Nyurruwiyi kuja kalalu-jana mardarnu Pirltirrka

NYURRUWIYI KUJA KALALU-JANA

MARDARNU PIRLTIRRKA

NYURRUWIYI KUJA KALALU-JANA

MARDARNU PIRLTIRRKA

Yimi yirramu manu kuruwarri kujumu

©Bilingual Resources Development Unit Yuendumu School, Yuendumu, N.T. 5751 Cover design by Peter Mifsud

ISBN No. 0 86751 180 X Job no. 19/84

Yirri-purami karnalunyarra kurdu

nyurruwiyi kuja kalalujana

mardarnu kardiyawangurlawiyi

yupujurla.

Kalapala kalinja nyinaja.

Jurniparnta karnta kala mardarnu.

Kala wapaja kirntangipatuku.

Watingkiji nyangu yurrinilki

karntaju. Kalanyanu purda-nyangu

yukayi karntangkuju. Kala

yirily-pungu miyaluju. Ngula

kala ngarrurnu kalinyanu:

"Yaarr-pungkaju miyalu."

Kala jungajuku karntaju yaarr-

pungulku kalinyanurluju.

Kala karnta yilyaja watingkiji

ngatinyanukurra.

"Ngarri-jarriya

yarriwajantikirra.”

Jungajuku kala yanu

ngatinyanukurra kurdukungarnti.

MNyurru mayingki yurirrija?"

Payurnu ngatinyanurluju.

"Yuwayi, nyurruju yurirrija."

"Ngayi. Ngurralkurnangku

wantiki-mani raanu warlu karnangku

yarrpirni. Ngulajangka ngurra

karnangku yurlpu-mani."

Karntaju wangkaja:

"Yapaja! Mirntilyi kaju

murrumurru-mani.,

f

Ngulajangkaju ngatinyanuju

karlajinta mirntilyirla nyina

yurntalnyanukuju.

Jungajuku kurdu ngunaja, ngula

jajanyanurlu nguyu-yirrarnu.

Ngula jajanyanu ka kiripi-kanyi

warru, walyangku-mani ka

purlku-karda.

Ngula ka ngaarr-manilki kurduju,

jungajuku ka jajinyanurlu

purdd-nyanyi yulanjakurra

pirltirrkaju.

Purda-nyanjarlalku ka jarda-

jarrimi jajinyanuju wardinyilki.

Jajanyanurlu kapalangu yipangku

purrami ngamarlangu purlku-karda.

Mungalyurru pardinjarla, rdaku

karla pangirni manu yujuku karla

ngantirni jajanyanurlu.

Jurnkukungarntirli ka parla

wardarrka, marntarla manu patutu

pajirninjini manu warlu ka

maninjini.

Ngula ka kanyirni

pina rdakukurra. Yarrpirni ka

warlu, manu parrkalku ka yirrarni

rdakungkaju jurnkukungarntiji.

Ngulajangkaju kapalangu

jurnkungka julyurl-yirrarni

ngamarlangu. Ngatinyanuwiyi ka

jankami ngapurlupurdanji manu

mirntilyi ka jankami murrumurru.

Wiyuwiyu-yirrarni kapalangu

ngamarlangu jajanyanurlu

pirrjirdikarda.

Rdapu-pinyi ka jurnkuju

jajanyanurlu. Yujukulku ka

rurruny-pinyi. Ngurrakarilki ka

yarlu-mani

ngantirninjakungarntirli.

33

Jungajuku, ngantirni karla

karrmulypakuju. Ngunami ka

ngurrangka tarnnga wapanjawangu.

Ngula ka wilypi-pardi palapala,

majarni kanyanu karrmulyparluju

mungangkarlu.

"Yatiyi! Palapalarnaju majarnu."

Ngulawarnuju ka nyina

ngurrapatuku jilimirlajuku.

Kurdu yangka pirltirrkaku,

rurruny-yani karla karlangu

(karntaku), karli (wirriyaku)

yipajangka, lampurnujangka.

Ngulawarnuju karla yirrarni

kurdukuju waninjarlalku

jajanyanurlu, yungu nguna

wurulypa yulanjawangu, lawa-

nyanjawangu kurduju.

