Djab wurrung: Kuukuup Wuuchu (the Blue Heron)

Maleeyeeto there was a murt ngeeang. His tribe was camped under a peeal tree near Dunkeld. The murt ngeeang and the other puupuup kaleek had kurkak yuuchuuk to chaknango.

They were chaknangak kan kan baa yuuchuuk.

In the murt ngeeang’s tribe, food had to be shared. The murt ngeeang was not tulkiyan. He did not like sharing.

He did not get to chaknango kan kan baa of the fish that he had kurkak. The murt ngeeang took the form of a kuukuup wuuchu.

Kuukuup Wuuchu landed in the peeal. He made the peeal puitkan, puungak all the other Kuulay. The few Kuulay who weren’t puunganoot yinnan and told their neighbours.

When they kan kan baa came back to that place, they seen that one, Kuukuup Wuuchu, had chaknango kan kan baa the yuuchuuk. The Kuulay were pirnawuchuup. In pirrpirrpirp, they grabbed the murt ngeeang and cursed his ngiyarr to fly in the form of the Kuukuup Wuuchu.

And that is how the Kuukuup Wuuchu came to be and he still flies alone.

Translated by Vicki Couzens – Dhauwurd Wurrung and Keerray Woorroong

Djab wurrung word list:

chaknango eat

chaknangak eating

kan kan baa all

kurkak catch

Kuukuup wuuchu heron, blue heron

Kuulay people

maleeyeeto a long long time ago

murt ngeeang greedy person, ‘big mouth’

ngiyarr spirit, man’s spirit

peeal red gum

pirnawuchuup angry

pirrpirrpirp revenge

puitkan fall down

puungak killing

puungan kill

puunganuut killed

puupuup kaleek family

tulkiyan happy

yinnan went

yuuchuuk freshwater fish

Wergaia: Barra

Malamia wutyu ba yauwirr gaiyap yuminaty. Bapgumilang Barra barringata. Gapin Duanu Barra.

Gungin barringgi Barraku Barringgi Gadyin. Bapgumilang Barra barringgata. Gurtin buatyi dya. Werrka gapang Duanu Barra.

Dyadyin Barra. Wikin. Dyakilang Barraku muwil buaty. Gungin barringgi Barraku Gurru. Bapgumilang Barra barringgata burta. Gungin barringgi Barraku datyuki Gurru.

Bapgumilang Barra barringgata burta. Dyadyilang Barra. Wikin. Dyakilang Barraku gutyu. Gungin barringgi Barraku Ngalukgutya.

Bapgumilang Barra Barringgata burta. Gungin barringggi Barraku dyakili datyuk. Babgumilang Barra burta gurrak-gurraki dyata.

Werrkangun nyakiny.

Translated by Kylie Klimpton Kennedy – Wergaia Guli

English Translation:

Long ago, man and animals were one. Barra, the red kangaroo, was jumping along a track. Duan, the phascogale or sugar glider possum, began chasing Barra.

Barra’s tracks created Barringgi Gadyin, the Wimmera River. Barra continued jumping. He arrived at a fi eld of grass. Duan stopped chasing Barra.

So, Barra rested. He was hungry. Barra ate all the grass. This created Gurru, Lake Hindmarsh. Barra continued jumping, slowly. Barra’s tracks created datyuki Gurru, the little outlet from Lake Hindmarsh.

Barra continued along, jumping slowly. After a while, Barra rested. He was hungry. He ate the sour quondongs. This created Ngalukgutya, Lake Albacutya.

Again, Barra continued slowly jumping. Barra’s tracks created a swampy little outlet. Then Barra jumped slowly through the sandhill country. His tracks were lost in the sandhill country.

No-one sees Barra again.

This story explains the creation of a number of life-giving waterholes, and also why red kangaroos do not live on our Country anymore.

