{"id":1811,"date":"2019-04-09T07:45:04","date_gmt":"2019-04-09T07:45:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/?p=1811"},"modified":"2019-04-09T07:45:04","modified_gmt":"2019-04-09T07:45:04","slug":"treaty-by-yothu-yindi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/uncategorized\/treaty-by-yothu-yindi\/","title":{"rendered":"‘treaty’ by Yothu Yindi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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For thousands of years before Lieutenant James Cook \u201cdiscovered\u201d Australia, more than 500 Indigenous nations consisting of over 750,000 people had already been living harmoniously on the land. They believed that Human, Animal, Plant and land is part of one vast unchanging network of relationships that was established before they even existed. Unlike the Europeans, they believed that the land owns mankind, not the other way around. Sadly, on 22 August 1770, Lieutenant Cook stumbled across this land, stuck a flag on the ground and claimed it to be a part of the British Empire. Aboriginal people were stripped of their human and land rights and suffered from discrimination, and violence for hundreds of years. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Despite the absolutely harrowing and irreversible pain they have inflicted on Aboriginal people, Australia remains the only commonwealth country to have never signed a treaty with its indigenous people. The lack of a treaty insinuates the lack of recognition of indigenous people\u2019s history and prior occupation of the land, and the lack of a firm, functional relationship between Indigenous people and non-Indigenous Australians. In 1988, former Prime Minister of Australia, Bob Hawke, signed the Barunga statement proposed by the leaders of the Australian Indigenous community and promised that a treaty would be delivered by 1990. The Barunga statement called for the Australian Government to recognise Indigenous sovereignty, their basic human rights and respect for the Aboriginal identity and culture. However, despite Hawke\u2019s promise, there were no signs of change, let alone a treaty. In 1991, the band Yothu Yindi collaborated with musician Paul Kelly to compose \u2018Treaty\u2019 to protest against the government\u2019s broken promise and to raise public awareness about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yothu Yindi were an Australian musical group that was a merger of a white rock group and an Aboriginal folk group from Yolngu homelands. The lyrics of \u2018Treaty\u2019 consist of both English and Yolngu Matha, the native language of the Yolngu. This is the lyrics to the song:
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Well I\nheard it on the radio 
\nAnd I saw it on the television
\nBack in 1988, all those talking politicians<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Words are easy, words\nare cheap
\nMuch cheaper than our priceless land
\nBut promises can disappear
\nJust like writing in the sand<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Treaty yeah treaty now\ntreaty yeah treaty now<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nhima djatpangarri nhima\nwalangwalang (You dance djatpangarri, that’s better)
\nNhe djatpayatpa nhima gaya’ nhe marrtjini yakarray (You’re dancing, you\nimprovise, you keep going, wow)
\nNhe djatpa nhe walang gumurrt jararrk gutjuk (You dance djatpangarri, that’s\ngood my dear paternal grandson)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This land was never\ngiven up
\nThis land was never bought and sold
\nThe planting of the union jack
\nNever changed our law at all
\nNow two river run their course
\nSeperated for so long
\nI’m dreaming of a brighter day
\nWhen the waters will be one<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Treaty yeah, treaty now\n(x2)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nhima gayakaya nhe gaya’\nnhe (You improvise, you improvise)
\nNhe gaya’ nhe marrtjini walangwalang nhe ya (You improvise, you keep going,\nyou’re better)
\nNhima djatpa nhe walang (You dance djatpangarri, that’s good)
\nGumurr-djararrk yawirriny’ (My dear young men)
\nNhe gaya’ nhe marrtjini gaya’ nhe marrtjini (You improvise, you keep\nimprovising, you keep going)
\nGayakaya nhe gaya’ nhe marrtjini walangwalang (Improvise, you improvise, you\nkeep going, that’s better)
\nNhima djatpa nhe walang (You dance djatpangarri, that’s good)
\nGumurr-djararrk nhe y\u00e5, e i, e i, e i i i, i i i, i i i, i i (You dear things)
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\nTreaty ma’ (Treaty now)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Promises disappear –\npriceless land – destiny
\nWell I heard it on the radio
\nAnd I saw it on the television
\nBut promises can be broken
\nJust like writing in the sand<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Treaty yeah treaty now treaty yeah treaty now (x2)
Treaty yeah treaty ma treaty yeah treaty ma (x2)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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yothu yindi performing ‘treaty’ at ARIAs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What makes this song so unique and impactful is the combination of both aboriginal and balanda (non-Aboriginal) musical cultures. The lead singer, Mandawuy Yunupingu commented \u201cThough it borrows from rock \u2018n\u2019 roll, the whole structure of \u2018Treaty\u2019 is driven by the beat of the djatpangarri that I\u2019ve incorporated in it. It was an old recording of this historic djatpangarri that triggered the song\u2019s composition.\u201d The instrumentation used in this song includes both western instruments such as electric guitars, keyboard and drums, and traditional indigenous instruments such as yidaki (didgeridoo) and bilma (ironwood clapsticks). The song is composed with the western twelve-note chromatic scale, and so harmony is more controlled by electric guitar and keyboard. Traditional aboriginal instruments focus more on timbre rather than harmony, and adds a distinct, irreplaceable tone quality to the song.
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The \u2018Filthy Lucre\u2019, Melbourne-based dance remixers, let out a remix of \u2018Treaty\u2019, and that led the song to gain international recognition. The remix peaked at No.11 on the Australian Recording Industry Association singles charts, and was the 29th<\/sup> best-selling song in Australia in 1991. It was performed by Yothu Yindi at the Closing Ceremony of the Sydney Olympics on 1 October 2000.

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\u2018Treaty\u2019 is an upbeat song with mainly major tonality, despite the heavy issue that it addresses. Perhaps this is to express their hopefulness for a brighter future despite their current gloomy situation. Unfortunately, to this day there is still no treaty. Although on the surface it may seem like Aboriginal Australians are given equal rights as non-indigenous Australians, the social, educational and economic gap is huge but not much is being done to close it. A treaty is long, long overdue and it is absolutely necessary to the future of Australia\u2019s relationship with its indigenous peoples. I hope \u201ctreaty yeah treaty now\u201d happens in the very very near future.

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link to the song:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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