"He was a member of the dominant clan ... everybody is going to the sorry ground."Yunupingu's family asked media to refrain from using his full name or publishing his image.
Cabinet minister Peter Garrett told parliament on Monday Yunupingu had died too young.
"For now he's gone,and like so many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,gone too young,"Mr Garrett said.
Those comments were echoed by federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.
"This is one of the real problems in modern Australia,"Mr Abbott told reporters in Canberra.
Vice-chancellor of the University of Western Sydney,Janice Reid,who knew Yunupingu and once lived in Yirrkala,said people from all over Australia and overseas would be attending his funeral.
"He really was a renaissance man and was a man of many diverse and complementary skills and talents,"Professor Reid said.
Manager of Yothu Yindi Alan James said Yunupingu had been an"inspirational educator and leader"who was a huge force for good,happiness and change for his people.
"He was such a creative and unifying force,we hope his legacy goes on for ever,"Mr James said.
The Mushroom Group recorded Yunupingu's music,and chief executive of the label,Michael Gudinski,said the dead man had been a great friend and inspiration.
Northern Land Council chairman,Wali Wunungmurra,first met Yunupingu in the 1960s and the two were close friends.
"His music took him all over the world ... He had done so much for his community and he did so much for us all,white and black,"Mr Wunungmurra said.
Figures show indigenous Australians are almost four times as likely to die from chronic kidney disease than non-indigenous Australians.