WORDS Ella Woods and Faith Baisden | IMAGES Belinda Hoare
Alinta McGrady is keen to see a change from her own early education where nobody taught songs in her Yugambeh language. Alinta brings a cheeky energy to the song “Jubi in the Jangeegeri,” about a cranky mudcrab.
A Spiritual Connection to the Ancestors
At the heart of the Yarrabil: First Nations Songs collection is an intense feeling of spiritual connection and rootedness. For Yugambeh musician and performer Alinta McGrady, it is a feeling that many First Peoples share in Australia:
“When I’m speaking language and when I’m singing language, I feel a connection not only to Country but also to my ancestors . . . It’s a spiritual experience.”
As Faith Baisden puts it so vividly in a story previously published in Langscape, “For tens of thousands of years, the rich and beautiful sounds of hundreds of different languages washed across Australia.” Subsequently, over about 200 years, colonialism nearly silenced this multitude of voices before First Peoples began revitalizing their languages.
For tens of thousands of years, the rich and beautiful sounds of hundreds of different languages washed across Australia.
Increasingly, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia are focusing on teaching their language to their young ones. With this new focus, the need for fun and engaging language-learning resources is growing.
For Alinta and other young people today, songs in their language are a huge part of their language-learning journey. Above all, these songs are what they need as they continue revitalizing their languages and teaching them to their own children.
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Sharron mirii Bell is an established performer in the field of Early Childhood, Cultural Education and Wellbeing. She brings the “Wiradjuri shake-a-leg hokey pokey” to the collection.
First Languages Australia (FLA) and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Australia’s national broadcaster, co-developed and produced the collection. Yarrabil brings together Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performers from across what is now called Australia. As a result, they have created a rich collection of First Nations songs for children. Importantly, their songs are either entirely in their ancestral languages or include Indigenous words.
As a result, this collection of songs is beautiful, fun, and spiritually satisfying.
When I’m speaking and singing language, I feel a connection not only to Country but also to my ancestors.
First Nations Songs: From the Ancient to the New
Crucially, the Yarrabil collection features a broad range of songs. While some have passed down through generations, others are newly written to support revitalizing language. In addition, some reimagine well-known English children’s songs in a First Nation language. But what is common to all is the richness of Indigenous languages, which performers of all ages bring to life.
Faith Baisden, Elder Paul Andy, and ABC producer Karina Hogan.
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Not only beautiful in themselves, these songs also represent a chance for First Nations to heal and celebrate their languages. As Wiradjuri performer Sharron mirii Bell notes:
“Every person that lives in Australia should be able to have access to (First Nations) language, but also, the healing. We bring health and wellbeing into our Country every single time we speak language.”
To date, the project has recorded twelve songs in languages as diverse as Meriam Mer from Zenadth Kes (Torres Strait) in the north, palawa kani from lutriwita (Tasmania), Noongar from the west coast, and Yugambeh from the east.
For most people it was their first time in a music recording studio. Here, Pitjantjatjara / Yankunytjatjara performer Dom Barry prepares a song chart.
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Creating New Opportunities to Revitalize Language
Because few opportunities exist for First Nations’ artists to travel, perform, and record songs together, Series 2 (Yarrabil Bula) saw the project expand to include the recording of the “Greeting Song.” First, performers first translated the lyrics into their own language. Then, they merged the collection into one track that beautifully celebrates the diversity of Indigenous languages in Australia.
With a special talent for creating fun in the studio, as well as providing beautiful guitar accompaniment for the performers, Meriam Mir musician Tony Ghee was a key member of the Yarrabil bula crew.
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Happily, the Yarrabil collection, the “Greeting Song,” and a forthcoming mini documentary on the recording of Series 2 are freely available online via ABC Education, ABC’s education website, and are also linked through First Languages Australia’s websites.
Additionally, the webpage includes resources for teachers wishing to incorporate First Languages spoken in Australia into the classroom. Crucially, this includes information about the appropriate steps to take before embarking on the teaching of First Languages.
It was a long journey for Bart Pigram and daughter Maarli, who travelled from Broome in Western Australia to Brisbane on the east coast for the recording of Yarrabil bula. Members of the language community made the decision to include young Maarli as a performer and one of the younger generation who will carry on the teaching of Yawuru language. “Liyan Nurlu” is the name of their song which helps children identify their feelings.
Revitalizing Language for Younger Generations
It is, however, in the hearts and voices of children that these songs will bring Indigenous languages to life. As Bart Pigram, performing with his daughter Maarli, made clear:
“This is a very special project for me, not only showcasing Yawuru language throughout the nation, but also having my daughter involved and making sure that we’re passing on to the next generation the strength, the resilience, and pride in our language.”
One of the most exciting outcomes of the project was the sharing of knowledge between Elders and young community members. Elder, Paul Andy and Dom Barry are both members of the Iwiri Choir in Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands of central Australia.
Watch, listen to, and sing along with Yarrabil: First Nations Songs! The songs are divided into two series:
- Series 1: Yarrabil: First Nations Songs (ABC Education)
- Series 2: Yarrabil Bula: First Nations Songs (ABC Education)
Ella Woods works in the First Nations language sector, with a focus on supporting efforts toward teaching and learning languages. Ella has career experience in leadership, business management, and finance, and is passionate about supporting language communities to design and deliver projects that support their aspirations. Ella’s family are Kombumerri and Mununjali people from the Yugambeh language region.
Faith Baisden is from the Yugambeh community south of Brisbane, Australia. She is an artist, photographer, curator, and composer. Faith is Director of Binabar Projects, an Indigenous consultancy involved in business planning, Indigenous language, cultural, and artistic project management, and book production. For over twenty years, she has been involved in Indigenous language projects, both at the community level and as a consultant on state and national policy in support of languages.
For a Deeper Read/Listen:
- “Yamani: Voices of an Ancient Land” – Follow author Faith Baisden in this photo essay with a different group of First Nations artists. More than just a recording, the results of this project include a fully mastered CD with ten songs in five different languages, a short film highlighting the impact that this project has had on the participants, and a range of performances.
- “Yamani Project Artists” – Here you’ll find links to six short videos in which each Yamani project participant talks about her life experience and relationship to her language. Together, these videos provide further background to the Yamani project.
