Mandawuy Yunupingu

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Mandawuy Yunupingu

Mandawuy Yunupingu (b. Bakamana Yunupingu, September 17, 1956) is an Australian musician, educator, and community leader. A member of the Yolngu people of the Northern Territory's Arnhem Land, he is the lead singer and most prominent personality of the Aboriginal band Yothu Yindi, which he co-founded in 1986 (and with which he also plays guitar). He strives to achieve a better understanding of Aboriginal culture by balanda (non-Aboriginal people), and is one of the important advocates of reconciliation between white and Aboriginal Australia.

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 Community School and in 1990 he took over as principal of that school, becoming the first Aboriginal principal in Australia; he held this position until late 1991, leaving to pursue his career with Yothu Yindi. On January 26, 1993, Yunupingu was named Australian of the Year for 1992 by the National Australia Day Council. In April 1998 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Queensland University of Technology "in recognition of his significant contribution to the education of Aboriginal children, and to greater understanding between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians.

[edit] Mandawuy Yunupingu as a Member of Aboriginal Culture

"I am Mandawuy Yunupingu. I am a crocodile man. I am also the song writer and lead singer with the band Yothu Yindi. My name Yunupingu means a rock, a rock that stands against time. Fire is my clan symbol. Fire is my life force." Mandawuy Yunupingu^{[citation needed]}

To Mandawuy Yunupingu, he truly is a crocodile man. The crocodile is such a crucial part of his culture and spirit, that he finds himself and his art embodied by this connection. Mandawuy Yunupingu works hard to spread knowledge and understanding of aboriginal culture, and despite selling his albums commercially, he believes in the preservation of the tribal lifestyle and culture.^{[citation needed]}