The sounds of Wergaia:

Vowels

i as in beat

e as in bed

a as in bath

u as in boot

ai as in buy

ua as in tour

ui as in Drambui

au as in bough

ie as in hear

Consonants

p/b, m, t/d, n, l, k/g, w – same sounds as in English

rt like an American pronunciation of heart

ty church

dy judge

ny onion

y yacht

ng sing

When you pronounce a Wergaia word, stress is placed on the first syllable, e.g. barra

Wadiwadi/Dadi dadi: Flood Waters

mandara mengi dirili

duba midagi

gadini gadiwada gane

bilgiri bilgiri waiwilada bilgiri

nana nana nugi negada

lirgi nima gagai leni burbi

English Translation:

Thunder in dark cloud in sky

It’s pouring down rain

Water flows in Murrumbidgee River

Flood flood rising flood

No don’t go there drown

Quick here now here this way camp on hill

Told and translated by Brendan Kennedy – Wadi Wadi/Tati Tati

Yita Yita: How the Kookaburra Got it’s Tail

Gun Gun wega widenwil

nuli giagaminu wega garini

Nanju wega widanu giagaminu degada

giaga njauigal garini bermila gagada gun gun

Garini balgada widanu

nga nuni nabu gun gun widanu galgi gauai

Told by Brendan Kennedy in Mutti Mutti

English Translation:

The Kookaburra was a laughing bird.

He was always laughing at emu.

When he was laughing his tail always stood up (straight).

One day emu snuck up to catch kookaburra.

Emu hit him on the tail.

and that is why the kookaburras tail sticks down.

Mutti Mutti: The Eaglehawk and the Crow

Nuni Wani gananda baingu wudaiba leni ba ganimada beni

Wulegil nagada nani nuni gunada ba yirngadhin gibada wudaiba baingui beni

Wuligil yirngadhin dudi werbada wani gananda wudaiba baingu

Wani nengada beni,wuligil walwa beni gauai

Gini nanu wani wurgirim ba wilerma minu

Dadi the beni buiga gauai

Buiga dadi Yanga Punk wara burbi wudubar punk

Wuni winanu NuniWani gananda baingu wudaiba leniba ganimada beni.

Wulegil nagada naninuni gunada ba yirngadhin gibada wudaiba bainguibeni.

Wuligil yirligadhin ‘dudi. werbada wanigananda wudaiba baingu

Told by Brendan Kennedy – Wadi Wadi/Tati Tati

English Translation:

The Crow stole a child from the camp and hid him up a tree.

The Eaglehawk saw what the crow had done and went and got the boy from

the tree.

The Eaglehawk went back to get revenge on the crow for taking the boy.

The Crow was still in the tree, so Eaglehawk burnt the tree down.

This is why the crow is black and has white eyes.

After a while the tree fell down.

It fell across the middle of Yanga Lake to make a hill in the middle of the lake.

Persons who passed away were taken on canoes to this island to be buried.

Translated by Brendan Kennedy – Wadi Wadi/Tati Tati

Sounds of Mutti Mutti the language used in the Wadiwadi stories:

i as in bit

u as in put

e as in bed

o as in on

a as in father

ng as in singer

ny/yn/nj as in news

rn this sound is made by making an ‘n’ sound but curling the tongue back behind the gum ridge

dh/th these sounds are made with the tongue – middle at the back of the teeth while making a ‘d/t’ sound

dj, tj/dj, ty/dy, j/dj as in English ‘j’

rd/rt this set of tongue-tip sounds is made by making ‘d/t’ sound but curling the tongue tip back behind the gum ridge

rl as in early

Wemba Wemba: How the Murray River was Made

Totyerguil was a parrayi paraya. One day he left the Mallee scrub, which was his country, and lar with his kethawil pembengguk close to present-day Swan Hill, Merteruk-pert. Soon his two wives, Mathimuk and Gunewarra, the Black Swans, had a meal ready for him, and while he was tyaka his wathip went collecting wattle-gum, of which they were very fond. When they arrived at a lurthak they saw a huge yawirr basking in the nyawi close to the surface of the katen. The wuthu payingguk parenga back to tell their marn.

