Dancing with a Difference: Reconfiguring the Poetic Politics of Aboriginal Ritual as National Spectacle

Abstract

This paper argues that indigenous dance is a poetic politics of cross-cultural encounter that engages Aboriginal identities with those of the Australian nation. I question the nature of this encounter in terms of a performative dialogue that is both musically and kinesically presented by indigenous communities and 'translated' into political discourse by the government. The sentiments of 'translation' raise questions as to how local ritual expressions of Aboriginal dance can mediate dialogue when presented a s national spectacle. What is being meditated? What is happening in the process of evocation? In this performativc nexus, I focus specifically on the poetic politics of Yolngu ritual as spectacle; the nature of performative dialogue in terms of shared dance forms between indigenous communities: the problem of the authentication of dance identities: and how corporeal dispositions of indigenous dance genres influence national sentiment by their symbolic power. I pursue these issues through an analysis of how ancestral dances have been repositioned in national performance venues. such as concerts. cultural centres and ritual arenas, as a means of asserting performative statements about indigenous positioning within the nation-state. The nature of this dialogue raises questions of authenticity and processes of authentication. It highlights indigenous concerns to control representations of indigeneity as national event, as well z s a desire to convey something of the sentiment and sentience embodied in the poetics of their ancestral performances.

The Responsibility of Performance: The Interweaving of Politics and Aesthetics in Intercultural Contexts

“…The adaptation and execution of dance sequences from a group's ceremonial repertoire has now become common for such occasions. These contexts include land rights and Native Title claim hearings, court decisions, openings of art exhibitions, conferences, sport events, and national arts festivals (Magowan 2000;Mundine 1997). 16 Although dance performances in these intercultural contexts have no doubt increased in frequency in the last twenty years and have been more visible through spectacle-seeking media coverage and visual representations of authentic and pristine Aboriginality for the tourist market, this is by no means a new phenomenon.…”

“…The implied message of these actions was thus a subversive one, namely to assert Yolngu autonomy and independence (Langton 1992(Langton , 2003. 19 I propose that the Adjustment Movement in Arnhem Land and other national and international events where the production and reception of visual art and performance occupy "the intercultural space...of colonialism, primitivism and globalization" (Myers 2002:6) should be approached not merely as an attempt to educate, a performative means toward a political end (Morphy 1983;Magowan 2000;Dussart 2000), nor simply a strategy of communication or translation of culture (Myers 2002:273) but as a doing where meaning is generated and understanding reached through the possibility of affecting and being affected. I propose that the effectiveness of these events is not explained simply in terms of economic exchange, the encoding and decoding of culture and the assertion of political autonomy.…”

Dancing around Development: Crisis in Christian Country in Western Province, Papua New Guinea

“…She writes; '[d]ance as an expression and practice of relations of power and protest, resistance and complicity, has been the subject of a number of historical and ethnographic analyses of recent years' (Reed 1998:505). A group of recent papers produced in The Australian Journal of Anthropology on 'The Politics of Dance' include work on Indian dance, Aboriginal dance in contemporary Australian contexts, and dance in the Cook Islands (see for example Ram 2000: Alexeyeff 2000Magowan 2000). 34.…”

Engaging with Theories of Dialogue and Voice: Using Bakhtin as a Framework to Understand Teaching and Learning Indigenous Australian Women's Performance

“…In other words, all texts are historically located, socially placed and individually enacted -hence there is continual dialogue between text and context. Bakhtin highlights the dynamic relationship between text and discourse or the primacy of speech and ideology as related to the "word" when he (1981, p. 276) writes that D In the Indigenous studies performance classroom, Bakhtin's concept of the "word" is expanded and reformulated as Magowan (2000) suggests from a linguistic analysis to a performative one to include other "texts" and forms of cultural production such as movement and music. The broad definition given by Bakhtin to language as "any sign system" (1986, p. 106) readily lends application of Bakhtinian thought to song, dance and performance culture.…”

“…There is a growing body of research in Indigenous Australian studies exploring the value of Bakhtinian thought. For example, the work of Magowan (2000) on Indigenous performance and participation in cross-cultural events of national significance examines Aboriginal dance genres as speech acts or utterances where performative gestures are read as signs incorporating knowledge of Aboriginal cultures, traditions, morality, responsibilities, obligations and sentiments. Magowan extends Bakhtin's idea of utterance to include analysis of emotional expression and response in performance dialogue.…”