Boon Wurrung: The Filling of the Bay - The Time of Chaos

Many years ago the biik we now call greater Melbourne extended right out to the warreeny. Nairm (Port Phillip Bay) was then a large flat grassy plain. The Yarra River, as it is known today, flowed out across this flat plain into the warreeny. For the Boon Wurrung, this wurneet was known as Birrarung (the river of mists). Later this wurneet is called Birrarung.

This large plain was covered in buath and tarrang biik on which the Boon Wurrung men hunted guyeem and barramaeel. The bagurrk cultivated the murnong. They collected food from the wurneet and the warreeny and harvested the iilk that migrated through there every year.

The Boon Wurrung were the custodians of their biik but traded with and welcomed people from other parts of the Kulin Nation. They obeyed the laws of Bundjil, who travelled as an eagle, and Waang who travelled as a crow.

One day – many, many years ago – there came a time of chaos and crisis. The Boon Wurrung and the other Kulin nations were in conflict. They argued and fought. They neglected their biik. The native murnong was neglected. The animals were over killed and not always eaten. The gurnbak were caught during their spawning season. The iilk were not harvested.

As this chaos grew the warreeny became angry and began to rise. The wurneet became flooded and eventually the whole flat plain was covered in baany. It threatened to flood their whole barerarerungar.

The people became frightened and went to Bundjil, their creator and spiritual leader. They asked Bundjil to stop the warreeny from rising.

Bundjil was angry with his people, and he told them that they would have to change their ways if they wanted to save their land. The people thought about what they had been doing and made a promise to follow Bundjil.

Bundjil walked out to the warreeny, raised his tjeera and directed the warreeny to stop rising. Bundjil then made the Boon Wurrung promise that they would respect the laws.

The baany never subsided but stayed to create a large bay that the Boon Wurrung called Nairm. Today it is known as Port Phillip Bay. The warreeny took away much of the biik of the Boon Wurrung and much of their barerarerungar was reduced to a narrow strip of coastline.

The Boon Wurrung learnt from their mistakes. They returned to their old values and the laws of Bundjil. They took greater care of the biik of Bundjil and the bubup of Bundjil.

They met with the other Kulin people and sorted out their differences through sports, debates and dance.

One of the most important laws that Bundjil required to be obeyed was for Boon Wurrung people to always welcome visitors, and to require all visitors to make a promise that they would obey the laws of Bundjil, not hurt the biik of Bundjil and not harm the bubup of Bundjil.

Today, the wurneet that once flowed through this large flat plain still flows under the nairm.

Told by Aunty Carolyn Briggs

Boon Wurrung word list:

baany water

bagurrk woman

barerarerungar country

barramaeel emu

biik land

birrarrung Yarra River

buath grass

bubup child

Galen-barreeam east ocean

guleeny man

gumbak fish

guyeem kangaroo

iilk eels

murnong yam daisy

nairm Port Phillip Bay

tarrang biik woodlands

tjeera spear

warreeny sea

wurneet river

Woiwurrung: The Durrung of the Yan-yan

In my lalal’s day, there were no supermarkets. The Birrarung Yaluk was their ‘supermarket’ providing the natural resources for the survival of the Wurundjeri gulinya. The yaluk is like veins in Biik, winding and turning, bringing to life everything it touches, giving our gulinya fresh baan, duat and bundabun to hunt as tucker. We camped close to yaluk for this reason.

Many years ago in the ‘Dreamtime’, there was a yan-yan who asked Wirrirrap to give him special skills and power to be a great hunter, to provide tucker and help for Wurundjeri gulinya. Wirrirrap looked into the durrung of the yan-yan and believed him to be sincere, so Wirrirrap granted the yan-yan his wish. The yan-yan became the greatest hunter the gulinya had ever known, even better than his mama and lalal.

