There is nothing "contemporary" or "modern" about women taking equal place with men in Aboriginal society in a lot of Australia. Women play a big part, indeed the major role sometimes, in decision making in a lot of communities these days. Sadly this is by default in many cases, because the men have lost it and the women have had to take more on than they used to. It's my belief that the notion of "balance" -- Garma, as they call it at Yirrkala -- originally reflected the ideal relationship between man and woman. However, it was my observation when in the Yirrkala community about eight years ago that the men had pushed the women into an inferior role -- much as white men had also done. This observation is confirmed by this story below. If the Yirrkala men are in fact changing their ways as the story implies, then I wonder -- is it due to their own women reasserting themselves and restoring the old balance, ie have the men given the fire back? -- or are they copying white men who are in turn responding to the "women's liberation movement"? At 09:23 PM 11/12/00 +1000, you wrote: > The Sun-Herald > Sunday, November 12, 2000 > > Cockatoo's calling to centre stage > > Moving forward: Jodie Cockatoo breaks > patriarchal mold. Below: on stage with Yothu > Yindi in the Olympic closing ceremony. > > She's the woman behind Aboriginal > icon Mandawuy Yunupingu but why > hasn't anyone heard of Yothu Yindi's > Jodie Cockatoo? SUE WILLIAMS > reports. > > A FUNNY thing happened at the > Paralympics. Yothu Yindi's lead singer > Mandawuy Yunupingu gestured to a > striking young woman to join him centre > stage. > > For most of the worldwide audience it > went unnoticed. But for the woman, > Jodie Cockatoo, the action carried great > significance. > > Yunupingu was showing to Cockatoo and > the world that his band was moving away > from the patriarchal format that had kept > her in the background for too long. > > Cockatoo is a young woman from the > city with little knowledge of centuries-old > Aboriginal ways. And she is determinedly > non-political. > > Is this the start of a completely new > direction for a group which had become > both a bedrock and an enduring inspiration for Aboriginal activism among > black and white? No, insists Cockatoo. > > "It was wonderful that Mandawuy opened his arms to me and allowed me > to become so involved, creatively and vocally," she said. > > "It's a sign that we're becoming more contemporary, even more relevant. > > "What's really exciting is that Yothu Yindi has always been a very > patriarchal band, with women put in the background. That's how the > traditional ways are. But allowing me to come to the forefront, an > urbanised Aboriginal person, gives us a contemporary side." > > Certainly, for the band's Aboriginal followers it's being seen as an > eloquent > statement about the move of custodians of the traditional ways towards a > much more inclusive position. > > Aboriginal people living in the cities, with few links left to their > ancestral > homelands, as well as white Australians will, through Cockatoo, be able to > identify more closely with the band. > > In addition, young Aboriginal women, the one group of people often > excluded from community decision-making, will see her as a highly visible > role model. > > And while Cockatoo herself claims she is more interested in singing, > dancing and writing than in politics, the granddaughter of a woman > displaced as part of the stolen generation can't help but be seen as > someone embodying certain values and aspirations. > > "Being black is being political, is my saying," said Yunupingu, bluntly. > "She > has to express herself, and she's there as a role model - that's what > it's all > about. > > "It's good to have a female indigenous voice, that's very positive. It > creates > a lot of meaning for young people." > > Cockatoo's rise to prominence has come at exactly the same time as the > release of Yothu Yindi's sixth album too, one no less political than their > first, Homeland Movement, which was released in Australia's Bicentennial > year. > > This one, Garma, is fittingly all about balance. The word is central to the > 50,000-year-old Yolngu culture from which most members of the band > come, meaning the balance between Australia's people, and that balance > between people and their environment, heavens and earth. > > Produced by INXS songwriter Andrew Farriss, it showcases Cockatoo's > talents beautifully in that she was allowed a major creative role in the > album, as well as sharing lead vocal duties with Yunupingu. > > Cockatoo was nominated as Female Artist of the Year against much > better-established singers such as Christine Anu and Ruby Hunter in the > recent Deadlys, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music > Awards. > > With Yothu Yindi also nominated in four band categories in the > high-profile awards, the night before the ARIAs, it gave Cockatoo a central > place in all the action. > > It's all a long way from her career beginnings, as a 12-year-old singing to > her family in Cairns, in Queensland's far north. > > Then, she had no idea what she wanted of the future - except that she > wanted to sing for a living. Her life turned around, however, seven years > ago, when a friend was called by Yothu Yindi to be asked if she knew of > any promising female singers. > > She told them about Cockatoo, who auditioned and was instantly taken on > as a fresh-faced 19-year-old to perform backing vocals. Today, now 27, > she's finally made it to the forefront of the band. > > Cockatoo also plans to continue working her own projects too, like a solo > album she's always dreamed of making. In the meantime, however, there's > a national tour with Garma, a world tour and the continuing focus on the > Aboriginal community as a vital part of Australia's future. > > "We've been struggling for years and we'll continue to struggle, but we > hold no grudges," said Cockatoo. "I'm still learning, but I feel very > positive > about the future. > > Garma is a great reflection of that - we wanted to make an album that was > very positive and feelgood." > > > > >************************************************************************* >This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without >permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, >scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal >copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of >the copyright owner, except for "fair use." ------------------------------------------------------ RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/ To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." RecOzNet2 is archived for members @ http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznet2%40paradigm4.com.au/
