“That is Why I am Telling this Story”: Musical Analysis as Insight into the Transmission of Knowledge and Performance Practice of a Wapurtarli Song by Warlpiri Women from Yuendumu, Central Australia

Abstract

Insights into the knowledge, performance, and transmission of songs are pivotal in ensuring the survival of traditional Aboriginal songs. We present the first in-depth musical analysis of a Wapurtarli yawulyu song set sung by Warlpiri women from Yuendumu, Central Australia, recorded in December 2006 with a solo lead singer accompanied by a small group. Our musical analysis reveals that there are various interlocking parts of a song, and this can make it difficult for current generations to learn songs. The context of musical endangerment and the musical analyses presented in our study show that contemporary spaces for learning yawulyu must consider the complex components that come together for a song set to be properly performed.

‘We don’t show our women’s breasts for nothing’: Shifting purposes for Warlpiri women’s public rituals – yawulyu – Central Australia, 1980s–2020s

“…These events had features of ‘participatory performance’ as outlined by Turino, with all of the participants having a role and ‘no artist–audience distinctions, only participants and potential participants’. These events are no longer regularly held by the few senior women still alive, signalling other shifts in what is sung, danced and transmitted (Curran and Yeoh, 2021). Opportunities to perform ‘presentational’ forms of yawulyu as part of other organised events have become more common, highlighting new forms of identity politics.…”