Yimbama
by Ken Canning/Burraga Gutya
Vagabond Press, 2015
‘Oppressors always expect the oppressed to extend to them the understanding so lacking in themselves.’ – Audre Lorde
Reading a book by an Indigenous Australian author comes with a certain mythos attached. There is an uncritical expectation of explanation, of being taken by the hand and taught profound lessons that are appropriable, then displayed as trophies to liven up ‘Western’ society. Because indigeneity is often imagined as oppositional to modernity – and because modernity is assumed to belong to the ‘West’ – it’s as if the reader is sneaking off and doing something a little naughty, a little rebellious, by peeking over the fence at the fascinating and magical world of the ‘ethnic’ writer. And there is a reward for this, be it gratitude from the authors for deigning to listen, or kudos from one’s own cohort for being so very brave and ‘open minded’.
At first glance, Yimbama promises just such an experience. The cover, with its shades of red and yellow, the two names – one English, one Language – the title itself, and the words ‘Indigenous Australian Writing’ at the bottom, all set up the expectation of discovery. The glossary at the back of the book seems to confirm this – Yimbama means ‘“to understand” in the Bidjara language,’ it says. The back cover reveals that Ken Canning/Burraga Gutya learned to read and write in prison, and for the last 40 years has been a poet, playwright and Indigenous activist, all of which dovetails beautifully with the expectation of inspiration and bravery.
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