{"id":659,"date":"2022-01-23T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-23T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/madayin.kluge-ruhe.org\/?p=659"},"modified":"2022-11-27T21:39:58","modified_gmt":"2022-11-27T21:39:58","slug":"whats-in-a-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madayin.kluge-ruhe.org\/whats-in-a-name\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s in a name?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Yilpirr Wa\u1e49ambi, W\u00e4ka Munu\u014bgurr and Djambawa Marawili perform ceremonial song to consecrate the curatorial decisions made at B\u00e4niyala, May 2019. Photo by Henry Skerritt.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Finding the right name for an exhibition is always hard. It\u2019s even harder in the case of an exhibition curated by a team of people across two continents! But, from the moment we started work on this exhibition <\/em>we all knew it needed a name. A lot of ideas were thrown around, but it didn\u2019t take very long for one to stick: MA\u1e0eAYIN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ma\u1e0fayin is a big word. Generally speaking, it means “the sacred.” But it can also be used to describe something very beautiful or sublime. Y\u00e4lpi Yunupi\u014bu described it like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What is ma\u1e0fayin? Ma\u1e0fayin is the sacred realm that has been told to us by the old people. Ma\u1e0fayin is sacred. We cannot share those stories. But it is alright, I can tell you the surface of the story<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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The decision to name the exhibition Ma\u1e0fayin <\/em>was a controversial one. Some of the Yol\u014bu curators feared that it would discourage women artists from wanting to be involved, fearing that it was concerned with men\u2019s ceremonial knowledge. Others feared that some clan leaders would think the title was inappropriate, indicating the sharing of knowledge that should remain secret. At one point, Yinimala Gumana even argued that the title was too momentous for any exhibition to live up to. He thought it should limit itself to the realm of sacred art\u2014ma\u1e0fayin miny\u2019tji<\/em>. These questions were very much at the forefront of the early curatorial discussions, and were invariably the starting point for all our consultations with clan leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Members of the curatorial team, Kade McDonald, Gunybi Ganambarr, Yinimala Gumana and Wuku\u1e49 Wa\u1e49ambi discuss the exhibition title. Photo by Ishmael Marika.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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In these early days, I often felt like the title was a millstone around the project\u2019s neck. I could sense the way that Wuku\u1e49 Wa\u1e49ambi\u2014who quickly emerged as the lead Yol\u014bu curator\u2014would carefully preface the word whenever we were starting discussions with other Yol\u014bu. It was only on Djambawa Marawili\u2019s second visit to Charlottesville in September 2017 that I realized why Djambawa and Wuku\u1e49 had persisted using this seemingly loaded term. According to Wukun:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dhuyu and ma\u1e0fayin are two words that we use for things that are secret and sacred. And we have chosen to leave those secret things secret. But we wanted to open another door for ma\u1e0fayin, to translate its beauty, to say \u201cthis is a beautiful painting, this is a beautiful Country.\u201d That is how we curators explained it to Yol\u014bu people and eventually they agreed to get involved, and agreed to put the name Ma\u1e0fayin on our great project. And we will take it to Washington and Los Angeles to show our identity. Then can break this big word into small words, little pieces that people can understand. For the bark tells of our identity, our skinship and our destiny.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Listening to Wuku\u1e49 and Djambawa, it became clear that using this \u201cbig\u201d word reflected the seriousness with which they viewed the project, and the seriousness with which they wanted other Yol\u014bu to view it. It was a clarion call that this exhibition would reflect the values that at the core of Yol\u014bu being. This did not mean sharing things that were dhuyu, <\/em>but recognizing its power as the foundation of Yol\u014bu identity. On his last day in Charlottesville, Djambawa explained it this way:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are two types of ceremonies: one that is public (garma) and one that is ma\u1e0fayin (sacred). You can see some things that are sacred: headbands, some paintings and other things publicly, but no one can take them away from me because it is in my soul and my blood and I will die with them. Our patterns and designs have been laid on a certain country, when the ancestors passed through naming it: \u201cYou are Marawili, this is your country this is your identity.\u201d Every individual clan has their own ma\u1e0fayin, but there is also a ma\u1e0fayin that brings all those clans together.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Finding the right name for an exhibition is always hard. It\u2019s even harder in the case of an exhibition curated by a team of people across two continents! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,35],"tags":[15,23,14,10,13,26,12,11],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat\u2019s in a name? - Kluge-Ruhe: Madayin<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Finding the right name for an exhibition is always hard. 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