As time went on the yan-yan became ngabun-bambunya and thought only of himself, and did not want to share with the Wurundjeri. He became a buladu gaang yan-yan. One day he was in his gurrong yana fishing, where Badger Creek meets the Yarra River along the boundaries of Coranderrk. When he came to a fork in the yaluk, he thought to himself, ‘Which turn will I take?’ He decided to take the left fork of the yaluk. Then from nowhere buladu ngurndabil and djirringu appeared, and the yaluk became very rough from the murnmut, and tipped the yan-yan into the yaluk. He was so bambunya that he would be swept downstream he asked Wirrirrap for help.

Wirrirrap appeared and said to the yan-yan, ‘Just like the fork in the yaluk, as in life, we can choose which way to go. When we go the wrong way, and think only of ourselves, we become ngabun-bambunya. Alternatively, we can take the right fork, be humble and share with the Wurundjeri and remember that every one of us is of value to the world.’

There was a great clap of ngurndabil. Wirrirrap turned the yan-yan into a dulaiwurrung and said, ‘You have become ngabun-bambunya and a buladu gaang yan-yan thinking only of yourself. Like the dulaiwurrung, you can’t tell the front from the back. As with the fork in the yaluk, you have to make the decisions for yourself.’

‘From now on you can swim the yaluk as a dulaiwurrung to teach you respect for Wurundjeri, to be humble and to keep the culture alive.’ That is why the dulaiwurrung looks like it does to this very day.

Story told by Aunty Doreen Garvey-Wandin

Woiwurrung word list:

baan water

bambunya afraid, frightened

biik country

birrarrung Yarra River

buladu great, big

buladu gaang Greedy ‘big nose’

bundabun tortoise

djirringu lightning

duat fish

dulaiwurrung platypus

durrung heart

gulinya men, people

gurrong canoe

lalal grandfather

mama(n)/mamu(n) father

murnmut wind

ngabun-bambunya bold, arrogant ‘not afraid’

ngurndabil thunder

Wirrirrap magic man, traditional doctor

yaluk river

yana go, going

yan-yan young man

Taungurung: The Wiik Wiik who Bia the Bunbunarik

Not far from where Mansfield now is, there lived a mi-anggu wiik wiik, all alone in the baa bap bul.

She was mi-anggu, and used to yagut and marrma wiybo wiylak and boorniy who yalbilum away from yilam.

In one of the Gulinj yilam some warrit away from her there was a very burndap wiybo wiylak, so burndap that he was yumaagu yadabiling. Since yumaagu liked him he thought that he would be safe anywhere, so he went from one yilam to another by himself. When he got there bak would Wumindjika him and wongga him pieces of walert to dhanga. But one garrimiin he yagal, and no one knew where he was, until they mang mang the mi-anggu wiik wiik who was always gunga bunbunarik.

In their wurrbun the Gulinj went to Bundjil, the Maaman, and they asked him to durnmin the wiybo wiylak to them.

Bundjil was very murrup for them and told Gawarn, the Spiny Ant-eater, to go and durnmin him. So Gawarn daamborro down under the mi-anggu wiik wiik’s yilam and found the wiylak, who was not nortgana, but very bandu. And Bundjil said to the Gulinj, ‘You must not let wiybo wiylak yalbilum away from the yilam’. Then he told the bubup, ‘Let that be a lesson to you’. He went back to his yilam, which was in the woora woora.

Told by Aunty Lee Healy (Patterson-Edmonds)

Taungurung: Why the Marram Has a Moibo and the Wariin Does Not

Marram, the kangaroo and Wariin, the wombat were once great djirrap and shared everything. One garrimiin when wariin made a yilam for himself in a mirring underground and guwambi there in comfort during the muda berrin nights.

One very daaban garrimiin, marram came to his djirrap and asked to be allowed to yilam in the mirring, to dry his yarri by the wiinj. But wariin would not let him wandja in. A djilba ensued, in which marram cut off wariin-birrm moibo with a blow of his gagiin, but as he was running off wariin drove his guyon at the base of his ngarrak where it stuck fast.