Totyerguil puny-will made a yungwity, and when near the kumba yawirr tyalka with all his might, which wirrp it on the warram, the tyarem remaining stuck upright between its shoulders. The yawirr, who was Otchout, the Cod, awoke with a start, and werrkuwerrkuwa towards the nyirring-wil of the lurthak commenced to form a channel by tearing up the tya, and allowing the katen to fill it up, so he could winakuwa from his yawirrek.

Otchout did this so puny-will that Totyerguil was unable to keep pace with him, and soon lost sight of him, although he kept on his trail by following the newly made kapel. At dusk Otchout excavated a long, wide lurthak, where he kumba for the puriny. Totyerguil, however, did not kumba, and coming upon the kumba codfish at daybreak the next perrp, was able to larpa a second tyarem which struck Otchout in a spot immediately behind the first which was still protruding from the middle of his warram. Otchout again parenga off pannga furiously, and once again escaped from his pursuer. That puriny he made another lurthak in which to kumba, and there Totyerguil found him next perrp, and was able to wirrp him with a third tyarem, which lalunga the codfish just behind where the two former weapons were still impaled.

This procedure was repeated over several days, until they reached the neighbourhood where Murray Bridge (in South Australia) has since been built, and there Otchout made a very large and deep lurthak, in which he wirpa. He has since gone to the kirk, where he became the turt Delphinus.

By this time Totyerguil had larpa all his tyarem, which are now the lip projecting from the warram of present day codfish. Not having any more tyarem, and being unable to find Otchout in the deep lurthak, he winakuwa the werrki, and landed upon the nyirring-wil. There he set his yungwity on its end, and stuck his paddle-pole wak upright on the tya. The yungwity became a huge piyal, and the wak a kalpen, both of which were later pointed out to the pembengguk of the tribe when the story of the making of the Murray River by Otchout, the Codfish, was told. Ever since that time yungwity have always been made from piyal mityuk and wak from kalpen.

Told by Ron Murray with permission from his father, Besley Murray, senior Elder, Wamba Wamba.

Ron’s Nan, on his mum Lorraine’s side (Nan Karpany), also told a version of this story.

Sounds of Wemba Wemba:

i as in bit

u as in put

e as in bed

o as in on

a as in father

ng as in singer

ny/yn/nj as in news

rn this sound is made by making an ‘n’ sound but curling the tongue back behind the gum ridge

dh/th these sounds are made with the tongue – middle at the back of the teeth while making a ‘d/t’ sound

dj, tj/dj, ty/dy j/dj as in English ‘j’

rd/rt this set of tongue-tip sounds is made by making ‘d/t’ sound but curling the tongue tip back behind the gum ridge

rl as in early

Wemba Wemba word list:

kalpen Murray Pine (branches)

kapel river

katen water

kethawil pembengguk family

kirk sky

kumba rest, sleeping

lalunga struck

lar camped

larpa to throw

lurthak large water-hole

marn father

Mathimuk & Gunewarra Totyerguil’s two wives, the Black Swans

merteruk-pert Swan Hill

mityuk bark

nyawi sun

nyirring-wil towards the banks, upon the bank

otchout the Cod

pannga dig, digging

paraya hunter

parenga ran

parenga run, ran off

parrayi mighty

pembengguk children

perrp morning

piyal gum tree

puny-will quickly, rapidly

puriny night

Totyerguil mighty hunter

turt star

tya ground

tyaka eat, eating

tyalka threw a spear

tyarem a spear

wak paddle-pole

warram back

wathip Totyerguil’s two sons

werrki chase

werrkuwerrkuwa rushing

winakuwa escape, abandoned

wirpa hid

wirrp struck

wuthu payingguk two boys

yawirr fish

yawirrek enemy

yungwity canoe