Milpirri at Lajamanu as an intercultural locus of Warlpiri discourses with others

Abstract

This thesis analyses the event of Milpirri in Lajamanu, Northern Territory — a biennial event first celebrated in 2005, conceived by the Warlpiri educator Steven Wanta Jampijinpa Patrick and produced by Tracks Dance Company in Darwin. Milpirri is a bicultural event primarily aimed at increasing school attendance in Lajamanu through a blended program of traditional Warlpiri dance and modern hip hop instruction, and culminating in a concert in which local children and Warlpiri ceremonial elders perform together collaboratively on stage. It also aims to strengthen community cohesion by encouraging cooperation among numerous local organisations including the elders’ council, the school, the shire council, the arts centre, the church and the store. Milpirri is structured around a selection of endangered Warlpiri rituals, many of which have not been performed in their traditional contexts for decades and are largely unknown by youths. Throughout my analysis of this event, I bring my understanding of Japan’s matsuri tradition, which combines the concepts of festival, ritual and marriage. This approach is novel in that scholarship into Australian Indigenous cultures, such as that of the Warlpiri, has predominantly been undertaken by European-Australian (kardiya) researchers. As in the Japanese matsuri tradition, Milpirri includes elements of animism/totemism, competitive dance and traditional marriage law, and cannot simply be described as a ‘festival’ in the Anglophone sense. Through this analysis, I will show how Milpirri instils an atmosphere of harmony and community cohesion within Lajamanu that is grounded in ancestral Warlpiri law, yet embraces the whole of Australia for the future benefit of all.