Madarrpa Funeral at Gurka’wuy

1979, 88 Minutes

The funeral of a young child on a clan homeland.

In 1976, Ian Dunlop was invited by Dundiwuy Wanambi, a leader of the Marrakulu clan, to Gurka’wuy on Trial Bay in the Gulf of Carpentaria. He wanted Film Australia to record the first major Marrakulu ceremony to be held at Gurka’wuy since its recent establishment as a clan settlement.

While they were there, a baby boy died. The Madarrpa men, including the child’s father and Dundiwuy, asked for the funeral to be filmed.
Mortuary rites of the Yolngu are extremely complex. Despite some practical modifications to traditional ceremonies as a result of life on mission stations, ritual remains extremely strong.

Because the Madarrpa funeral at Gurka’wuy is for a young child, and not an adult, the ceremony is relatively short. It is, nevertheless, still complex. Every part of the ritual is rich in symbolism and has many meanings. Because the deeper meanings are secret and cannot be revealed in this film it is not easy to explain the significance of much of the ritual. However, this film is a detailed study of the funeral ceremony. It highlights the complex connections of people of different clans.

A Film Australia National Interest Program. © 2011 National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.