
4th September 2017
13:30-14:00
Research Week Marquee, Great Court, UWA, 35 Stirling Highway Perth WA 6009
13:30-14:00
Research Week Marquee, Great Court, UWA, 35 Stirling Highway Perth WA 6009
Tjaabi is sung poetry from the Pilbara, capturing life in this remote area of Australia. Tjaabi songs have been composed about the skill of horse-breakers, musterers, and bulldoggers or the events of communal life like chasing emus, shooting kangaroos and fishing with nets. These songs tell us of peoples excitement over technical wonders, such as ships, railways, cars and planes while others narrate misfortunes with pastoralist, pearlers and police. The individual composers of tjaabi songs have a skilled ability for language and storytelling, deployed to capture the diverse experiences of life in this culturally rich region.
This event provides a unique glimpse into the living Aboriginal culture of the Pilbara, through songs, story and image performed by Ngarluma man, Patrick Churnside.