After 200 years, Bayini has found her authentic voice
Bayini is a significant story for Yolngu peoples, telling the well-known story of a woman from Makassar who came to the Yolngu lands of Bawaka from across the seas. The song was made famous by the late singer Gurrumul, in duets with Sarah Blasko and Delta Goodrem. Gurrumul also performed it in Makassar, but no recording was made.
In a world first, Global Encounters Monash researcher Dr Lily Yulianti Farid has collaborated with Skinnyfish Music, the Yolgnu community and Makassan singer Dian Mega Safitri to produce a Yolngu-Macassan version. As Dr Farid told ABC news, “This one is special, because Dian sings in Indigenous language as well — in Makassan language.”
Lily Yulianti Farid (front, third from left) with singer Dian Mega Safitri (front, second from left), and producer Michael Hohnen (back, third from right) at a workshop in Darwin in November 2022. Image credit: Lily Yulianti Farid, 2022.
This song was written by Rrawun Maymuru, and performed by Gurrumul and Dian, and produced by Dr Lily Yulianti Farid, with Michael Hohnen and Mark T. Grose. An international, cross-cultural effort, it was recorded in Makassar at Prolog Studio by Mario Wellang and at Swara Slebor by Suryadien Amiruddin, mixed in Jakarta by Kelana Halim, and further coordination was done by Indra Hadijaya and Yoga Pratama in Makassar.
In late November 2022, to celebrate the release of Bayini, Dr Yulianti Farid and Dian gave a public address at the Charles Darwin University Theatre in Darwin, and met with members of the Yolngu community. ABC TV are filming a special on the trading relationship between the two nations.
The music video of Bayini can be viewed below.
The following translation of Bayini from English into Bahasa Makassar is provided by Wildhan Burhanuddin.
It’s all about life
And love for the land
Looking up to the bay
Sweet child of me
Ia minne ngaseng passala tallasaka
Na pangngainta ributta kalakbiranta
Accinikki mae ritamparanga
Anakku numatekne
Waking up to the sun
Of the jungle fowl
It is paradise
It’s where we belong
North wind coming in my way
Ambangung rateang mata allo
Battu riromang namabella
Ia minne Suruga
Ia minjo tampatta rikamma kammaya
Anging battu warak ansimbangi oloangku