Earth, page 20
‘Yes, Uncle.’
*
‘Ooh, that Frank, got ‘is ‘andsfull that mob. Make tea, get baby, cook up johnny cake, make gate, make fence. No pipe an’ slipper Parwung, no time sing to ‘self in tree yet ol’ fella, you got whole camp of empty belly yet. An’ you mob listenin’ there, you know who I am? No, thought not, I that Aunty Adpin, I be right you reckon, that Da he be bit careless eh, he not be lookin’ alia time, he plenny busy that one. Aunty know best. I doan wan’ no bloody beard, he bin lost count that one, Da, he forget I bin born longa big tree place, Darnya, long time ‘fore whitefella, me Aunty Kneebone, we be real ol’ girls us two, my word yes, now we spirit women, we tell murdimundik all ‘bout baby business, Da business, we kick ol’ Billy Wurrun in ribs when he starin’ murdimundik too much, we stop ol’ Wordel Liangal grizzlin’ too much ‘bout ‘is woman. Like that Parwung, we tell ‘im no time you be sorry alia time, you got hungry camp you fella, plenny time you think you Claudie when you with us fella, an’ long time yet, cause you be Palmer Parwung, an’ all that people they live long time, they bin not smart, but they bin strong, they bin put food in bobup belly, grow up all them burron, all them guli fella, bud girl. That our job now, eh, Aunty Kneebone.’
‘Eh?’
‘I say our job whisper them murdimundik, Aunty.’
Too right. You got cuppa tea you Aunty?’
‘Oh, Aunty you bin forgettin’ now, too late cuppa tea.’
‘Too late?’
‘Yueh, Aunty, when too late, it too late.’
‘Ohh.’
‘Pity but, eh, cuppa tea be nice long that fire, longa all them babies, even them smelly ol’ men.’
‘Smell like bears.’
‘Too right Aunty, doan they just, smell like them ngarmbulmum pissin’ their pants up in tree. An, my ol’ man was white fella.’
‘Yueh, I tried them white fella, but always wear sock. Funny fella. Never mind, I liked all them bears. An’ cuppa tea. Ol’ man Kneebone make me cuppa longa billy. An’ I look at ‘im, smelly ol’ bear, an’ I say not bad you reckon, ol’ man Kneebone, an’ he say, yueh, yueh, not bad.’
‘Whisper ‘em Aunty.’
‘I bin whisperin’.’
‘Good one, Aunty, you bin good one longa you people. All them bears, eh, all them smelly ol’ bears, eh. Well never mind, that all over now, us fella, eh, Aunty?’
‘Yueh, we bin gone.’
Glossary of the Wathaurong language
(Wathaurong is the language of the people of the Ballarat, Geelong, Aireys Inlet region)
amerjee (gnamitjiyt) – white person
bang i-baab – face at breast
bagurrk – woman
bam – nipple
bangik – body
bangondedook – black man
bap – milk
Barwarn (Barrewarre), Barwon (English) – name of river meaning from the mountains to the sea
bar wor – grass, roots
barrabool – mussel
bil – with
bil baab – with breast or at breast
bilwa – thief, to steal
binyak – basket
bitjarra – fight
bobup – baby, also bobam
Boongarri – spirit, no name
boonea – eel
boron (burron) – boy
boyoungkaal – watercress
brung brung – gun
bud – female genital
bul-la-won – scissors
bunitjan (see burt)
Bunjil Kari gnalabil – great spirit
bura bura – ranges, governor
burrawan (barwon) – magpie or parwung
burt (bunitjan) – smoke
cordolrooklu – magpie
Da (dar) – earth
dam dam – bed or bedding
dedabul – large
dilp-na – clap or hit
dirda – dead
djerradjawan – waken
djerrang – leaves
durrum – heart
gabadj – black cockatoo
gnardong i baab – breast of woman
gnarnda – beard or chin
gnurdong – mother
goim – kangaroo
golkawil – little hawk
gooyun – long spear
guli – male genital, man
gunyah – hut
gupma – to bring
kaarming kaal – dog
kaarwirn kunawarn – hissing swan
kalk – firewood
kanamo – love
karral – grey goose (Cape Barren)
kawarren – echidna
kawirr – emu
kayi – egg
kin kin bil – blackfellows
Kirrae Wurrung – Purnim people
Kolignon – Colac people
kooderoo – abalone
koren dir – sharp mussel shell
korraiyn – salt water, bitter, alcohol
kudja – eat
kumba – sleep
kunang – shit
kuwiyn – fish
lelon – lizard
liangal – club
mamam – son
mana – hand
mandarr – rain
manmah – thunder
maya – wing
merrijig – good
