REFLECTION ON THE MUSICAL ART PIECE: INANAY GUPU WANA
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xGWMFBfKi8)
“Inanay Gupu Wana” is a traditional aboriginal song that travelled across Australia as cappella
from the past. The song was first sung by Lou Bennett, a Yorta Yorta Dja Dja Wurrung woman
from Echuca (Swift, Allmusic) with acquaintance through ‘songlines’ from her cousins and
grandmother in the late 1980’s in Victoria (Roberts, 2007). With a history of thousands of years,
the song continues to be passed on in a non-scribal manner to generations verbally as folklore
through community music making it one of the most beautiful lullabies in the world.
Research on the origin of the song suggests that the song is in Mabuyag Island's Kala
Lagaw Ya language and also could be a Darnley Island song from Eastern Torres Strait which
might have travelled through the Pacific from Hawai'i (Neuenfeldt and Oien, 2011) with similar
versions in Thursday Island songs by Mills Sisters (Magowan and Neuenfeldt, 2005).
Dancing and songs are important facets of Torres Strait Islanders and acts as illustrative
materials through which history is preserved and passed on to generations through storytelling
(Ephraim Bani, 1979). As music for Indigenous people is a way of knowing country (Dillon &
Chapman, 2005), singing was purely an imitation based on the original activity (Breen et al.,
1989) affirming their existence and connections with ancestors (Dunbar-Hall & Gibson, 2004).
‘Inanay’ evolved as a part of cappella scene through community music movement in
1990’s created by Indigenous Australian band ‘Tiddas’ composed of three folk sisters: Amy
Saunders (Gunditjmara, Portland), Lou Bennett (Yorta Yorta, Echuca) and Sally Dastey (West
Heidelberg). The musical performance inspired Ruby Hunter to form the band ‘Tiddas’ (Roberts,
2007).
Attributes of the song:
‘Tiddas’ made their album “Sing About Life” (Tiddas, 1993) which received “ARIA Award for
Breakthrough Artist” and “ARIA Award for Best Indigenous Release” in 1994. ‘Inanay’ is a part
of the album which became a part of the ‘canon’ in socio-musical spaces sharing songs and
stories together in Australian community (Rickwood, 2013). Since then, “Inanay’ is included in
repertoire of Madjitil Moorna, a group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people who sing
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(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xGWMFBfKi8)
“Inanay Gupu Wana” is a traditional aboriginal song that travelled across Australia as cappella
from the past. The song was first sung by Lou Bennett, a Yorta Yorta Dja Dja Wurrung woman
from Echuca (Swift, Allmusic) with acquaintance through ‘songlines’ from her cousins and
grandmother in the late 1980’s in Victoria (Roberts, 2007). With a history of thousands of years,
the song continues to be passed on in a non-scribal manner to generations verbally as folklore
through community music making it one of the most beautiful lullabies in the world.
Research on the origin of the song suggests that the song is in Mabuyag Island's Kala
Lagaw Ya language and also could be a Darnley Island song from Eastern Torres Strait which
might have travelled through the Pacific from Hawai'i (Neuenfeldt and Oien, 2011) with similar
versions in Thursday Island songs by Mills Sisters (Magowan and Neuenfeldt, 2005).
Dancing and songs are important facets of Torres Strait Islanders and acts as illustrative
materials through which history is preserved and passed on to generations through storytelling
(Ephraim Bani, 1979). As music for Indigenous people is a way of knowing country (Dillon &
Chapman, 2005), singing was purely an imitation based on the original activity (Breen et al.,
1989) affirming their existence and connections with ancestors (Dunbar-Hall & Gibson, 2004).
‘Inanay’ evolved as a part of cappella scene through community music movement in
1990’s created by Indigenous Australian band ‘Tiddas’ composed of three folk sisters: Amy
Saunders (Gunditjmara, Portland), Lou Bennett (Yorta Yorta, Echuca) and Sally Dastey (West
Heidelberg). The musical performance inspired Ruby Hunter to form the band ‘Tiddas’ (Roberts,
2007).
Attributes of the song:
‘Tiddas’ made their album “Sing About Life” (Tiddas, 1993) which received “ARIA Award for
Breakthrough Artist” and “ARIA Award for Best Indigenous Release” in 1994. ‘Inanay’ is a part
of the album which became a part of the ‘canon’ in socio-musical spaces sharing songs and
stories together in Australian community (Rickwood, 2013). Since then, “Inanay’ is included in
repertoire of Madjitil Moorna, a group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people who sing
1
