How Yolngu talk about art: Aspects of narratives, metaphors and colour terms from the Ganalbingu (Western Yolngu) perspective

Abstract

This thesis examines intersections between the language and art practices of the Ganalbingu clan (Western Yolngu) based on eight months of fieldwork in Ramingining and Gapuwiyak, North Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory of Australia. By studying the discourse around traditional paintings and fibre art of Western Yolngu communities, or how Yolngu talk about art, this thesis investigates aspects of the form and content of narratives about paintings; linguistic and conceptual metaphors; and the semantics of colour terms and aesthetics. This analysis in turn sheds light on Yolngu worldviews, cultural values and pedagogical processes, triangulating between language and art. Based on prolonged engagement with Western Yolngu communities whose perspectives are under-documented in the literature, this thesis contributes to a more complete understanding of the diversity in the Yolngu region, where current understanding is skewed towards Miwatj (Eastern) Yolngu.

The main theoretical contributions of this thesis are two-fold: it adopts a contemporary Western Yolngu conceptualisation of 'art', known as gamununggu, which challenges European understandings of art and enriches the cross-cultural metacategory of art (Chapter 4). Through a study of the visual language of Ganalbingu paintings alongside spoken language and other modalities of expression such as bunggul (ceremonial dance) and manikay (song), a multimodal model of communication is put forward which encapsulates this complexity (Chapter 8). The interdisciplinary framing of this thesis is necessary in order to achieve these research aims, as the visual language underlying the interpretation of paintings and spoken language in storytelling are inherently interconnected.

The thesis structure reflects the natural pedagogical progression of a non-Indigenous learner of Yolngu knowledge. It begins with a general introduction to Yolngu language and art, referencing relevant literature, and the interdisciplinary approach necessitated by this reflection of Yolngu categories of knowledge (Chapter 1). It then outlines the methods of data collection and general theoretical underpinnings (Chapter 2). A synchronic snapshot of the geography, society, language and art of Ramingining and Gapuwiyak is outlined next, grounded in historical documentation from the literature (Chapter 3). Key terms and theoretical frameworks about art are then set up (Chapter 4), followed by an overview of the discourse (Chapter 5) outlining the most important themes and structures, which is the foundation on which other analyses are built. Subsequently, two aspects of the discourse are analysed in depth: conceptual and linguistic metaphors, mainly based on body-part terms (Chapter 6) and the way colours are named and referred to in discussions about art, as one component of the visual language within multimodal expressions of aesthetics (Chapter 7). Finally, these findings are synthesised in a model of communication, drawing together findings from the entire thesis and contextualising them within the literature on ceremony (Chapter 8).