This is the reason why marram-birrm carries a heavy moibo which sticks straight out behind them, and wariin-birrm has no moibo.

Told by Aunty Lee Healy (Patterson-Edmonds)

Taungurung word list

baa bap bul bush

bak people

bandu frightened

bia stole

boorniy girl

bubup child

bunbunarik children

Bundjil Eagle, creator

burndap nice

daamborro burrowed

dhanga eat

durnmin bring back, restore

garrimiin day

Gawarn Spiny ant-eater

Gulinj Kulin

gunga taking

Maaman Father (Bundjil)

mang mang remember

marrma keep

mi-anggu hideous, wicked

murrup sorry

nortgana hurt

walert possum

warrit distant, distance

wiik wiik old woman

wiybo little

wiylak boy

wongga give

woora woora sky

Wumindjika welcome

wurrbun sadness

yadabiling favourite, darling

yagal disappeared

yagut find

yalbilum wandered, wander

yilam camp

yumaagu everyone

The sounds of Taungurung

a as in but

aa as in cart

o as in hot

u as in put

i as in bit

oor as in core

iy as in eye

e as in bed

ii as in sleep

ng as in sing

nj as in new

dj as in gem

Taungurung: The First Taungurung Women

Balayang, the Bat, Bundjil’s brother, was at a place called Booerrgoen, on the Goulburn Gurnang about twelve miles above stream from Yea. He was amusing himself by thumping the surface of the water with his maanong, and making it splash. As he thumped away, the water became thick, and it thickened until it became mud.

Balayang could no longer see through it, so he took a bough from a darrang and divided the mud with it. He then perceived something in the mud, so he bent the bough into a hook, and put it in the mud. Presently he saw four maanong, then two gawang, and then two marram. He fished them out of the mud, and saw they were two badjurr bootor.

Balayang named one gannawarra, the Black Swan, and the other gurruk, the Native Companion, and he brought them to Bundjil, the Great Kulin, who gave them to the kulin bootor he had made. Bundjil put gooyan into the maanong of the kulin bootor, and ordered them to hunt marram, and to the badjurr bootor he gave gannan, and ordered them to dig for wuleli and barrm. Then he told the kulin bootor and badjurr bootor to live together.

Told by Aunty Lee Healy (Patterson-Edmonds)

Taungurung word list:

badjurr bootor women

barrm roots (edible)

darrang tree

gannan digging stick

gannawarra black swan

gawang head

gooyan spear

gurnang river

gurruk native companion

kulin man

kulin bootor men

maanong hand

marram bodies, kangaroo

warrangwan hunt

wuleli yam tuber

The sounds of Taungurung

a as in but

aa as in cart

o as in hot

u as in put

i as in bit

oor as in core

iy as in eye

oo as in cool

e as in bed

ii as in sleep

ng as in sing

nj as in new

dj as in gem

y as in yes

Dja Dja Wurrung: The Two Feuding Volcanoes

A long, long time ago, long before anyone but the Traditional People walked our Country, our lands, rivers, mountains and animals alike, all had magical life. They had personalities, purpose, speech and they could think for themselves.

This is a story of two volcanoes named Tarrengower and Lalgambook.

Tarrengower in the Dja Dja Wurrung means to be big and heavy and indeed he was just that; big, bold, wise and a very proud old volcano who had become very tired throwing out rocks and lava and preferred to sit humbly watching over the plains.

Another volcano called Lalgambook was a young, loud and cheeky volcano that started to challenge old Tarrengower’s wisdom and authority, and began grumbling and building up anger towards the old volcano. But Tarrengower, being the wise old volcano that he was, decided he should just try to ignore this cheeky little volcano.

Lalgambook grew even angrier that Tarrengower wasn’t acknowledging his threats and started to put on a display of smoke, ash and brimstone to impress the land and animals who were also watching, but this didn’t intimidate the wise old Tarrengower. Instead he just laughed at Lalgambook.

