Dangunj Rekan. Stories about animals.

Transcription

1 Dangunj Rekan. Stories about animals. These stories were written simultaneously in Rembarrnga, Kriol and English. They were written during 1991 by Brenda Forbes as part of her work towards the Certificate of Literacy Attainment at the Centre for Australian Languages and Linguistics, Batchelor College. The Rembarrnga translations were checked with Dr Graham McKay during the June 1992 language workshop at Bulman School. Stories by Brenda Forbes; Illustrated by Anne Taylor. Printed at Barunga Literature Production Centre, Brenda Forbes ISBN X

2 Dangunj Rekan Stori Bla Ola Enimul Stories About Animals Stories by Brenda Forbes

3 1 Dangunj Nakanh Djerrkerdkan (Rembarrnga) Djerrkerd djurladjdjam ka-yuru. Walang djurlawala ka-bolh, walang ka-worhra ka-ridj burluna ka-ngun borlohkah. Walang ki-worrhmandjih, djurlahkah ka-rdidj korlkkorlkda. Kuyalah barra-yurduh-yurduhminj wurrh-wurrungu dangunj yarrarnba-yʉnʉhwaninj, walang nga-yininj karda djinkudjdjiningh djurlawala nanda djerrkerd ki-walhwalh. Ka-yʉnʉh, "nanjh-nanjh, nanjh-nanjh, nanjh-nanjh".

4 2 Stori Blanga Masil (Kriol) Ola masil dei lib langa woda en im gudwan bla idim. Wen dei kamat brom woda dei go en lukaran bla budiflawa langa tri. Dei flai brom tri tu tri en dei meigim nois "nanjnanj, nanjnanj, nanjnanj", faniwan nois tu dei meigim. Ai nomo bin bilib wanem ola ol pipul bin telimbat mibala stori wen aibin lilgel. En ai rili bilib na jad ola masil dei kamat brom olabat shel en olabat flai aran ebri naitaim. A Story About Mussels (English) Mussels live in water and they are good eating. At night they come out of the water and fly around looking for trees with flowers (paperbark). As they fly from tree to tree they make a noise like "nanjnanj, nanjnanj, nanjnanaj", a funny noise it is too. I could hardlybelieve what the old people told us when I was a little girl, but I believe it is true that the mussels come out of their shells and fly around at night. In our Rembarrnga language mussels are called djerrkerd.

5 3 Dangunj Nakanh Djirrmangahkan (Rembarrnga) Djirrmangah ka-yuru djolkkodjdjam. Walang ka-komoh-mʉ ddʉn djolkkohkah, walang djabbuh ka-ridj. Nʉnda djirrmangah di-wurrayangara ka-yuru ngalwarddjam, da-durra-nana kulbbinjdjam ka-ngerre-yingana kalhnahkah. Ki-bolhadjdjih wilawala ka-durra-dakkunaman, ka-koro-biyangman kiyangkiyang, walang ka-dakkuna-wʉ ddʉn. Djirrmangah ka-karlang-bordoh ki--yakkerrmandjih. Walang ka-borlh ka-karlebbun. Mʉlak ki-kudkudda nʉnda djirrmangah. Bardda-djakka-yinda barr-bun wurrhwurrunguyih. Di-mangara nʉnda djirrmangah, da-mangara djimirndih kiyangkiyang, walang yelekyelek da-rdorrorrhra. Dijan Stori Blanga Bogibain (Kriol) Ola bogibain dei lib langa rok o andinith langa graun. Samtaim yu faindim bogibain wansaid la enpit en dei lugaran bla idim ents. Ents en sentipid im daga blanga bogibain. Wen dei kamat brom rok im meigim miselb longwan en skiniwan bla kamat. Dei meigim eig wen im kolweja taim en dei krol slobala gadim olabat shapwan neil im jandap.

