yunupingu’s sister, Dela, pledged that her brother’s work would be carried on by his family.
“We know you are gone ‘wawa’ (brother), but we will keep paddling, together we will go through the high seas and the storms until we get through to where it will be calm and peaceful. We will do it for you, wawa, like what you did for us,” she said.
Dela Yunupingu pledged that her brother’s work would be carried on by his family.Credit: Rhett Wyman
The Garma Festival, a celebration of Yolngu culture and a testament to Aboriginal struggle and survival, has become a centrepiece in the Indigenous cultural calendar, drawing a crowd of high-flying corporate executives and politicians – including, for the past two years, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese – who mingle with members of dozens of clans that make up the Yolngu nation.
In a farewell tribute to Yunupingu, members of his family performed a traditional dance with ribbons representing flags.
“The flag is resting like our deceased brother is resting. The songline runs on and on, through the different clans, it runs forever,” one of them said.
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