In last week’s blog I was discussing Shellie Morris, her significance in helping Aboriginal communities find their songs and in bringing traditional languages to life. This week I have continued to investigate the music of Shellie Morris as I believe the importance of Shellie’s work and music earns the right to be included in Australian music education programs.
Shellie Morris has responded positively and quickly to the requests and questions I have put to her. It has been inspiring and reaffirming to have the feedback from such mover and shaker in this field. She confirmed that she and the Borroloola Songwomen are keen to share their songs and language of the album ‘Ngambala Wiji li-Wunungu [Together We Are Strong]’ with wider Australia. Shellie explained to me that the songs on the album have been carefully chosen and written using information appropriate for the wider Australian community. The songs on the album are not sacred songlines. These she tells me can be used to teach all the elements of music and more. This is music to our ears as music educators being songs in the traditional style, but would not offend the Borroloola Aboriginal community.
In researching the ‘Ngambala Wiji li Wunungu’ album I found that the ‘The Song Peoples Sessions’ project was an idea conceived by Patrick McCloskey and developed by Barkly Regional Arts in Tennant Creek. It involved Shellie Morris and the Borroloola community, as well as Warren H Williams and the people of Tennant Creek. Warren’s CD is entitled Winanjjara – Warren H Williams and the Warumungu Songmen.
According to McCloskey, the work by “Williams and Morris has helped to invigorate… threatened languages …. and return cultural pride to communities. Children on the streets are singing (new) songs”.
McCloskey also says that “song has always been a primary carrier of story and language in Aboriginal culture. Some traditional songs contain words from languages that predate those in living memory” and that “song people are the most important custodians of culture in most Aboriginal communities. They are often perplexed by the popularity of painting”.
”The singers often say the painting and the patterns don’t exist without us, they don’t exist without the songs. The song is the thing that binds it all together,” McCloskey says.
Morris explains the current role that music plays in Aboriginal communities today is really important. She says “that contemporary music is huge in communities and some communities have 10 bands”.
Morris studied Yanyuwa pronunciation from Borroloola and their traditional songs before ”writing a new story that matched the story in the traditional song”.
I stumbled on a radio interview recording of Shellie promoting the album. The interview highlighted ‘Li-Wirdiwalangu’, the last track the Borroloola women wrote with her. Shellie says “we brought the children in and discussed what message we could write together about the community”. Shellie says the suggestions from the children included respect for old people, their laws and their language. She tells of the great sense of joy to finish this album with this song.
That the ideas for music come from the Aboriginal children of a small community. That it is sung by Aboriginal women from the community to share with us, makes the song ‘Li-Wirdiwalangu’ so appropriate for music learning. The song title translates as ‘Belonging to the Elders’.
A link for the interview is here : http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2012/12/msw_20121201_1015.mp3
The activities follow. Listen to the song and have your students listen too.
Texture timbre dynamics worksheet for shellie morris-2egiyc3
References
https://indigenousx.com.au/shellie-morris-this-here-gap-looks-like-a-great-divide/
https://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/honour-roll/?view=fullView&recipientID=1113
https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/ageless-voices-find-byways-of-the-songlines-20110922-1kn4j.htmlhttps://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/new-chapter-for-ancient-songbook-20110829-1ji6a.html
https://www.deadlyvibe.com.au/2007/11/shellie-morris/
http://songpeoples.tumblr.com/
https://japingkaaboriginalart.com/articles/songlines-important-aboriginal-art/
https://abcmedia.akamaized.net/rn/podcast/2012/12/msw_20121201_1015.mp3Texture timbre dynamics worksheet for shellie morris-2egiy9h