6 4 A Story About Echidnas (English) Echidnas live under rocks. They dig themselves into the dirt or into cracks between rocks. They eat ants. They can come out of a small hole or a wire net that has a little hole. They stretch themselves and come out without a problem. People kill echidnas with a digging stick, or they get a long wire that is very strong and pull it out slowly. Echidnas have very sharp spikes. They crawl very slowly, they never run. They hatch their babies in the middle of the cold weather time.

7 5 Dangunj Nakanh Dadbahkan (Rembarrnga) Yarr-nʉddʉ dadbah yabbanh-barrah. Wangkinj kiya-ngurlyi, kunungu yarr-ngedja. Buhma wurru-korlongorrhyi, borlokko yarr-ngedja. Yirri-ra rekan walang yarr-nan nunda dadbah djarra-ngurlyi, yarr-bun. Walang ngurah yarr-marninjh karlina, walang ki-rʉrrʉ -njarhdjih, nʉndadjdjih walang yarr-bulddu-djolkkodjdjam. Yirri-ngundjih, moyok yarr-nʉddʉ kurlah yarrʉdjdjam. Njarrangʉnʉ dangalangʉ nʉ nganba-yabbah-yʉnʉhwaninj, "Nʉ nda mʉlak di-nguna, moyok da-mʉnʉh-nʉddʉ". Nʉnda dadbah wurrhwurrungu-ngerreh barr-nguna. Buhma wurru-korlongorrhyi wurlahwurlah yarr-ngun, nʉndama mʉlak moyok ngirri-nʉddʉngara.

8 6 Dijan Stori Blanga Tubala Sineik (Kriol) Wi gadim tubala difrinwan sineik. Wanbala im blekwan hed en jad najawan sineik im gadim yelawan binji. Buji yu go hanting longwei langa bush en yu faindem jad blekwan hed sineik yu gin kilim en kukum langa faiya en idim. Yu gin abum so bat medisin gin meigim jad so gow ei. Jad yelawan sineik im gudwan bla idim en yu gan abum so. Ai sabi main mami en dadi bin dalimbat mi nomo yu idim jad sineik gadim blekwan hed bambai yu mait abum so. Onli ola ol pipul dei lau bla idim jad blek hed sineik. A Story About Snakes (English) We have two different kinds of snakes. One is a black-headed snake which we call kunungu in Rembarrnga. The other is a yellow-bellied snake called borlokko. When we go hunting out bush and we see these snakes, we kill them. We light a fire, and when the flames die down we bury them in hot dirt and ashes. If you eat the black-headed snake you will get sores all over your body. It is good eating all right, but only old people are allowed to eat it. When I was a child my parents always told me, "Don't eat it, you'll get sores". The other yellow-bellied snake is good eating, and won't give you sores. (Editor's note : These two snakes are Black-headed Python, Water Python.)

9 7 Dangunj Murhkan (Rembarrnga) Rekan ngindji-rongara, nʉnda murh mʉlak di-nana, kurlah-ngurlyi. Molonayih nan-buna walang nan-njamhma, mʉlak di-barngawana. Nʉnda murhyih nginji-njamhminjdja nginj-rdedj-mʉddʉna naybiyinda. Mulak nginji-njarha warrikkunda walang ki-ngulbidj-miyanadjdjih, walang nginj-karnkarn-miyana; barrbbuh warlirrdjdjih nʉndadjdjih nginj-durra-yalha. Djinkʉdjdjiningh nʉnda yang murhkan. Njarrangʉnʉ dangalangʉnʉyih nganba-yabbah-yʉnʉhwaninj. Nga-mindjibbun wurrhwurrungu wangkinj barr-njamhminj, walang midjdjindah njarhminj. Stori Blanga Wip Sineik (Kriol) Wen yu go hanting longwei langa bush yu gan luk jad wip sineik dumaji im kala im blekwan. Bla im teil im gin wipim yu en yu gan filim misalp wen jad sineik imin baidem yu. Yu labta kadim miselb gadim naif o botul weya jad sineik bin baidem yu. Yu gin lib longtaim bat wen im kol weja taim yu gada go skiniwan en fetwan wen im ot weja taim. Lagijad na main mami en dadi bin dalim mi en im trubala dijan stori. Ai sabi wanbala olmen sineik imin baidim im en imin pasawei na longtaim ago.

