Muluk's Wangga

Jimmy Muluk (born c. 1925, died sometime before 1986) was one of the great wangga songmen whose musical virtuosity and love of diversity and variation are exceeded by no other singer. A Mendheyangal man, he held traditional country around the Cape Ford area south of the Daly River mouth, but he lived most of his life in and around Belyuen on the Cox Peninsula. For many years he led a dance troupe presenting performances for tourists at Mica Beach, and later at Mandorah. He also mentored younger generations of singers to perform with him in public at tourist corroborees and the Darwin Eisteddfod. The success of his strategy for intergenerational transmission of knowledge was evident when Marett and Barwick recorded the same singers as mature men in the 1990s. Muluk’s mentee, Colin Worumbu Ferguson, leads the Kenbi dancers today.

Allan Marett is professor emeritus of musicology at the University of Sydney.

Linda Barwick is a musicologist collaborating with First Nations communities in Australia since 1985 and Italian communities since 1979. She is currently Emeritus Professor at the University of Sydney, Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Lysbeth Ford is an honorary research associate in the linguistics department at the University of Sydney.

CD

1. Song 1: puliki (buffalo)
2. Song 1: puliki (buffalo)
3. Song 1: puliki (buffalo)
4. Song 1: puliki (buffalo)
5. Song 2: tjinbarambara (seagull)
6. Song 2: tjinbarambara (seagull)
7. Song 3: wak (crow)
8. Song 4: wörörö (crab)
9. Song 5: pumandjin (place name: a hill)
10. Song 6: piyamen.ga (shady tree), two items
11. Song 6: piyamen.ga (shady tree)
12. Song 6: piyamen.ga (shady tree), two items
13. Song 7: lame fella
14. Song 7: lame fella
15. Song 8: rtadi-thawara (walking on the mangroves)
16. Song 8: rtadi-thawara (walking on the mangroves)
17. Song 8: rtadi-thawara (walking on the mangroves)
18. Song 8: rtadi-thawara (walking on the mangroves)
19. Song 9: lerri (happy dance)
20. Song 9: lerri (happy dance)

Booklet
Introduction
Muluk’s wangga
Transcription and translation of tracks
Works cited

"I am not aware of any compilation of recordings as comprehensive as this one on any other song genre of Aboriginal Australia. Marett, Barwick and Ford's deep involvement with the people of the Daly River area and their intimate knowledge of the songs, exemplified by Marett's becoming an accomplished performer of wangga, present us with a true labour of love and a great contribution towards interdisciplinary research."
Grace Koch   2018 Yearbook for Traditional Music