Ngarra-ngúddjeya Ngúrra-mala: Expressions of Identity in the Songs of the Ripple Effect Band

Abstract

Until recently, throughout Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, Australia, both ceremonial and popular music forms have been almost entirely the domain of men. This article is written by an innovative group of women from this region, who are currently forging new ways to negotiate musical practices, compose, play instruments, sing and perform in public. The Ripple Effect Band are a ground-breaking all-female rock band from the community of Maningrida on the north central coast of Arnhem Land who are using a contemporary music framework to enter a socio-musical space dominated by men. The article will examine the band’s creative processes and how they are negotiating agency as women performing music. The authors will discuss the construction of identity with a particular focus on the role of language and song in the expression of cultural knowledge and the assertion of clan allegiance.