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The Chant of Namitjira
Album: The World Seems Happy...
This is one of my favourites and one of my most requested songs, so whenever I play live, this one is always on the playlist. Something that never ceases to amaze me, is how many Australian people ask... "What's a Namatjira"? It's comments like this that inspired me to establish the Mt Burrell Cultural Gardens to bring about more awareness of Australia's rich cultural heritage and the interesting stories that come with it.
Albert Namatjira (28 July 1902 – 8 August 1959), born Elea Namatjira , was one of Australia's most acclaimed visual artists. He was a Western Arrernte man, an Indigenous Australian of the Western MacDonnell Ranges area in the Northern Territory. Namatjira is considered to be one of Australia's (if not the worlds) great artists, and perhaps one of the best known Aboriginal painters.
Though in his early career he painted a wide variety of subjects, Albert Namatjira is best known for his distinctly unique Australian outback desert landscapes. His colours were similar to the ochres that his ancestors had used to show the same landscape, but his style was appreciated by Europeans because it met the aesthetics of western art. While his work is obviously the product of his life and experiences, his paintings are not in the highly symbolic style of traditional Aboriginal art; they are richly detailed depictions and his pictures hang in famous galleries all over the world.
In 1938 his first exhibition was held in Melbourne and sold out. For ten years Namatjira continued to paint, his works continuing to sell quickly and his popularity continuing to rise. By 1956 he had become popular, critically acclaimed worldwide and wealthy. The Arrernte culture expected him to share everything he owned and as Namatjira's income grew, so did his extended family. At one time he was single-handedly providing for over six hundred people.
Namatjira is also well known due to being the first Northern Territory Aboriginal to be granted Australian citizenship. In 1957, the government granted Namatjira and his wife Rubina Australian citizenship, which exempted them from the restrictive legislation that applied only to Aboriginal people. This entitled them to vote, own land, build a house and buy alcohol. Although they were legally allowed to drink alcohol, their Aboriginal family and friends were still Wards of the State, and were not. When an Aboriginal woman was killed, Namatjira was held responsible for bringing alcohol into the camp. It was against the law for an Australian citizen to supply alcohol to a native and Albert was charged with leaving a bottle of rum on his car seat where another Aboriginal could get access to it. He was sentenced to six months in prison for supplying an Aboriginal with liquor. After a public uproar the Minister for Territories, intervened and he was released after serving only two months due to medical and humanitarian reasons. Despondent and ashamed after his incarceration, he suffered a heart attack. He died soon after of heart disease complicated by pneumonia on September 8, 1959 in Alice Springs, only two years after he was granted citizenship.
The story of Namatjira's life paints a familiar picture of the indigenous and non indigenous interactions within Australia and this story remains an important point of reference for our cross cultural relationships which seem awkward, uncomfortable, often non-existant and in most cases based on fear, suspicion, lack of respect and understanding.
Many successful Aboriginal Australians have followed Namatjira's path from celebrated and admired cultural icon to community rejection and self destruction. It seems non-indigenous Australians are ashamed and afraid of these truths being exposed to the rest of the world. Indigenous success brings attention to the story behind the story.... the current health and wellbeing of indigenous people in Australia which is grossly neglected.
This song was written to honour a great man and to inspire action to overcome.... white mans fear of the Namatjira.
The Chant of Namitjira :: Lyrics
Lyrics by John McCarthy & Chris Driscoll. Music by Johnnie McCarthy 1987 Copyright
Namatjira, Namatjira, white man fear of a Namatjira [REPEAT]
White man fear of a Namatjira [REPEAT]
Namatjira, Namatjira, white man fear of a Namatjira [REPEAT]
White man fear of a Namatjira [REPEAT]
Kept control of the works he sold
Namatjira, Namatjira, Namatjira
Took the money, destroyed the soul
Namatjira, Namatjira, Namatjira
Namatjira, Namatjira, white man fear of a Namatjira [REPEAT]
White man fear of a Namatjira [REPEAT]
Modern man Bennelong
Dance the dance, but not sing the song
Painted land with gifted hand
Painted land, outback land
Namatjira, Namatjira, Namatjira [REPEAT X 3]
Namatjira, Namatjira, white man fear of a Namatjira [REPEAT]
ALBERT!
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