Ngulajangkaju, wiri-mani ka

kurduju yungu nguna

pirrjirdijiki.

Ngatinyanuju, yani karla

kalinyanuku mangarrikirli manu

warlukurlu ngijikirli manu

nalijakurlu manu kuyukurlu.

Palka-jarrijarla kalinyanuku

karntaju ngurrakungarnti.

Yunta kapalanyanu yirrarni

kalinjarlu. Warlurlangu

kapalanyanu yarrpirni.

Ngatinyanu ka pina yani

jilimikirra kujaka jajanyanurlu

mardarni kurduju. Ngula ka

jurnarrpalku maninjarla kanyi

yupukarrakurra. Mungangkalku ka

kurduju maninjini. Milki-

yirrarni karla jajinyanuku.

Wangkami kanyanu miyalu:

"Ngajupiya miparrpa yinarrka.”

Ngaka karla yirdiji yirrarni

warringiyinyanurlu

wapanjamardakulku.

Kulalpa marnpurnu jajinyanurlu

pirltirrka parrajakurra yarnma-

jarrinjakujaku manu nyurnu-

jarrinjakujaku.

Kala yulaja kurdu, pirltirrka

yangka, ngatinyanu kala yanu

ngapakurra, ngulangkarni kala

yulaja,

kalarla raarr-jurrurnu

parraja kirikirli karlingki —

jajinyanurluju. Kala pina-nyangu

kurdungkuju, kala pina jarda-

jarrijalku.

CHILDBIRTH IN THE OLD DAYS

English translation by Eula McKane and Mary Laughren

We are telling you about how Warlpiri people used to have babies in the bush before white people came into their country.

There would be a married couple. The woman would become pregnant and walk around for several months. The husband would then notice that his wife was weary. The woman would feel tired. When she got sharp pains in her stomach she would tell her husband, "Rub my stomach!" And her husband would massage his wife's stomach.

Then the man would send his wife to her mother. "Go to the women's quarters!" And she would go to her mother's place to have the baby. "Has it moved down yet?" her mother would ask her, "Yes it's ready, it has moved." "Well, I will widen the sleeping space for you and light you a fire. Then I will soften the ground for you."

The woman cried out "Ooooh! My back is hurting!" Then her mother sat close behind her to support her back.

When the baby was bom, the new grandmother would put warm sand and ashes on it. Then she would crawl around getting warm sand to keep the baby warm. When the new baby cried, the father would hear it and then go to sleep happy.

The grandmother would put warm ashes on both the new mother and the child to keep them warm. When morning came, she would dig a hole and build a humpy. She would get medicinal leaves — wardarrka, mamtarla, patutu - to make a special fire. She carries them back to the hole and kindles a fire and puts the leaves in to make smoke. After that, she would put the mother and child into the hole to smoke the impurities out. The new mother would lie front down to help her milk flow and then on her back to ease the pain. The grandmother massages her daughter and her grandchild until they feel firm and strong.

Later she fills in the hole and dismantles the humpy. Now she clears a new area to build another camp. She builds it for the new mother who lies in camp for a long time and doesn't walk around.

At night time she is stiff and comes out to stretch. "Aaah! I need to stretch because I'm feeling so stiff." Then she goes back into her camp. She spends several days in the women's quarters.

The new baby is rubbed with warm ashes and then milk to detach the umbilical cord, which is called "digging stick" if the child is a girl, or "boomerang" if it is a boy. The grandmother puts the cord around the baby's neck so that it will not cry and fret and so that nothing bad will happen to it. It protects the child and makes it healthy.

Later, the mother takes food and firewood to her husband and they both make a new camp. They build their shelter and kindle a fire. The mother goes back to the women's camp where the grandmother is looking after the baby. She collects all her belongings to take back to her married camp. At night she takes the baby to show her husband. The father thinks to himself, "This little baby looks like me!'

Later when the child is walking, its paternal grandfather will give it a name. The father didn't touch the new baby in its coolimon because that might cause it to get thin and sick. When the child cried, like when the mother had gone to get water, its father would scrape a boomerang across the fluted coolimon in which the baby was lying. When the child heard that sound, it would go back to sleep.

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