10 8 A Story about the Whip Snake (English) When you go out hunting you can't see the whip snake, it has such dark skin. It can whip you with its tail or bite you, and you won't feel it. You will have to cut a little mark in the place where it has bitten you. You won't die, however when it gets cold you will become very skinny; and during the hot season you will become fat. This story about the whip snake is completely true. My father and mother told it to me. I know one old man who was bitten by a whip snake, but he passed away long ago.

11 9 Dangunj Kurrmurluhkan, Dadbah Madjdjiningh Wokkorrkan (Rembarrnga) Birri-yabbah-bʉdʉ n nʉnda dadbah madjdjiningh kurrmurluh. Walang nʉnda dadbahyih barr-rdirdidj molonayih, ka-yʉrrʉk walang barr-njamh barr-kuh-bordoh. Djinkʉ djdjiningh nʉ nda kurrmurluh kurla-rderhrderh, dadbahma kurla-deldelhyi. Wokkorr madjdjiningh kurrmurluh birri-yabbah-bʉdʉn, nʉnda kurrmurluhyih barr-bun. Wokkorrma kurlah-deldelhyi, kurrmurluhyih birri-njamhma wokkorrhkah mʉlak ki-dala-lurrhra, ka-mʉrmʉ-mukka. Djirrʉmah nʉnda kurrmurluhma. Kadji-bonj. Stori Blanga Blu Tang Lisid, Sineik En Jad Gowena (Kriol) Wantaim dijan sineik en jad blu tang lisid tubala bin faitfait. Wal jad sineik imin taimap langa jad blu tang lisid gadim im teil bat jad blu tang imin jas kamat brom jad sineik teil en imin baidem la jad sineik ded. Jad stori im trubala dumaji jad blu tang lisid im gadim adwan skin bat jad sineik im gadim sofwan skin. Buji gowena en blu tang lisid tubala fait im stil seim. Jad blu tang lisid im shadimap misalp ai en im kan ledim go yu en im kadim yu laiki reisa jad blu tang.

12 10 The Blue-tongue Lizard and the Snake (English) Once the snake and the blue-tongue lizard were fighting. The snake wrapped the blue-tongue lizard with its tail but the blue-tongue just slipped out from the snake's tail and bit the snake dead. This is true because the blue-tongue lizard's skin is very hard but the snake's skin is very soft. Even if a goanna and a blue-tongue are fighting, it is the same. The blue-tongue can beat the goanna because it has very tough skin. It closes its eyes and never lets go; it has sharp claws that cut just like a razor, that blue-tongue. That's all.

13 This work is from the Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages If you have any questions or wish to access information concerning this work, please contact us at Use of this work is subject to the User License Agreement available at This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial No Derivs 3.0 Licence Australia which appears as follows: This licence allows users to share, copy and redistribute the work in any medium or format provided they: (i) give appropriate credit, provide a link to the licence, and indicate if any changes were made to the work. Users may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests that we endorse the user or their use; (ii) do not use the work for commercial purposes; (iii) do not distribute the modified work if they remix, transform or build upon the work, and (iv) do not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything that the licence permits. The full terms of the licence can be found at The creators of this work assert their moral rights to: be identified and named as the creators of this work. This means that if you reproduce the work, you must identify these creators; take action if this work is falsely attributed as being someone else s work; and take action if this work is distorted or treated in a way that is harmful to their honour or reputation. This means that the creators of this work have the right to object to distortion, mutilation or other modification of, or derogatory action in relation to the work. If you share this work, you must identify the creators named in this work and on the Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages website and abide with all other attribution requirements under the Creative Commons licence. Note that any action that is in breach of the moral rights of the author will give rise to a right of the creators to take legal action under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Do not remove this notice Tel: (08) livingarchive@cdu.edu.au