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Unique Indigenous songs recorded more than half a century ago by renowned husband and wife anthropology team Ronald and Catherine Berndt feature in the latest exhibition by the museum established in the couple's honour.

"Little Paintings, Big Stories" - at the University of Western Australia's Berndt Museum from this Saturday (29 June)  to 14 December - displays the songs and associated artworks of the Mawng and Kunwinjku language groups of the Goulburn Islands and adjacent mainland of Western Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory.

The exhibition, curated by Kelly Rowe and Eve Chaloupka, features a selection of unique bark paintings, objects, a sound recording of songs, musical instruments and historical photos acquired by the Berndts with the assistance of the island community during their visits to the area between 1946 and 1964.

The exhibits - a fraction of the rich and diverse collection of Aboriginal art and cultural materials held by the Berndt Museum - explore the ongoing interrelationship between people, stories and country, through what have been dubbed ‘gossip songs'.

Ms Chaloupka said ‘gossip songs', or love songs as Ronald Berndt described them, came to a songman through his ‘spirit-familiar' in a dream and were often based on actual events - sometimes indiscretions occurring within the community at the time.  The identities of the main characters were protected, saving them from public embarrassment, and only those ‘in the know' understood or suspected to whom the song may refer.  The songs were performed as entertainment and demonstrated that tragedy could result from the breaking of cultural mores or the failure to fulfil responsibilities.

A series of bark paintings illustrating the songs are a key feature of the exhibition.

"The stories can be amusing, sometimes tragic, while the songs through which they are relayed are deeply entrancing," Ms Chaloupka said.  "The bark paintings may appear to some as naïve and simple, but their significance is enormous in their role as story-telling props with animal creatures in human disguise."

Mawng leader Ronald Lamilami likened the subject matter of the songs to ‘a kind of Punch and Judy-style entertainment,' while co-curator Kelly Rowe said the exhibition demonstrated the power of storytelling in all its different forms.

"Stories define and instruct the conduct of all human relationships, laws and beliefs, and without them there would be no way to pass on information and no opportunity for creativity, dreams and a break from the mundane and everyday," Ms Rowe said.

"The entertaining nature of storytelling adds vibrancy, mystery and fantasy to everyday lives by feeding people's imaginations and enables the exploration of ideas and creative thought."

The exhibition's focal point will be an animation based on a sketch on bark painted 50 years ago by John Gwadbu, depicting the Marrwakara Story.  The animation is accompanied by a sound recording of Gwadbu singing songs related to the story.  The songs tell of events narrated to him in a dream by his two ‘spirit familiars' - marrwakara (goannas).

To celebrate the exhibition, a free Family Focus Day will be held at the museum from 1pm-4pm on Saturday July 6.  It will include storytelling by Noongar Elder Noel Nannup, a performance of Thurtinkle's Fairy Tales, a special talk by Berndt Museum Director Dr John Stanton, who will discuss stories and songs of Aboriginal Australia, and hands-on activities involving ‘claymation' and story creation.

The Berndt Museum holds one of the world's finest collections of Australian Aboriginal art and cultural materials, collected by anthropologists Ronald and Catherine Berndt during decades spent working closely with Aboriginal communities throughout Australia, as well as Asian and Papua New Guinean collections.  It houses more than 11,000 objects, 30,000 photographs and 3000 reference books, along with collections of field notes, correspondence and audio and visual recordings.  It is currently located in the temperature-controlled basement of the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery at The University of Western Australia but is awaiting funds for a new, purpose-built home at UWA.

Media references

Clare McFarlane (Marketing Assistant, Cultural Precinct, UWA)  (+61 8)  6488 7806
Eve Chaloupka (Assistant Curator)  (+61 8)  6488 8904
Michael Sinclair-Jones (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 3229  /  (+61 4) 00 700 783