Wadeye Song Database

The Wadeye Song Database is a subset of the Murriny Patha Song Project data collection, made available to researchers, students and the community through an online database and website. The Murriny Patha Song Project data collection consists of audio-recordings and linguistic and contextual documentation of indigenous Australian music. The collection is one outcome of an ARC Discovery project to produce authoritative, thorough and archivally sound musicological and linguistic documentation of the public dance songs of Murriny Patha (Murrinhpatha) people at Wadeye, NT, Australia.
The project team worked with traditional owners to record, translate and document song cycles from three song genres (djanba, wurltjirri and malgarrin). Contextual information about the song, the singers and the associated places and concepts was also recorded.
The Wadeye Song Database collection includes data files in a variety of media. Audio files were recorded in standard .mp3 and .wav formats. Video files were recorded in .mov, .mp4 and mpeg2 formats. Documentary materials were collected and stored in multiple formats, including .xml, plain text, .rtf, word and .pdf. Supplementary materials include images in .tiff and .jpeg format.
Items in the collection that were originally recorded as early as 1972 on cassette and DAT.The majority of the data collection was recorded and/or digitised between 2004 and 2008.
Collaborators include Linda Barwick, Allan Marett, Michael Walsh, Joe Blythe, Nick Reid and Lysbeth Ford.
For further information please refer to the Wadeye Song Database website and the Murriny Patha Song website.