Walking in: Gornbun-ya Site

Yidumduma teaching his nephew Jonas Doctor as they walk into Gornbun-ya Whistling Kite art site. Here Yidumduma uses Kriol to talk to Jonas, and Wardaman language to talk with the Ancestors as they approach.

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Transcript

Old men, to your place here,                   Wardaman
we come here with the white people.      Wardaman

Walk this way.                                          Kriol
There is bush honey everywhere here.    Kriol cont.
There is a hole everywhere.
Walk around like this.
Stop here.
Go over there a little way.
There they are standing up (spiritual people in the painting)
There are sleepy old people everywhere.
The old man here is watching us two coming up.
We're going this way now.
We used to sleep here long ago in early days, when we were [young], no roads,
 no horses, no motor cars.
 ... we walked around this country
on holidays, everybody walked around on foot.
These ants here
they eat all the grass seed, look, they put it here, you look.
They eat the grass seed,
 these ones here eat this grass.
 They take it and give it to other ants
and they make the ant hills.
These [ants] make hard [ant hills], look at this one.
This one is red, [from] red grass seed.
They bring it this way.
These ones are different.
These ones smell good.
You smell them?
We used it for roasting meat, for the people.
We call it gumilan  palm
That's the name for it.
This way we go.

We are going to tell you a story.       Wardaman
You mob can stand in front of us.     Wardaman continues
I am bringing this young man warling  
We will climb up this way.
Old man, just wait there now.
We are coming there now, closer.
Over here.
The two of us will be coming around the bend.
We're going this way now.
We're going right around the back
to all you old people.
You can wait for us up front.
I am bringing this young man.
I am going to put him in front of you.
Over here now.

You can see them now.        Kriol
We will leave that one.          Kriol continues
Maybe tomorrow we'll do those ones, you'll hear the story for them,
and you'll hear the story for these ones tomorrow maybe,
or the next day.
Today we'll go to that side and sit down to tell the story there.
These ones here are marks marbun, look, I'll tell you later.
 All those ones,
where they cut him in the chest.
 Here's all the stone spear I was telling you about.
I'll show you all the little stones,
some are like this one.
I pick it up.
Real sharp ones, you cut yourself here.
Poke it in like this and the blood jumps out.
Then they painted themselves.
They called that one gulbun body decoration
We'll go there now, up top.
Some (marbun cuts) are underneath here.
We'll keep going this way.
We'll go all the way to the top,
right along here,
right up here,

We are coming to you now.                Wardaman
Climbing up.                                       Wardaman continues
We are coming now.          
I am going to tell you about this.
      
There's some emu bones there.        Kriol
I'll tell you about the bones.               Kriol continues
They brought them because the Dreaming made these ones.
They put the bones inside there,
in Buwarraja
They call the Dreaming place.
We'll sit here and wait.

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