Key Outcomes for Performance Symposium
Day Three
National Recording Project for Indigenous Performance in Australia
Linda Barwick, Aaron Corn, Djangirrawuy Garawirrtja, Neparrŋa Gumbula, Allan Marett, Mandawuy Yunupiŋu
Chairs: Galarrwuy Yunupiŋu, Mandawuy Yunupiŋu
This session allowed participants to view some of the video recordings that had been taken during the course of buŋgul performances throughout the festival. Discussions focussed on how buŋgul should be recorded for archival purposes.
Several issues were discussed, including where and how to best shoot buŋgul, and the role of Yolŋu in both the recording and editing processes. It was suggested that having only one person recording buŋgul was inadequate, as resultant recordings will only show performances from one angle. Due to this, it was thought that the demonstration recording was too static, and it was suggested that there should be several cameras located around the buŋgul ground so that all aspects of the performance could be captured.
Galarrwuy Yunupiŋu emphasised the need to move with the performance. He said that a camera cannot think for itself so we need to be its guide and ensure that it moves with the performers. He emphasised that Yolŋu assistance in the recording process would be of great benefit because their knowledge of the dances provides the ability to indicate optimal camera positions at each stage of a performance. It was also suggested that greater Yolŋu involvement in the editing process would ensure that significant buŋgul passages of limited movement would not be edited out. To truly capture the meaning and significance of buŋgul performances, Yolŋu themselves must be heavily involved in recording and editing processes. Low light during the buŋgul recordings demonstrated prompted the proposal that buŋgul performances for recording purposes at the festival could take place earlier in the day. However, Galarrwuy believed that scheduling buŋgul earlier would conflict with the other activities planned throughout the day and adversely effect the ability of performers to participate in them.
This session made the audience more aware of the issues surrounding efforts to record buŋgul. The panellists recognised that, although the many advances and improvements in recording technology in recent years mean there is now a much wider range of equipment available, human control is still a crucial element. There are also particular requirements when recording buŋgul to which recordists and editors must be sensitive in their work. Many panellists agreed that much progress have been made with buŋgul recordings although there are challenges to be faced and new possibilities to be tested.
The National Recording Project team reported on the outcomes of its closed sessions in Nhulunbuy on 6–7 August. Allan Marett informed the audience about the aims of the project, its progress since last year's launch and issues that had arisen during closed sessions. Early steps towards the project were first taken at the first Indigenous Performance Symposium in 2002 during initial meetings between prominent elders and academics at Gunyaŋara. The project's aim is to preserve and document unique Indigenous performance traditions. Recordings of the endangered repertoires are to be stored in repositories such as local knowledge centres and central digital archives where they will continue to be accessible by local communities and their future generations. The project has been undertaken with broad support from Indigenous communities. Local leaders such as Mandawuy Yunupiŋu, Djangirrawuy Garawirrtja and Neparrŋa Gumbula in North–East Arnhem Land are key research partners. It is envisioned that, through training programmes, local elders will lead the project at all stages including recording, documentation and archiving. Part of the project's strength lies in knowledge gained this year through its two pilot studies and affiliated projects in Arnhem Land, the Daly River District, the Tanami Desert and the Victoria River District. Difficulties had been faced with recording equipment while outdoors. It was imperative for recording units to be protected from wind, dust and sand damage. It was also important to ensure that recordings be made with the best possible sound quality, and that backup recordings are made immediately.
Linda Barwick spoke about the significance of music and dance to Indigenous ways of life and the resilience of repertoires that have survived in communities through periods of tumultuous change and turbulence. There are cases in which some languages have become extinct in all ways other than in songs in which they are still performed. She worked on recording jurtbirrk songs that have recently been released on compact disc. Jurtbirrk are love-songs composed by the Iwaidja people of North–West Arnhem Land, usually sung by one or two men accompanied by arrilil (clapsticks, or bilma in Yolŋu language) and artawirr (didgeridu, yidaki) accompaniment. These songs are usually short and are formally analogous to the blues. They are inspired by real events surrounding love and romantic relationships.
The afternoon ended with statements by other participants in the closed sessions from Charles Darwin University, the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, the Australian Partnership for Sustainable Repositories, the Australian Performing Rights Association, and the National Screen and Sound Archive. Support for the project from these organisations ranged from financial assistance to assistance with operations. Assistance was also pledged for the establishment of a secure national repository and digital archives for the recordings and other materials to be collected.