Lalgambook became so frustrated that he began to throw large rocks at Tarrengower who grumbled with annoyance at this cheeky volcano and Tarrengower now began to taunt young Lalgambook by telling him he wasn’t very strong at all because the rocks couldn’t reach him.

Lalgambook exploded with great fury, spurting out lava and smoke high into the sky and hurled gart gart in Tarrengower’s direction, but still could not reach him. This caused Lalgambook to completely blow his core!

Tarrengower’s anger eased and he just grumbled at this cheeky little volcano who was now just coughing and spluttering with no energy left at all.

All the rocks thrown by Lalgambook at Tarrengower can still be seen today and have formed what is known in the present day as the Guilford Plateau where the Jaara people would perform ceremonies on the Bora grounds also known as Yapene.

Re-told by Justice B Nelson – Dja Dja Wurrung, Jaara

Dja Dja Wurrung word list:

Tarrengower big and heavy, also a mountain situated near the township of present day Maldon

Yapene dance, also a township outside Guildford called Yapeen

Lalgambook now known as Mt Franklin, near Daylesford

gart gart many rocks

The sounds of Dja Dja Wurrung:

a as in kart

e as in egg

Wathaurong: The Magpie

Maeewan nyanbo meerree

Woorrwoorr kommerreen-ik dja wangala woordeegarrong-goolee-a yanmeelpala

moorrkal

Parwon-getyaweel ngotaborreeyn ba karrangateeyngayoopanyoon-goopma-ik

ba koora meernook woorr-woorr benganak yan bakoopma

Benganak gayoopanyoon-goopma-ik nyeerreem talk-getyaweel ba beetyarra.

Baleet benganak waeema-ik woorr-woorr kombaba.

Benganak goopmala-ik talk-getyaweel Nganyakee ba deerdabeel laa-getyaweel

Benganak beetyarra-ik waeema woorr-woorr werreeyt-ik

Woorr-woorr tyoorrkoorrma werupmering wenering-ik yerram nganboo

kardineyoo

Benganak lola booyt nya yerram ba comugeen yoodorra meerree thorn

Benganak werraa yeng-yeeng

Benganak yeeng-ik yelatneboorang moorrkal werraa-ik ba ngaalbooma-ik

woorr-woorr

Matnyoo yerram Parwan wayaperree kardineyoo benggoeethanang yerra

yeng-yeng.

Translated by Uncle David Tournier

English Translation:

Long time before today…

The sky covered the earth making everyone crawl around in the dark.

The Magpies, being proud and industrious, gathered and worked to raise the

sky so everyone could move about freely.

They gathered some long sticks and fighting hard they lifted the sky up.

They placed the long sticks on small and big rocks,

they fought to lift the sky even higher.

The sky split open, showing the beauty of the first sunrise.

They were so overjoyed to see the light and feel the warmth of the sun’s heat,

they burst into song.

As they sang, the blanket of darkness broke and drifted away like clouds.

To this day the Magpies greet the sunrise with their joyful song.

Re-told by Uncle David Tournier

The sounds of Wathaurong

a as in cart

ee as in feet

oo as in look

o as in pot

e as in egg

p as in pig

t as in tea

rt tongue is curled back and released into ‘t’

t made with tongue touching the back of the teeth

ty (yt) combination of ‘t’ and ‘y’

k as in kick

m as in milk

n as in noise

rn tongue is curled backwards and released into ‘n’

nh ‘n’ made with tongue touching back of teeth

ny (yn) combination of ‘n’ and ‘y’

ng as in sing

l as in look

rl tongue is curled backwards and released into ‘l’

rr as in road

y as in you

w as in water

Wathaurong: The Three Sisters

Maeewan nyanbo meerreeyoo, gelanyee kooleek wainga knettuk getyaweel, benganak merridjig. Bengonak-a geermnyook bengoordeganak ba benganak koonyaba gayoopanyoon –goopma – getyaweel ba goopmala babab-getyaweel boorndawan.

