13 TFC Dhanggal 240309

Transcription and Notes from Dhäŋgal introducing her kin from Wallaby Beach.

Dh- Dhäŋgal teaching from Wallaby Beach.
Yo – Yolŋu students, Gämiritj (G) and Milminydjarrk (Mil)
JG- John Greatorex
M- Michael
S- Student. (1,2,3 etc)

 

Transcription and time codes

Translation and comments

Dh

Gayul nhunu winya’yun

Things are warming up, conversation everywhere. Dh starts by talking affectionately to one of the Yolŋu class members she has spotted in the classroom.
You went away without letting me know you were going!

Dh

Yäna bitja Hello’yuwa. Dhambal ŋarriya räli bitja. Ŋalan dhaŋun.  Gamiritj, nhäma nhuma yaka?

(To the kids at Galuru) Say Hello! Come closer to the camera. (Dh talks to the other Yolŋu in class). Gämiritj, can you see?

Mi

Yow liŋgun, barka’yuwa yow dhuwan bala ŋaya nhäma garramat. 0041

Yes, already, waving, I can see up there!

Dh

???

???

J

She’s saying ‘Can you see what’s above me?’

 

Ss

Yow yow.

 

Dh

Yaka milkuŋ nyäkuwaywuli yäna

???I’m showing that myself

J

She’s speaking her language, you won’t understand it, it’s Gälpu.

 

Gam

Yow dhuwali bala ya’.  Dhaŋu bala ya ŋala nhanam Gunarinyma

(Gamiritj speaking from the CDU classroom to Dhäŋgal.) Yeah, there it is, now where’s Gunariny?

Dh

Dhaŋu Gunariny dhambal ???? Backli. ‘Hello Mukul!’ Bitja! Dhaŋuya ya’ dhaŋu nhina yaka.

Here she is (tells Gunariny to come and stand behind her) Say, ‘Hello mukul!’ (pointing to her screen) There she is, sitting there.

 

01:14

Gunariny comes and waves at Gamiritj.

J

She’s asking , what we’ve asked ŋändi to do Dhäŋgal to do is to introduce some of her family.

 

M

We’ll see what happens…

 

Dh

????  yow, djinaŋ. Headphone nhawi liŋgu gaŋga ŋaya yaka ŋäma. 132 Yow mukthuwa.  Ŋi, John, wanhal

I’ll just put on these headphones, because I can’t hear clearly.  (Puts headphone on) Okay, you (kids) shut up, okay John, what’s happening?

J

Yow yow. Here we are,

 

Dh

Djamarrkuli dhaŋu waŋa nhumaliŋgu yaka

Hey kids, they’re talking to you…

JG

We can see you and we have all moved a little bit closer

 

Dh

Nhä?

What?

J

We can see you and we’ve all moved a little bit closer.

 

Dh

216 Yow.  Manymak. Yow ŋaya ŋarru waŋa ŋurruŋu?

Okay, should I talk first?

M

Yow

Yes

Dh

Ŋanydja?

Or what??

J

As we talked about we were wondering if you could introduce us to some of your family.

 

Dh

Yow

Okay

J

251 Ga nhän goyum yaka?

And what we can see hanging up behind you…

Dh

Go! Yothu manda.  Biya hello bitja warra nhawiku.  Yow on my rightŋa, Mitjuma, gutharra’miŋu nyäku, granddaughter, Djinyupa, Ritjilili, niece, gäthu, ga dhaŋum waku’miŋu, ?Pam ŋarraku yukuyuku’mirriŋu, my younger sister. Ga Murupula nhawi ‘hello’ biyan, nhawi, ŋarraku grandson,

(Dh tells the family to get themselves organised…they will come and stand behind her. Introduces her family – name and kin term)
Mitjuma – my gutharra (granddaughter), Djinyupa and Ritjilili – gäthu (niece), ?Pam – yukuyuku (younger sibling), Mowudu – gutharra (grandson), ‘Say hello!’

Mo

3:43 Hello!

 

Dh

Gutharra’miŋu, ‘Hello!’, And the other one coming up, my youngest brother, Litalita.

Grandson, Hello!

M

Yukuyuku

 

Dh

And he’s just going off to work. For the night patrol.

 

S1

Where are we today, anyway?

 

M

Back at Wallaby beach.