mia mia – hut
minne – oven
mirri – eye, sun
mirrouk – spirits
moon moon meet – wind
moorabool – oyster
morran – paperbark
Morom gnul gnulla gen – great spirit
morlgalyu – evening
morrom – spirit
mula – shadow
mula i mana – shadow hand
mum – bum
munya – louse
murdimundik – young woman
murrkal – night
myrniong – yam daisy
na (nyah, borack) – no
nenema – grin
nganyaki – small (little)
ngarmbulmum – koala (bum in tree)
nguya-nguya – mosquito
nubiyt – water
nyipma – close your eyes
nyulam – in a hard year
nyurru-nyurru – red ochre
parwung – magpie
pilk puriyn – dawn
pimbit – daisy
porrongitj – brolga
tandop – uncle
tarekabil – man standing straight as spear
tarlum (tulum) – fish
tarook – root vegetable
til-en-e-wer-ark – painting
toll – stone
tolum – duck
ton-gna wort-na – to breathe heavily
toort, toortna – star
toort-na kayi – stars on the egg
wa – crow
walart – possum
wanung – brother
warnagi – little brother
warrawan – pain
warrener – periwinkle
warri – sea
warrigal – bower spinach
warrun (waurn) – house
wayn gurr (merrijig) – good
wiidji – crayfish
wirran – black cockatoo
wirrmal – little owl
wiyn – fire
wong on gul – boobook owl
woorer woorer – sky
wordel – crab
wornolu – backside
wuikam – cicada
Wurrundjerri – mob around Healesville
yallock – river
yalook – creek
yarran gook – daughter
ye yeh djili – dream
yern – moon
yita nyal – whisper
youdoro – warm
yourn-it – fish
yueh (ye ye) – yes
Acknowledgements
Uncle Neville Bonner told us of the difference between earth and land and so this book which was to be called Land became Earth, apologies to Zola. As always, many people helped with this book, but I must thank in particular: Uncle Banjo Clarke, Lenny Clarke, Sharnthi Krishna-Pillay, Camilla Fliegelman, Aunty Zelda Razen, the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages and the Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative.
Bruce Pascoe, Earth
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*
‘Ooh, that Frank, got ‘is ‘andsfull that mob. Make tea, get baby, cook up johnny cake, make gate, make fence. No pipe an’ slipper Parwung, no time sing to ‘self in tree yet ol’ fella, you got whole camp of empty belly yet. An’ you mob listenin’ there, you know who I am? No, thought not, I that Aunty Adpin, I be right you reckon, that Da he be bit careless eh, he not be lookin’ alia time, he plenny busy that one. Aunty know best. I doan wan’ no bloody beard, he bin lost count that one, Da, he forget I bin born longa big tree place, Darnya, long time ‘fore whitefella, me Aunty Kneebone, we be real ol’ girls us two, my word yes, now we spirit women, we tell murdimundik all ‘bout baby business, Da business, we kick ol’ Billy Wurrun in ribs when he starin’ murdimundik too much, we stop ol’ Wordel Liangal grizzlin’ too much ‘bout ‘is woman. Like that Parwung, we tell ‘im no time you be sorry alia time, you got hungry camp you fella, plenny time you think you Claudie when you with us fella, an’ long time yet, cause you be Palmer Parwung, an’ all that people they live long time, they bin not smart, but they bin strong, they bin put food in bobup belly, grow up all them burron, all them guli fella, bud girl. That our job now, eh, Aunty Kneebone.’
‘Eh?’
‘I say our job whisper them murdimundik, Aunty.’
Too right. You got cuppa tea you Aunty?’
‘Oh, Aunty you bin forgettin’ now, too late cuppa tea.’
‘Too late?’
‘Yueh, Aunty, when too late, it too late.’
‘Ohh.’
‘Pity but, eh, cuppa tea be nice long that fire, longa all them babies, even them smelly ol’ men.’
‘Smell like bears.’
‘Too right Aunty, doan they just, smell like them ngarmbulmum pissin’ their pants up in tree. An, my ol’ man was white fella.’
‘Yueh, I tried them white fella, but always wear sock. Funny fella. Never mind, I liked all them bears. An’ cuppa tea. Ol’ man Kneebone make me cuppa longa billy. An’ I look at ‘im, smelly ol’ bear, an’ I say not bad you reckon, ol’ man Kneebone, an’ he say, yueh, yueh, not bad.’