Kooeemoyl yerram ngamadyeeyt wada-ik bengordeeganak dja bengook koonyaba gooli. Bengook nooleem gooli nyanayeet-yanooneet-ik kooleek wairnga-knettuk. Tarne-gooli ba moonda-goorrk karee-tanang kooleek – wairnga-knettuk nyala ngarrwa ngamadyeeyt. Matnyoo wanga ngamadyeeytnhuk dyeerta bengook bana – gamyeban-ik ba yeeng-ik kooleek – wairnga-knettuk bengordeegook workeem-barra.

Kooleek-wairnga-knettuk nyoolam, nyala geermnyook, keela-ik nyoolam warrabil-wadjen. Tarne-gooli ba moonda-goorrk nyanee-ik kea ngamadjeeyt yanee-yoo ba yoorreetyarrapmeelee-nyala.

Matnyoo wanga ngamadyeeyt-nhuk dyeerta ba nyanee peelm kooleek-wairngaknettuk ba mootyaka kooleek-wairnga-knettuk dyeeyeewod dya. Ngamadyeet yoorreetyarrapmeelee bengordeegook dja-iyu kooleek-wairnga-knettuk.

Tarne-gooli ba moonda-goorrk kea-ik kanyool gooli dharrawa ngamadyeet. Namela-ik kamababa ngamadyeet, bana-ik ba goopma-ik kooleek-wairngaknettuk wooloom. Tarne-gooli ba moonda-goorrk deteth-goopma-ik keetjarra weenay goopma kooleek-wairnga-knettuk. Nyanee-ik getme benganak keela deerdabeel karreengalabeel-nhuk-Bundjil ba keea weenya.

Keea warrabil-wadjen getme kooleek-wairnga-knettuk nyoolam. Kooleekwairnga-knettuk tyeelpa-ik ba thoorn manal borrela-ik bengordeeganak woorroo-o goonalomba-nyal nyala kea nyoolam ba gonarra-nyala-goopma tarne-gooli ba moonda-goorrk Bundjil ngarreemeelee-ik moorroop- nyereeka ba wangala-ik kooleek-wairnga-knettuk kooleek banyool.

Translated by Uncle David Tournier

English Translation:

Long time before today, there were three sisters, they were very good. They helped their parents – they were good gatherers and always helped with caring for the children.

One day a stranger came to their country; he was not a good man. He was a sorcerer; he wanted the three sisters. The Elders told the three sisters to ignore the stranger. This made the stranger very angry, so he used his magic to sing the three sisters to do his bidding.

The behaviour of the three sisters changed, they became very nasty. They would not help anyone, they spoke very nastily to everyone. So the Elders decided to tell the stranger to go away and never return.

The stranger became angry and decided to steal the three sisters and take them back to his country. The stranger headed back to his country with the three Sisters.

The Elders sent the young warriors after him. They caught up with him, speared him and brought the three sisters back.

The Elders held a meeting to discuss what to do with the girls. It was decided that they would speak to the Great Creator (Bundjil), and tell him what had happened.

He told them that the three sisters were bad. So the three sisters were beaten and hot coals were put in their mouths, to remind them not to speak badly and to always obey their parents, then Bundjil performed a magic spell and transformed the three sisters into three hills.

The three hills can still be seen today, although one hill is being excavated for red scoria!

