‘Puranguwana’ (‘Perishing in the Sun’) as sung by Patrick Jupiter Smith, Jack Gordon and Marie Gordon

Abstract

Across Aboriginal Australia, Aboriginal songs are often attributed to the spirit world rather than as compositions by the living. Deceased ancestors give songs to people and such a recipient is described as the finder of a song. This is particularly evident in 'Puranguwana' ('Perishing in the Sun'), a song of the public ceremonial genre known by older men and women at Balgo and Bililuna communities in the south-east Kimberley in Western Australia. The protagonist in the song is a Pintupi man called Yawalyurru Tjapangarti, who dies of thirst on Sturt Creek Station on Jaru country. The first-person perspective in the lyrics is common in Aboriginal song, rendering the singers active participants in the event. The words of the song are relatively easy to identify, which is consistent with the song's purported recent origin. Yawalyurru is both the subject matter of the song and the song-maker. According to oral history, Yawalyurru's spirit gave the song to the Jaru people before returning to its Pintupi country. 'Puranguwana' also resembles a song that was recorded at Balgo in 1981 by ethnomusicologist Richard Moyle. In 2019, Balgo residents were unfamiliar with the earlier recording and, on listening, regarded this as a different song to 'Puranguwana'. While not identical, an analysis and comparison of both their text and music suggests that the songs are cut from the same cloth. This cloth reflects the region's multicultural history where both desert and Kimberley linguistic groups have co-resided since the 1930s. The article aims to increase appreciation of the artistry of Aboriginal song, the complexity of its creation, and its value to Aboriginal history.8 Marie Mudgedell recalls the following men used to all sing it (names spelt according to Kukatja orthography