Australian Indigenous Drama - The Great Journeys and Dramatic Symbolism

The Great Journeys – Dramatic Symbolism

“On the morning when the winds came together:

The West’s Cold Old Woman – Gheeger Gheeger,

The South’s Young Maiden Gooroondoodilibaydilbay,

The Great Father Yarrageh from the South-east,

And Gunyahmoo from the East,

They welcomed a new wind from the old homeland.”

(from the ‘Douran Douran – the Wind of Love from the North’)

(Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers should be aware that this document/blog may contain images or names of people who have since passed away)

The land of Australia was the domain of Indigenous peoples for some 60,000 years before the first aliens sailed to their shores. These visitors were not European and their intentions were not colonization, dispossession or invasion. They were the sailors and traders of Malaya and Indonesia, the Baiini, the Macassans and the Badu islanders and their visits are an important part of the history, storytelling and dramas of the peoples of Northern Australia. Although many records date this trade from the early 19th Century with the increase 'trepang' (sea cucumber) trade, artefacts and language inclusions seem to suggest this trade started sometime from the mid-17th century to the 18th century. Evidence of Chinese figurines found in 1879 in Darwin along with 250-300 year old Chinese canons suggest that the Chinese arrived during the late 16th or 17th centuries. Tanzanian and Portuguese coins found in Australia's north suggest that trade contact could have been made much earlier. But the Macassan traders were the first people to make continuous trade contact with Australian's Indigenous peoples (Marks, 2018).

The seasonal visitations of the Baiini and the Macassan ships and the traders, in celebrated great symbolism in indigenous ceremonies and drama. The rice melds they planted and the imported grasses for weaving that they left, are spoken of in the rhythmic gestured songs of the Yinntja (lsaacs 1982:261). The language of many indigenous stories and drama that look at this period are filled with a more metaphoric rather than mythic symbolism much of which relates to sails, boats and sailing.

“… large yellow clouds cutting the wind on water ...''(lssacs l982:259)

''...the buttocks of a Baiini women, like the stern of one of their boats ...'' (lssacs 1982:261) “...their mast is standing straight ... and it is like the dead man saying back: I am standing straight now. I am going away. I want to go over that sundown way, my grandfather is there…” (Issacs l982:276)

Contact and trading continued for several centuries and the depth of the influence on Indigenous dance and drama can be seen in mortuary ceremonies and ceremonies of leaving and departure (Issacs 1982:276). We see the gradual evolution in many ceremonies of the story and song cycle. Action, words and sounds are repeated over and over (chorus-like) and often long cyclic stories are told by individual tradespeople with sections of the tribe almost replying with the chants chorus or repeated action.

The peaceful trade between indigenous peoples and the Macassan peoples has also been celebrated in songs and dances well into the 20^th Century. The popular indigenous rock band celebrated these peaceful comings and goings in their song ‘Macassan Crew’ on their 1988 album Homeland Movement:

Tradewinds blow

The Southern Cross

Taking their prau

Across the sea

They came in peace

Through the Ashmore Reef

Smoke and steel

And the Tararind seed

Steer it up right

Steer it up true

Navigate the morning star

Brave Macassan crew.

One other definite change in Indigenous drama at this time is the inclusion and use of symbolic props in dramatic ceremonies. The Yirritja's Badu Cycle, a story cycle about the spirits of the dead as they paddle to the land of the dead includes the use of sticks to represent paddles, masts and the palm trees of the land of the dead. Some other dances in North-Eastern Arnhem land use flags to symbolist departure and the raised sails of the Macassan boats (Issacs 1982:277).  Some interesting examples can be found on what is probably the first anthropological film of any tribal dances in the world. In 1898, A.C.Haddon filmed a short documentary entitled Torres Strait Islanders (Haddon 1898). This short documentary (four and a half minutes of the 35 mm footage remain) by English Anthropologist A.C. Haddon done on his 1898 expedition to the Torres Strait and was filmed on Murray Island. It is the first known use of an ethnographic record and helped establish the moving image as a primary tool for ethnographical and cultural research and documentation. Some of the dances shown in this clip have definite similarities to dances from Indonesia and Malaysia.

The cultural exchanges went on for a long period between indigenous peoples and the traders. However, a new wind was blowing in the West. “…the white sails of the English ships were a symbol of a gale which in the next hundred years would slowly drift across the continent, blowing out the flames of countless campfires ... silencing the sounds of hundreds of languages...” (Blainey 1975:22). Through the dark years of invasion and dispossession, the reality of Indigenous life and the diversity of expressions of identity changed remarkably.

Here is a link to a story of a First Nations Australian who went with Macassan Traders in the 19th Century. It gives a sense of the story of the interactions and connections.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-31/odyssey-erin-parke-makassar-connection/103476888

Further Readings and Resources on The Great Journeys & Dramatic Symbolism

Australian Broadcasting Commission. 2024. Odyssey - Makassar Connection. ABC News. March 31, 2024. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-31/odyssey-erin-parke-makassar-connection/103476888

Blainey, G. 1975. Triumph of the Nomads: A History of Ancient Australia. Macmillan, South Melbourne.

Haddon, A.C. 1898. Torres Strait Islanders (short film). Australian Government Film Archives. http://aso.gov.au/titles/historical/torres-strait-islanders

Issacs J. 1982. Australian Dreaming: 40,000 Years of Indigenous History. Bay Books. Sydney.

Marks, L. (2018). Did Aboriginal and Asian People Trade Before European Settlement in Darwin?. Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Commission. 
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-16/aboriginal-people-asians-trade-before-european-settlement-darwin/9320452

One Tree, One Man (film documentary). 2008. Puruntatameri, Jedda (indigenous director). TEABBA.

Parke, E. (2023). Search for Descendants of Aboriginal People Who Settled in Indonesia at least 150 Years Ago. Sydney: ABC News.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-11/mystery-community-of-aboriginal-and-indonesian-families/101901188

Yothu Yindi (band). 1988. Homeland Movement (music). Mushroom Records (1991). Sydney.

The Great Journeys Discussions & Activities

1.    Discuss how culture can change and be positively influenced by positive trade and contact between cultures.

2.    Discuss how dances and ceremonies change over time when different audiences see them.

3.    How successful can cultural exchanges be as a form of trade and as a mechanism for developing understanding and relationships when based on equity and respect?

4.    Use the Yothu Yindi song ‘Macassan Crew’ from the album ‘Homeland Crew’ to develop a drama or dance drama scene showing the ‘first contact’ between the Macassan and indigenous tribes showing how a relationship of mutual respect, trust and trade was formed.

5.  How do modern stories of the connection between Australian First Nations peoples and the Macassan traders create a greater sense of Indigenous Australian cultures and histories?