SOMBALAK

Both Australian Aboriginal and Makassan people are known for their strong spiritual cultures. The Australian Aboriginal people belief is that they are in a constant realm between human to human, human to nature and human to spiritual worlds. Their understanding lies in their daily practices, language system, oral traditions, rituals as well as arts and crafts. In Sulawesi Island, the Bugis or Buginese, is the largest ethnicity in Sulawesi (beside them they have Makassar, Mandar and Toraja and other group ethnicities). The Bugis people are the custodians of I La Galigo, the 14th Century tome recognized the longest recorded manuscript in the world and acclaimed as part of The Memory of the World by UNESCO in 2011.

This document describes the oral history of the Bugis people, with particular emphasis on their poetic and singing traditions and describing numerous rituals that still exist in Sulawesi society. The manuscript defines the inter-relations between human-nature-spirits and, through the journeys of its main character portrays the complexities of human beings and the known universe through stories of travel, love, war and ceremonies in an Odyssean-like epic.

THE ARTISTIC ELEMENTS

I La Galigo

In the I La Galigo manuscript, the main character loves to travel but will not journey unless he has his one of the seven special people; tanned-skinned companions with wiry hair, able to speak to animals, to read the stars, who love art and rituals and come from under world (perhaps a reference to the “Land Down Under”?). Certainly, Sombalak’s Makassan producer, through his experiences meeting with modern Yolŋu people, came to the conviction that they were the source of the seven special people identified in I La Galigo.

Among Yolŋu people in Arnhem Land, they have the belief of Bayini, a female spiritual figure who came from north part of their world and arrived in Australia and stayed with them. There they taught the Yolŋu valuable knowledge and eventually became guardian of the land, ocean and the sky. Bayini in Sulawesi language means the woman or wife –and has the same meaning in Yolŋu language. The story of the Seven Sisters is also significant for Australian Aboriginal people as the way they ground themselves through connections with the sky and the land.

THE ARTISTIC ELEMENTS

Music

Music plays major role in the Sombalak opera, emphasising the intertwined realms of time and space. Traditional and contemporary music forms from both Aboriginal Australian and Makassan are used. Gurrumul Yunupingu, the phenomenal Yolŋu artist, was a major inspiration for Sombalak and our attempt to bridge the Australian Aboriginal traditional and contemporary music worlds. The deep and thunderous sound of yidaki (didgeridoo) and the sacred beats of bilma (clapstick) meet in the dynamics of the Makassan’s ensemble. The beauty of gandrang (hand-drum), high-pitch flute puik puik, rythmic gong, woods and strings instruments as well as various of manikay, songlines, mantras, chants, ululations, laments and folksongs, all together will be part of the celebration for the re-connection between two cultures, two worlds, two families, and two nations.

THE ARTISTIC ELEMENTS

Voice / Song

In Bugis society, a special group of people called the Bissu holds a unique place. This cis-gendered group is recognized as spiritual leaders with a lifelong dedication to preserving traditional knowledge and serving the people. The Bissu possess a special ability to connect with the spiritual world, bridging the gap between the physical and metaphysical realms. They are also believed to have the power to send and receive messages from spirits. Their shamanistic practices allow them to practice spiritual and medicinal consultations. In the southern Makassar region, there is an oral tradition called Royong where lyrics are taken from old songs and stories, and reinterpreted as lullabies, healing songs, lyrical welcoming, marriage songs and similar occasions, often orchestrated by the Bissu.

The Australian Aboriginal people also have an oral tradition to record their stories through songs, mantras, stories, chants that they identify as Songlines. Their knowledge, values, family lineages, practices, stories of the land, and more, are depicted in their Songlines. The Yolŋu people from Arnhem Land in Northern Territory have many Songlines that connect them to their Makassan relatives. They have special Songlines called Djapana (sunset dreaming) that picture the scenes of the Makassan praus across the horizon, sailing back to Makassar while the Yolŋu stand on the beach waving hands and hope that they will meet again in next seasons. The amount of Djapana songs are countless as each clan/artist has their own interpretation. The Sombalak Project follows the Songlines about Makassan and Yolŋu working together including trade goods, playing cards, paddling canoes or swimming across the ocean waves.

