Galpu manikay, recording session organised by Larry Winiwini

I was fortunate to be a part of this experience... the first I heard of it was in late December 2007 when Larry Winiwini told me he wanted to record Alfred Gurritjiri and Hudson Dja:wirr, 2 senior Galpu manikaymirr (songmen). That he wanted to learn more. And to Larry's credit, he managed to get people together despite the end of year festivities being celebrated and the state of intoxication that was rampant throughout Gove in eastern Arnhem Land.

The recordings were done on blank cassettes on Larry's home stereo system over several days. Djalu also had a small hand-held tape recorder on some days. This is the norm throughout Arnhem Land when audio recordings are done by Yolngu... at ceremonies, one can often see family members holding stereo systems close to singers in order to record the occasion. No fancy equipment here, but a tried-and-true method that has worked for Yolngu for decades.

I offered to help record the event with my digital video camera which has audio capability of 44.1 kHz 16 bit stereo. Over the course of many hours over several days, we recorded Galpu manikay with Larry asking about various songs and their accompanying yirdaki rhythms, and Djalu providing guidance to both his son Larry and his nephew (waku'mirringu) Quincey Matjaki. Mistakes were occasionally made by Larry and Matjaki, but Djalu would correct them. In this way, the ancestral yirdaki rhythms of the Galpu clan were passed on, quite a profound experience as Larry was obviously very keen to learn and to preserve his clan's traditions. Sometimes the tape would be re-wound and Larry would listen to possible mistakes he might have made. The occasion was marked by a sense of purpose and seriousness.

Some of the songmen you can see in this edited video clip include Djalu Gurruwiwi, Alfred Gurritjiri, Hudson Dja:wirr, Jason Guwarnbal, and Andrew Minyapa. The original footage goes for hours and hours, but for YouTube purposes, I've edited it down to under 10 minutes.

The yirdaki used during this recording was one made by Henry Mirarra' Burarrwanga which Larry absolutely loved. Winiwini did not have a personal instrument at the time, and used this magnificent stick throughout the recordings.