 

Dh

Ga Valerie, she’s not around, she’s still in the car, they’re on the night patrol. Yow ga as you see I just came to be with my family so they can see what’s happening, and this Wallaby beach anyway, Wallaby Beach and I left my house and came to the other house. This my um, here’s the owner of the house is coming now… Milminyina Dhamarrandji.

 

M

Hello!

 

Dh

Hello, bitja, mukulŋali backŋa nyena yaka.  

Say Hello to the students, your mukul is sitting there at the back…

M

501 Hello! Yol mukul?

Hello, who’s that? Mukul? Dh points out Milminyina’s mukul in the classroom – they can see the class on the Skype screen.

Dh

Nhälin?

Where are you going

MD

Mukul!

Mil calls out to her mukul in the Darwin class and waves.

JG

Mukul!

 

Dh

And I can see yol, dhika. Alice dhikaya wo bäyŋu?

And can I see Alice there too?

Gäm

Yol Alicema?

Which Alice?

Dh

This is my yukuyuku 520

? - yukuyuku

JG

Yukuyuku?

 

Dh

Little sister gamon …  (sister): tata.  She’s busy, off to work, and as you know, all of us that live in this area, Wallaby Beach, are all related. Whether it’s ???? grandkids , wo my gutharra’miŋu Jonathon. Okay so here’s Dhäŋgal number 3 with the cap, ya’ dhaŋu, say ‘hello’ bitja!

Johnathon – gutharra
Dhäŋgal #3 - gutharra

M

Okay so they’ve both got the same name those two.

 

Yollŋu

Number 3

 

Dh

Nyäku gutharra

 

JG

Yol Bathal’wuy? 606

 

Dh

Ga waŋgany ŋändi’miŋum nyäku, my little mother’s here, I’ve just to introduce my little mother to you.  This is my little mother, ŋändi’miŋum nyäku, ŋändi and Nitjumba is the mother. And another one coming, one two, Randy, Yol yolŋumurru yäku?

Nitjumba’s Baby – ŋändi
(John taking a screen snap 633)
… my mother… Randy, what’s his Yolŋu name?...

?

Banyipula

 

Dh

Banyipula, ‘Hello’, bitjan. ‘Hello’, bitjan.

Randy Ganyim’pula Say Hello!

G

Hello! 651 ???? (yaka dhaŋu bittja…)

Explains to the kid that it’s not a recorded video he’s watching it’s live.

Dh

Ga waŋgany bulu, Tyrone.

And one more, Tyrone

T

Bye bye?

 

JG

(joking) Has everyone got all the names written down?

 

Dh

‘Hello’, bitjan.  … and this little thing, this little one is my Marratja. Marratja, that means my brother’s son’s son, marratja.  ‘Hello’, bitja, Amut.  Yow, so our kinship in the Yolŋu world…

Wämut (‘Amut) - Marratja

JG

7:00 Oh! Sorry!  Yakay what did I do then?  Pushed the wrong button.

The Big screen is accidentally switched off.

MC

Oh. I’ll turn (the camera) on the audience to see their reaction…. Looks of disappointment sweeping over everybody’s face.

 

S

She’s still there talking…

 

JG

Yeah she’s still talking here.

 

MC

Are you on the phone?

 

Dh

Nhuma ga ŋäma?

Can you hear me?

M

Bäyŋu, galkurr muka.

No, just hang on…

JG

Yow.  Sorry I pushed the volume I thought. I’ll try going back the other way.

 

M

It wasn’t just the brightness that you pushed,

 

JG

No, it was this channel thing.

… Dhäŋgal still talking in the background

JG

Sorry everybody…

 

S

That’s all right…

 

Dh

Wanhan?

What’s happening?

MC

Oh, She’s still down there (on the laptop)

Still visible on the laptop on the table, it’s only the big screen that has gone off.

Dh

Can you still see me?

 

M

Yeah we can see you on nyumukuniny’ŋur

… on the small screen.

S

… not the big one..

 

S

…try that AV button…

 

Dh

Mukthuman ŋändinya

Please someone quieten the baby my little  ŋändi…

JG

9:00 Yep, if you could do that, who knows about these things, gees?

Student takes the controls from John and starts pushing buttons….

Dh

Wanhan?

What’s happening?

S

Just turn the power off and on.

