Mainland Torres Strait Islander songwriters and the 'magical islands' of the Torres Strait : songs as identity narratives

Islands are not only physical places; they can also be metaphorical spaces for connecting with cultural and social origins, especially for diasporic populations separated by time, place and situation from their origins (Hall, 1990). In some cases, they may become 'magical islands' - that is, more imagined than real, more idealized than objectively examined. To quote E. M. Forster (1936: 48): 'In the heart ofeach man there is contrived, by desperate devices, a magical island.' Music is one means of artistic expression that can help construct such magical, metaphorical spaces.