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Kamis, 06 Januari 2011

Garma, KEY FORUM REPORT 2005 Indigenous Cultural Livelihoods


Key Outcomes for Performance Symposium
Day Two
Yolŋu–Macassan Contact
Marcia Langton, Halilintar Lathief
Chair: Raymattja Marika
The focus of this session was evidence of the long relationship between the Mangkasarra and the Yolŋu. Marcia Langton explained trading relationships in northern Australia starting with the historical presence of Chinese traders. Evidence of these interactions lies in the remains of blue and white porcelain dishes from China that were found at Gunyaŋara. A trade network was established between the Yolŋu and the seafaring Mangkasarra. This relationship could have started earlier than the seventeenth century but intensified in the eighteenth century from which there are reports of fleets comprising thousands of Mangkasarra sailors. From these reports, we are able to know the routes of Mangkasarra sailors and the flags carried by their vessels. The Mangkasarra came annually to northern Australia. Their journeys began at the start of the monsoons and ended when they returned home at the end of the wet season. Mangkasarra visitors travelled to the northern coast of Australia in search of the delicacy trepang (sea cucumber). In return, the Mangkasarra exchanged items such as cloth, tobacco, knives, rice and alcohol with their Yolŋu hosts. There is much evidence recording the relationships between the peoples of northern Australia and the Mangkasarra. These trade exchanges debunk the assertion that Australian peoples lived in a subsistence economy based on exchange before the arrival of the British First Fleet but were instead linked into an efficient and inter-continental mercantile trading system. There is still much literary debate surrounding Mangkasarra arrivals to the North coast of Australia but the majority of anthropologists since the nineteenth century have recorded oral histories that evidence trading activities with the Yolŋu. The interactions between the Mangkasarra and the Yolŋu over several centuries have left a lasting influence on both cultures. There are several hundred Mangkasarra loan words used in Yolŋu languages today, including the words for money and a number of musical instruments. Other examples of Mangkasarra cultural influence can be found in Yolŋu song and dance series, name lexicons, ceremonial functions and archaeological sites.
Pak Halilintar Lathief began his keynote address to the Forum by explaining the Mangkasarra way of viewing the world. He explained that Mangkasarra divide the world, including people, into the four groups: mountains, inland, beach and sea. Aspects of Mangkasarra culture such as arts and performance are also divided so. To reflect these four sectors in the culture, Mangkasarra performances utilise four colours, black, yellow, red and white, which represent the four elements of earth, air, wind and fire. In each performance, some elements will be more prominent than others, and the colours used will vary accordingly. In some cases, all colours may be present but some elements will be more significant than others. Mangkasarra music often features the gendang-ganrang (double-headed drum), which is unique to it. Pak Lathief went on to describe the Mangkasarra performance at buŋgul on Saturday afternoon. Their performance was a purification ceremony, which was conducted to beseech the Gods. Its choreography for female dancers is connected to the sea as one of the four sectors of Mangkasarra society. When asked about the Mangkasarra relationship with Yolŋu, Pak Lathief said that they share some visible similarities. Their own goyan (paired bamboo sticks) are similar to Yolŋu bilma (paired wooden sticks). Trees such as the djambaŋ (tamarind) and the Mangkasarra words still spoken in Yolŋu languages also indicate important historical trading relationships and cultural exchanges between the two peoples. He concluded by recognising the importance of the Mangkasarra–Yolŋu relationship and its prominence in many Mangkasarra manuscripts.

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