 

JG

Yow, djutjutj waŋi…

Okay, just keep talking…

S

9:12 Who’s that?

Asking about

JG

Yol waŋganydja, ŋändi, you forgot one gurrutumirr, one relative,

Who is the other,  mother, you forgot one relation (Dhäŋgal is related to John as mother)

Dh

Ŋunha wäwa nyäku backŋa that’s

That’s my brother back there.. (referring to Elvis)

M

Okay so that’s Elvis is a Gälpu man …

 

Dh

Elvis yeah

 

M

… has been for many many years,

 

Dh

Yow ŋarraku wäwa. As you know there’s a lady there (in the seminar room) who’s my mukul, bäpa mukul, Gämiritj sitting there, and we’re all Elvis fans, so he’s… Gämiritj and myself clan are wititj bäpurru, olive python, we call it the rainbow serpent. So he’s like us, he’s been adopted into the family.

Yes, he’s  my brother
Bäpa mukul – father’s sister.
Wititj bäpurru – the python clan.

JG

I don’t know what…

 

Dh

Wanhan Michael?

How’s that, Michael?

M

Yow manymak. 

Yeah, good.

Dh

So, what I said before our kinship system in this area is very strong, doesn’t matter if we live around here in the Gove region, or Galiwin’ku, wo Milingimbi, Ramingining, Gapuwiyak, we are all related to each other. We go as far as like in Darwin, there’s our relations as well, we work there, 1100 who’s been living there for a while, even though they haven’t come back to the communities. But we can still come upon them and we still know how we’re related to them, or they’re related to us, once in a while it’s, we come back home, and leave those back there in Darwin, once in a while they come back home but as for me I’d rather stay where I am. And just go into Darwin for work purposes or whatever, not to be able to stay there. I did my student for five years there and I guess I got enough of the city life, so it’s back to the isolation. And I guess like, I’m back here now, and I feel at home, even if I overseas, or whatever the best place is to return is home. Any questions? 1220

 

Stu

Um, Yes, You said that you have like over it’s really strong like how everyone’s part of the family, not everyone but like the ones that are, in the group of the family, even though it goes you know tracked down and you keep breaking it up, and

 

Dh

???

 

Stu

Yep, and um so but of course you know how you said you are really strong to the family that is maybe a bit far away, like spread out in Darwin, but of course it’s like in our culture as well, you’re still closer to the ones your immediate family. Or do you find…

 

Dh

Here, over here it’s no immediate family, in Yolŋu world, there’s no immediate family..

 

Stu

Wow, okay so you’re close to even those who are down the track of your family.

 

Dh

Most of the kids you know our sister’s kids are yours as well, even though you could call ‘immediate family’ but that isn’t in our society. Because any children of my sisters can choose which ever mother they want to go to …

 

Stu

Oh yeah okay, manymak

 

Dh

… and the same as for the brother’s children.  John, bäyŋu freezingma nhuma. Or I’m frozen, whatever.

Your image keeps ‘freezing’.

JG

Well you’re coming through here okay, what happened is that I pushed the wrong button before and we could only see you on the computer screen.

 

Dh

???

 

JG

I think that’s…

 

M

… one more question?

 

JG

Yeah of course, any more question?

 

Dh

whatever question liŋgu halfnha dhaŋu gulyu’kulyuwan ya bitjan

.. because half the time the screen is stopping

JG

Any question any more questions? No?

 

Dh

Wanhan?

What do you think?

JG

We’re going to say goodbye, I think.

 

Dh

Ma’, banham liŋgu gulyu’kulyuwan yaka ya bitjan

Okay, because as I said the screen is freezing up, you see.

JG

Also,

 

Dh

??? Gämiritj dhupal marrkapmi wulay.

Dhäŋgal sends her love to the two Yolŋu in the class.

Stu

Thankyou…

 

JG

Thankyou…

 

Yo

Djutjutj

Bye!

M

Yow

 

Dh

‘Tata’ bitjan. Wäŋiya muka….

To the kids; Say ’tata’, say something…

Ki

Tata…

 

Dh

Liŋgu mukthumukthun, Ma’ yow tata

Yeah it’s all switching off, okay yes, goodbye!

JG

 Goodbye (Skype off) Oh I’m sorry about that everybody,

 

M

All right I’ll just…

 

JG

… switch that off…1532