Songspirals Bring Country Into Existence: Singing More-Than-Human and Relational Creativity. (June 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Country, Bawaka; Burarrwanga, Laklak; Ganambarr, Ritjilili; Ganambarr-Stubbs, Merrkiyawuy; Ganambarr, Banbapuy; Maymuru, Djawundil; Lloyd, Kate; Wright, Sarah; Suchet-Pearson, Sandie; Daley, Lara
• Other Names: Harris Daniel guest-editor.; Rousell David guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Qualitative inquiry. Volume 28:Number 5(2022)
• Page Start: 435
• Page End: 447
• Publication Date: 2022-06
• Subjects: Indigenous epistemologies -- ethnicity and race -- Indigenous approaches to knowledge -- Indigenous ethics -- reconceptualizing collaboration -- decolonizing the academy -- pedagogy -- postcolonial methodologies -- methodologies; Social sciences -- Methodology -- Periodicals; Social sciences -- Research -- Periodicals; 300.72
• DOI: 10.1177/10778004211068192
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1077-8004

Abstract

Songspirals bring Country into existence. Co-authored by a more-than-human, Yolŋu-led collaboration, this article centers Yolŋu understandings of time and place and elaborates on our work together through a spiral-based framework. Our Indigenous and Country-led Collective nourishes and shares some Yolŋu understandings of songspirals to enable, enrich, and awaken Country; to challenge and expand Western academic frameworks; and to contribute toward more responsive relationships between people and places. To sing or keen the spirals now means the ongoing creation of place and people—an emergent, more-than-human creativity that literally creates and re-creates existence. Songspirals are more-than-human processes that need active engagement to nourish positive relationships and to heal damaged ones. Songspirals are a keening/singing, of, with, by, for, and as Country.