‘Whisper ‘em Aunty.’
‘I bin whisperin’.’
‘Good one, Aunty, you bin good one longa you people. All them bears, eh, all them smelly ol’ bears, eh. Well never mind, that all over now, us fella, eh, Aunty?’
‘Yueh, we bin gone.’
Glossary of the Wathaurong language
(Wathaurong is the language of the people of the Ballarat, Geelong, Aireys Inlet region)
amerjee (gnamitjiyt) – white person
bang i-baab – face at breast
bagurrk – woman
bam – nipple
bangik – body
bangondedook – black man
bap – milk
Barwarn (Barrewarre), Barwon (English) – name of river meaning from the mountains to the sea
bar wor – grass, roots
barrabool – mussel
bil – with
bil baab – with breast or at breast
bilwa – thief, to steal
binyak – basket
bitjarra – fight
bobup – baby, also bobam
Boongarri – spirit, no name
boonea – eel
boron (burron) – boy
boyoungkaal – watercress
brung brung – gun
bud – female genital
bul-la-won – scissors
bunitjan (see burt)
Bunjil Kari gnalabil – great spirit
bura bura – ranges, governor
burrawan (barwon) – magpie or parwung
burt (bunitjan) – smoke
cordolrooklu – magpie
Da (dar) – earth
dam dam – bed or bedding
dedabul – large
dilp-na – clap or hit
dirda – dead
djerradjawan – waken
djerrang – leaves
durrum – heart
gabadj – black cockatoo
gnardong i baab – breast of woman
gnarnda – beard or chin
gnurdong – mother
goim – kangaroo
golkawil – little hawk
gooyun – long spear
guli – male genital, man
gunyah – hut
gupma – to bring
kaarming kaal – dog
kaarwirn kunawarn – hissing swan
kalk – firewood
kanamo – love
karral – grey goose (Cape Barren)
kawarren – echidna
kawirr – emu
kayi – egg
kin kin bil – blackfellows
Kirrae Wurrung – Purnim people
Kolignon – Colac people
kooderoo – abalone
koren dir – sharp mussel shell
korraiyn – salt water, bitter, alcohol
kudja – eat
kumba – sleep
kunang – shit
kuwiyn – fish
lelon – lizard
liangal – club
mamam – son
mana – hand
mandarr – rain
manmah – thunder
maya – wing
merrijig – good
mia mia – hut
minne – oven
mirri – eye, sun
mirrouk – spirits
moon moon meet – wind
moorabool – oyster
morran – paperbark
Morom gnul gnulla gen – great spirit
morlgalyu – evening
morrom – spirit
mula – shadow
mula i mana – shadow hand
mum – bum
munya – louse
murdimundik – young woman
murrkal – night
myrniong – yam daisy
na (nyah, borack) – no
nenema – grin
nganyaki – small (little)
ngarmbulmum – koala (bum in tree)
nguya-nguya – mosquito
nubiyt – water
nyipma – close your eyes
nyulam – in a hard year
nyurru-nyurru – red ochre
parwung – magpie
pilk puriyn – dawn
pimbit – daisy
porrongitj – brolga
tandop – uncle
tarekabil – man standing straight as spear
tarlum (tulum) – fish
tarook – root vegetable
til-en-e-wer-ark – painting
toll – stone
tolum – duck
ton-gna wort-na – to breathe heavily
toort, toortna – star
toort-na kayi – stars on the egg
wa – crow
walart – possum
wanung – brother
warnagi – little brother
warrawan – pain
warrener – periwinkle
warri – sea
warrigal – bower spinach
warrun (waurn) – house
wayn gurr (merrijig) – good
wiidji – crayfish
wirran – black cockatoo
wirrmal – little owl
wiyn – fire
wong on gul – boobook owl
woorer woorer – sky
wordel – crab
wornolu – backside
wuikam – cicada
Wurrundjerri – mob around Healesville
yallock – river
yalook – creek
yarran gook – daughter
ye yeh djili – dream
yern – moon
yita nyal – whisper
youdoro – warm
yourn-it – fish
yueh (ye ye) – yes
Acknowledgements
Uncle Neville Bonner told us of the difference between earth and land and so this book which was to be called Land became Earth, apologies to Zola. As always, many people helped with this book, but I must thank in particular: Uncle Banjo Clarke, Lenny Clarke, Sharnthi Krishna-Pillay, Camilla Fliegelman, Aunty Zelda Razen, the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages and the Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative.
Bruce Pascoe, Earth
