Stylistic origins Traditional music | Cultural origins Indigenous Australian | |
Typical instruments Indigenous Australian instruments | ||
Wangga (sometimes spelled Wongga) is an indigenous Australian genre of traditional music and ceremony which originated in northern areas of the country from South Alligator River south east towards Ngukurr, south to the Katherine region of Northern Territory and west into the Kimberley of Western Australia. The Yolngu peoples of Arnhem Land created the genre.
In 1938, Australian anthropologist, A. P. Elkin described Wangga, "[It] starts as a sudden high note, then descends in regular intervals to a low pitch, after which the songman just beats his sticks to the accompaniment of the didgeridoo. Twenty seconds or more later, the melody is sung as before and so on" and lyrics tend to be syllables. Typically, the songs and dances express themes related to death and regeneration. The songs are performed publicly. The singers compose from their daily lives or while dreaming of a nyuidj (dead spirit).