UNAIPON CHOREOGRAPHER'S
NOTES (& research resources)
Commentary by Frances Rings, July 2003
"Most Australians recognise David Unaipon's face from the Australian
$50 note but know little about this extraordinary man. He was a Ngarrindjeri
man of the Warrawaldi clan, born in 1872, the fourth of nine children,
at Point McLeay Mission in South Australia. He died in 1967, shortly
before the referendum 'yes' vote that included Aboriginal people in the
national census. He was an inventor, philosopher, writer and storyteller.
Unaipon grew up on the mission. His father became the first Aboriginal
lay preacher which was to have a strong influence on him later in life.
However, he grew up learning how to hunt, how to look for birds and possums
and how to climb trees - he knew the cultural ways, the old ways. Then
as a young man he was taken to Adelaide to live with the white family
of CB Young who gave him a classical education. He was taught everything
from literature through to how to play Bach on the organ and how to speak
Latin and Greek. He studied all the great philosophers and cultures of
the world. It was at this time he also developed his passion for Science.
From an early age up until the day he died, he had an insatiable thirst
for knowledge.
Through his studies, Unaipon put his own culture on the same platform
as all the other great cultures of the world. It was quite an incredible
thing to be doing in that time and age. He argued that even though we
live very simply in harmony with nature, our culture is just as complex
and amazing as any of the other great ancient cultures. He studied Egyptian
and Inca cultures and compared them to Aboriginal culture, he studied
Aboriginal carvings and symbols and compared them to Egyptian hieroglyphs.
He compared Greek and Aboriginal myths. He studied astronomy and made
connections to the myths and legends that existed about the stars within
his own culture. He mapped the flight pattern of the boomerang and that
fed into his inventions and explorations of aerodynamics.
At the same time he was a very spiritual man. His two great passions
and influences were science and religion. He says that the greatest books
he ever read were Isaac Newton's 'Laws of Physics' and the Bible. In
a white society where he could find no place, whenever he felt rejected,
demeaned or hurt by someone's attitude to him or his race, he would always
open up the Bible. He found that there was a place in the Bible for him,
a place for all people with no prejudice against colour or race. He said
you may call the greater spiritual power by different names - Jesus or
Allah or Narroondarie, etc but it was all the same - the lifeline from
the moment our spirit is conceived in the womb, that continues with us
throughout our life and beyond. It was almost as if he was saying 'We
all breathe the same air and have blood and bones and we have a greater
power, why can't you look at me in the same way and hold my hand or let
me stay in your hotels- why is there this prejudice?' He was always striving
to break down those walls. This is a man who was not even considered
a citizen - yet people dubbed him the 'Leonardo da Vinci of Australia'.
White society at the time was always trying to say Unaipon and people
like Albert Namatjira were 'exceptions'. In quite a few of the old articles
I've looked at they will be on the same page, mentioned in the same breath.
But as much as they would try to pull down Unaipon's race, he would continue
to bring them with him and say 'If I am capable, they are capable. I
am no exception'. He would always be citing examples of the unique and
wonderful things about his culture. He retold his ancient myths and legends
in a language that romanced people - maybe then they would fall in love
with this culture, respect it a bit more and maybe want to explore it
for themselves.
Unaipon was always trying to find the perfect place for himself and
his people within a society that was changing very quickly. In a way,
he embraced assimilation and that was controversial at the time because
it was quite different from what Aboriginal activists were pushing for.
Unaipon was saying 'I don't think we should mourn, I think we need to
be educated and move forward.'
Visiting his family and the land of his traditional community in Raukkan
was crucial in the development of the work, it is about respect and doing
things the right way. The people who welcomed me and taught me so much
about this man as well as the land where he came from, are an incredible
inspiration. It is a very powerful part of the world, you can feel it.
Where the fresh water comes to meet the salt water, it has always been
sacred. The Murray spills into these two massive lakes and they're teeming
with birds and wildlife. There are huge mussel shells on the shores and
it is just so fertile. It is one of the most amazing and beautiful communities
I've ever been to. Their culture is quite distinctive - nobody in Australia
or the world weaves like the Ngarrindjeri weavers. Tragically the community
was decimated by small pox as it travelled down the Murray system - people
all along the river starting dying before they even saw white man. All
these stories, it's like a midden uncovering each layer, the history
is still alive and layers are still being set down.
The challenge is to translate all of this extraordinary material into
dance. The process has been like putting together a jig saw puzzle of
this complex man. At this stage, there isn't a central Unaipon character
- the dancers represent his energy, his contributions and his spirit.
The initial section of the work is inspired by his traditional land
and his childhood. In terms of imagery I am really attracted to the intricacies
of weaving. In Ngarrindjeri culture both men and women partook in weaving.
Weaving also represents the life line or bloodlines, the threads that
tie you to your ancestors and your country. The umbilical cord was very
sacred to the Ngarrindjeri accordingly. Its representation of the connection
to the mother through which life is transferred is honoured through ritual
and ceremony.
The next section transforms into another world, the world of science
- formulas, motion, energy and power. As a dancer one of the things that
you do is to apply each of these elements to make movement. I am excited
about scientific formulas and applying that to dance. I've never done
anything like it before and neither has Bangarra but I reckon we're ready
for it.
Personally I was attracted to Unaipon's life and story because I have
always been interested in who came before me and what the ground was
like that they trod on, the obstacles that they encountered. I guess
history informs us of how we turn out to be. My sister first told me
about Unaipon and I thought his story would be a great subject for a
dance work.. The more I found about him the more I wondered why no one
talks about his man? Why is nothing being done?
People like Unaipon, Namatjira, Bennelong and Truganinni have always
fascinated me - they were people that were 'in between', they straddled
Aboriginal and white culture, their spirits walked between two worlds
with dignity and grace. They were brave enough to walk in a land that
had no track and they made a track for us to follow. I really just wanted
to honour that. Also the fact that I am from South Australia like Unaipon.
It is fitting that this work is premiered at the Adelaide Festival, a
festival directed by an Aboriginal man.
And I am hoping that this work will mean that Australians will understand
more about Unaipon, more than seeing his face on the $50 note. Unaipon
was a strong advocate of education just as I am passionate about educating
people through art. He educated through his pursuit of science and his
thirst for knowledge. I can educate through the beauty of dance and art.
This is our history, it's not just my history, it is a shared history,
shared by all Australians. To deny that would be wrong. It is my responsibility
as a dance maker, as an Aboriginal woman, as an Australian. I have my
obligations and responsibilities and I know this is the right thing to
do. "
Useful Resources:
- "Legendary Tales of The Australian Aborigines" by David Unaipon
Edited and Introduced by Stephen Muecke and Adam Shoemaker
Melbourne University Press 2001
- "Conquest of the Ngarrindjeri" by Graham Jenkin
Raukkan Publishers 1985
- Indigenous Unit, State Library of NSW
- South Australian Museum
- David Unaipon and the Australian $50 note: visit the Reserve
Bank website
|
Dancer:
