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Body Dreaming.
The idea of ‘Body Dreaming’ is a nebulous enough concept for simple white boy to comprehend, bound up as it is with identity and Aboriginal culture, but the journey of discovery sounds fascinating as it’s outlined by Djakapurra Munyarryun as we talk it through.
He’s at home in Palmerston, just outside Darwin, and in the background I can hear children running around shrieking happily... "...these are body paintings of our people that we own... some body painting is for the public and we’re happy to have it on show, but some is more sacred to us and we don’t put it on show," Munyarryun tells me, leading me gently into the idea.
‘Body Dreaming’ is something of an exposition, an introduction into Aboriginal belief, and it all centres around elaborate ceremony. For Munyarryun and his brother Bunduk Marika, that means a long time spent to paint up and get ready.
"It takes maybe two hours; at least an hour and a half, and for the performance - we’ll explain to the audience what it is we’re doing. My brother is going to be painting and I’ve got stories to explain where the painting comes from."
Each design has its own story and meaning "and every song comes with its own painting".
For the most part, two clans are represented in the stories, sometimes in the guise of the mother and child; Munyarryun is a member of the Yirritja and Banduk Marika from the other family clan, the Dhuwa.
"People talk about it [the culture] going back 40,000 years, but of course it’s never been mentioned, or counted. Our culture just goes back as long as people have told stories about it. A long time, I think," he mutters.
Certainly, there are secret aspects of the culture, and there’s not time to tell the whole story in the course of one performance,in any case. He’s quite specific about this. "It will be what I want to show. I won’t go into things more, any deeper. We can’t touch that. I don’t want to do the wrong thing talking about our culture - I want to do the right thing."
These constraints - and that which is allowed by Aboriginal culture - allows some flexibility in the telling of the story, however Munyarryun knows he has the role of varying the approach as he feels is required.
"Opening night we’re going to do something different," he lets me in on the plan. "The painting of the bodies will be the same, but the dancing is going to be more on the saltwater side, that’s a different thing. We’re going to sing on the land first - the freshwater - then we’re going do it on the saltwater side. The story is one of the river, running from fresh water to the saltwater. We tell the story of that journey."
To tell the stories of the two clans - their differences and their similarities - Djakapurra Munyarryun and Bunduk Marika will be joined by a touring party of relatives, up to ten from each of the two clans, but the focal point will be the brothers: "I’m going to be doing both, explaining by talking to the audience, and singing and dancing. I’m going to be busy," says Munyarryun with a laugh, looking forward to their Adelaide debut.
Alex Wheaton
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‘Body Dreaming’ opens on Sat 28 Feb in the Amphitheatre, Festival Centre, for three shows only.
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