Joe Gumbula, the Ancestral Chorus, and the Value of Indigenous Knowledges

Abstract

Joseph NeparrLatin small letter Enga Gumbula (1954-2015) had an atypical scholarly trajectory. Born into a long line of YolLatin small letter Engu leaders in the remote town of Milingimbi in the Arnhem Land Aboriginal Reverse, he left school in his mid-teens for the neighbouring town of Galiwin'ku in 1971, where he joined the country and gospel band, Soft Sands, as a singer and guitarist. Through his passion for making music and admission to YolLatin small letter Engu ritual leadership in 1997, Gumbula discovered a new calling in researching the documented legacy of his family history in ethnographic collections around the world. This pursuit set him on an unprecedented path towards leading ..