Re-told by Uncle David Tournier

The sounds of Wathaurong:

a as in cart

ee as in feet

oo as in look

o as in pot

e as in egg

p as in pig

t as in tea

rt tongue is curled back and released into ‘t’

t made with tongue touching the back of the teeth

ty (yt) combination of ‘t’ and ‘y’

k as in kick

m as in milk

n as in noise

rn tongue is curled backwards and released into ‘n’

nh ‘n’ made with tongue touching back of teeth

ny (yn) combination of ‘n’ and ‘y’

ng as in sing

l as in look

rl tongue is curled backwards and released into ‘l’

rr as in road

y as in you

w as in water

Yorta Yorta: Ina Yillian

Ina yillian nbanga gungaia tu-tu-la tun-gudya ganggawa woka. Womeriga Biami nha-wal Gumukan Winyan mulamuk coolaman. Biami ngarri Gumuka birra birra ngana nyan-uk mayila. Paabia wurwich winyarrin nunyir birra broongama ngana woka paabia baka-narrak.

Gumuka winyaril yawal burraya yorta naan mayila. Djinagaga paabia marralatjum yawal thurramdjuba galka winyarrin nunyir woka. Conamurra thulla Gumuka yawal burroya yoorunguk yurratha, bayeet yeeta imigo mayila dora gaka. Biami garaba Gumuka Winya yorta naan. Biami yarganidia dora Gane. Gane ngani wy-yeen nukul woka. Gane woda-amoo Biami yargandia bookoot woka. Nhawal dhamnal ganatj gangawa woka. Womeriga Biami lotjpatj dora birayarwool Gumuka-narrak Winya-narrak yanagai Gane broongama nyanuk.

Gumuka bawu turneja punrira nurruga moogoo winyarrin nunyir bait-tun woka. Kalimna boorja choondonga kyema deekula woota yedabila. Biamil yargandia wooata munura mugingula gorkarra, gangangoor gangangoor wurumaty uta gorkarra gangawa uta Dangala, Yorta Yorta woongle moolaawa malawa uniar.

Translated by Djetcha Zeta Thomson – Yorta Yorta

English Translation:

In the time of creation there was a calm over the vast, mist-covered land.Biami the Creator Spirit saw the old woman, Gumuk Winga, with her empty coolaman. She looked very hungry. Biami then told the old woman to go and search for some yams. So she then picked up her digging stick and set out across the land with her dog.

The old woman walked and walked a long way away and could not see any yams. As time went on she became very weary, walking slowly with her digging stick dragging along the earth. Day turned to night, she walked far under the moonlit sky, singing softly and hoping for some yams to appear.Biami waited for the old woman but could not see her anywhere. Biami called out to Gane, the great rainbow Snake, who was laying asleep beneath the earth. When Gane heard Biami calling out to him, he lifted his head and made his way to the surface of the earth. He lay there looking out over the dry land when Biami asked him to go and find the old woman and bring her back safely.

Gane then set off following the marks in the earth left by the old woman’s digging stick. His great body moved across the land pushing the earth into hills and valleys, leaving deep crevices in the earth. Beautiful colours from his body spread throughout, covering trees, plants, birds, butterflies and all other creatures.

Then Biami called out in a loud voice, and thunder cracked as lightning flashed across the sky and rain fell. It rained for days, filling up the deep crevices in the earth that were made from the rainbow snake’s body. Then the rain stopped and the mist cleared and the river Dungala was formed. This is the name used by the Yorta Yorta people. Others know it as the Murray River.

Sounds of Yorta Yorta:

a as in cart

i as in pizza

u as in blue

e as in bed

o as in hot

Note: some words use longer vowels spelt with double letters

ii

uu

aa

ee (rhymes with air)

oo (alternate spelling or)

p,b as in pig

t/d as in tea

th/dh with tongue touching back of teeth, almost between teeth

tj/dj combination of ‘t’ and ‘j’

g/k as in gate or as in kick

l as in look

m as in milk

n as in noise

ng as in end of sing

nh ‘n’ made with tongue touching back of teeth

ny combination of ‘n’ and ‘y’, as in onion

rt/rd with tongue rolled to back and top of mouth

rn tongue is curled backwards and released in to an ‘n’

rl tongue is curled backwards and released in to an ‘l’

rr as in road

w as in water

y as in you