THE ARTISTIC ELEMENTS

Dance

As coastal people, there are lots of commonalities between Makassans and Northern Territory Aboriginals. Some of this commonality is shown in the hand gestures and footwork of dance. The Yolŋu people have gestures that show the scenes of trading, exchanging goods, playing cards, animal hunting or tracing the tracks on the sand. The Makassans use feet stomps on the ground to represent their connections with the spirit, to gain power from the earth and shows bravery and joyful. Women in the Pakarena dance, gently and slightly move their hands, use sliding steps to stay connected with the earth and to stay calm in the midst of the obstacles, contrary to the men who play fast-speed drum, loud voices and flute, to represent the power of the rock standing still in a stormy ocean. A balance of life between strength of men and elegance of women.

With lots of their daily activities near the ocean, the Australian Aboriginal people also display their considerable footwork within dances, especially during the ritual cycle they called Buŋgul. The foot movements articulate their deep connections with the earth using one foot to stand and two feet to parallel move, sliding, jumping, zig-zag, and so on. In both cultures, there is so much richness within the movement of feet that we have included this art form in the Sombalak Project

THE ARTISTIC ELEMENTS

Architecture

In Makassan culture, houses and boats are often built as representations of human beings. They have structures of skeleton like humans do, an outer skin to protect and beautify and many inner components that give direction and power; both physically and philosophically. In the boat-making tradition, initial rituals are performed to ensure the trees can be easily felled and transformed into a boat. The actual building process requires many spiritual and romantic elements that, like a marriage, is a whole family engagement over the long period of construction. Once the boat is finished, the process of pulling the boat down into the ocean is likened to a mother giving birth. It is not a trivial or menial task but these processes are completed with continuous awareness, persistence, power and prayers.

The barkwood shelter by Aboriginal people also reflects their deep understanding of the time and space continuum. While there are few permanent wooden traditional houses in their culture, due to seasonal fire and floods, these temporary constructions reflect and maintain a deep connection with the seasons, climate and the environment.

Stage Design

The stage design for the Sombalak show is largely inspired by the structure of the boat, house and sail with movable and multifunction elements. The wood pillars represent the structure of the house, shelter and the boat. The long bamboo and wooden logs create the movable-foldable sail, big and small and able to be climbed on as well as projected on screen to provide digital visual elements. The performers (musicians and dancers) act as crew members of the prau (boat) and the working, dancing, singing, playing music against these artefacts and motifs becomes a strong, constant part of the stage acts.

THE ARTISTIC ELEMENTS

Painting

Bark painting is an iconic art work practiced by Northern Australian Aboriginal people. Taken from the stringytree’s bark, flattened and painted with earth pigments and ochres using human hair brush, each clan has their own sacred patterns and each artist has different interpretations. The encounters between Aboriginal people with the outsiders and spiritual realms have famously been put into bark, totem, wood sculpture and cave paintings.Through Sombalak, we have chosen to continue that tradition in modern art forms

The images of the sail and hulls of traditional Makassan boats that were preserved and created by Northern Territory artists include more than just references to their memories of their Makassan friends and families. The Australian Immigration Act in 1901 created massive separations between Australian Aboriginal and Makassan people and the sorrow, sadness and old memories of that time were put into the bark paintings, including the iconic curved-shaped sails along with hundreds of Songlines about the severed relationship.

THE ARTISTIC ELEMENTS

Sign language / Hand Signals

Sign language serves as an alternate language for the deaf and hearing people and informally between people of different languages. However, in Australian Aboriginal and Makassan culture it also forms a rich language utilized in dance, ritual, and kinship, often expressing a deep relationship to nature. This sign language plays a vital role in everyday life through gestures, songs, and traditions, contributing significantly to bimodal-bilingual communication. It also serves additional purposes in specific situations, such as during mourning, when holy objects are present, during interactions that require avoiding family members, and in activities like hunting, fishing, or long-distance communication, where silent signaling is essential.