Mandawuy Yunupingu

Mandawuy Yunupingu (formerly Tom Djambayang Bakamana Yunupingu, skin name Gudjuk), born 17 September 1956, is an Aboriginal Australian musician, most notable for being the front man of the band Yothu Yindi. He was born in Yirrkala in Arnhem Land, an Aboriginal Reserve in the northeastern part of the Northern Territory of Australia. He is a member of the Yolngu people. His father's name is Mangurrawut Yunupingu. His skin name was Gudjuk, which mea... more

Mandawuy Yunupingu (formerly Tom Djambayang Bakamana Yunupingu, skin name Gudjuk), born 17 September 1956, is an Aboriginal Australian musician, most notable for being the front man of the band Yothu Yindi. He was born in Yirrkala in Arnhem Land, an Aboriginal Reserve in the northeastern part of the Northern Territory of Australia. He is a member of the Yolngu people. His father's name is Mangurrawut Yunupingu. His skin name was Gudjuk, which means hawk. His name was changed to Mandawuy when a family member with the same name died, in line with Yolngu custom. Mandawuy means "rock that stands against time". He is the younger brother of Galarrwuy Yunupingu, a senior elder of Arnhem Land, who was Australian of the Year in 1978 and remains a force in Australian politics. Yunupingu was the first Aboriginal person from Arnhem Land to gain a university degree, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in education from Deakin University in 1988. In 1989 he became assistant principal of the Yirrkala... less