Pulyaranyi: new educational contexts for transferring Warlpiri knowledge

Abstract

This article explores the innovative teaching strategies of the Warlpiri educator and academic, Steven Wantarri Jampijinpa Pawu-Kurlpurlurnu Patrick, through his efforts to extend the transference of classical Warlpiri knowledge from old to young in remote desert Australia, and from Warlpiri to others further afield. It follows two initiatives through which this work has been undertaken: the Milpirri Festival at Lajamanu, produced by Tracks Dance Company, and the intensive undergraduate course, Indigenous Music and Media, which we teach together at the Australian National University. We explore how Wantarri’s pedagogical leadership in these initiatives is grounded in esoteric ideas that stem from the inner core of Warlpiri epistemology, and how his novel theorisation of Ngurra-kurlu (‘about home’, ‘with home’, and ‘home within’) provides a way into these ideas that is approachable to beginners. Drawing on our case studies, we demonstrate how Wantarri has sought through his educational work to circumvent the overarching Anglocentrism of educational institutions in Australia to provide new learning pathways for all.