24 TFC JOHNS VIDEO OF YIŊIYA – MAY 2009-06-05

John and Yiŋiya took some people from Gapuwiyak to Dhämiyaka to tell the story about the milminydjarrk waterholes created by the Djaŋkawu sisters.  They used the remote satellite terminal, and spoke to Keith’s class in Santa Clara.  Much of the story was told by the senior land owner, with Yiŋiya interpreting for him. This is the transcription of the English parts of the video taken by John and Galikali (a student).

(Y) 00:50
Got to introduce you to some of my elders. Senior members of this land and the story we’re gonna tell you.

Yiŋiya talking into the Skype. Introduction of the family.

01:07
Over here is my older brother. His name is Galaŋarawuy. Just wave if you can.
He’s the senior custodian and land owner of this particular land.

Galaŋarawuy waving.

01:26
We’re standing in a sacred waterhole. Which is towards over there. It’s very very thick with the jungle and the waterhole.

01:40
The story here is about ancestors, the two Djaŋ’kawu sisters that walked all the way from the east, landed on a canoe and they came over.
And the story, our old people has is about the sacred waterhole here that was struck by the sacred digging sticks by the two sisters and out came the bubbling water.

02:10
And we’re talking about the ancestors and the totem which is the waŋarr.
The people that walked along are the totem or the waŋarr themselves, the waterhole they made is sacredly for the waŋarr itself as well. We can call ourselves as the waterhole which is the Milminydjarrk, and the digging stick that the two sisters used is the waŋarr, the totem and we are the waŋarr and the totem as well.

02:48
And I will introduce to you two of my senior leaders of this land and they can try and explain it in language which I will interpret for you. Is that okay?

03:29
I’m the land owner of this land.

Land owner talking and Yiŋiya interpreting.

03:35
This place is called Dhämiyaka and it’s mine.

03:43
This is a sacred place.

03:50
The two ancestors, called the two Djan’kawus created this land.

04:08
This is a sacred waterhole given to us by the Djan’kawu sisters.

04:23
They were made and created and guided by someone far greater. God the creator himself that walked along with them and created the land.

04:39
Okay.

04:48
Some of the trees here, the one with the white stringybark over there. These the images of the first thunder storm clouds which is called the Wolma.

05:12
They journeyed along here on their way from Bälma, which is another place far away along this direction, in the easterly direction.

05:32
That is our, the main base of where they journeyed from.

05:45
Yes that’s where they journeyed from.

Introduction of another elder.

05:53
And another senior elder as well. His name is Murrkittja who owns this land.

06:12
It’s just that, that’s where they journeyed from and they made place or camp. Sat down just over behind the bushes over here where you can see, around the bushes.

06:35
They came up along that direction there and there’s a big sacred tree as well this way, where they put their sacred dilly bags just up the, above the hill here. Just few about, 300 metres away.

07:03
And they came down here, down here, struck the water down here, waterhole with the sacred digging sticks and came and collected some bush tucker around here, around this, behind the bushes around here.

Yiŋiya pointing towards the waterhole.

07:25
And that’s the place back over this way towards the south east direction is the direction they journeyed along, down this way, and when they got here they turned around and looked up and there was a great thunderstorm, a thunder cloud.

08:00
And they came down here, struck the water and went around and collected the bush tucker around this area you can see all the bushes around here, and that’s where they hunted around and gave it the bush tucker.

8:35 While they were two sisters were collecting the bush tucker around here, then some enemies, some people creeped up behind them and wanted to attack them.

09:08
From here on, they journeyed down further. And just up past the road there, they journeyed along in that direction there, is the, the road named after one of the species of cockatoos here which is the Black cockatoo called Ŋatili. And that was their guidance of towards the journey where they journeyed on to another places another plants in the same ceremonial or linkage of the Djan’kawu sisters, which they furthered on and even further towards the sunset, and they landed or went to, or went to a place called Bunhaŋura.

10:15
And these are the trees that we are talking about. Just gonna go and touch it. That’s the tree we’re talking about. The image of thunder, thunder cloud. And if I can have, like we said before the, the images of thunder clouds or the trees are all in the totem, that is totem, and it’s the image of us, the clouds, our sacred beings with the ceremonies and when we’re talking about the toem, waŋarr, we’re talking about whether it be image of a tree which is the image of the thunder storm cloud which is all associated in the ceremony or linked.

11:17
And there was another paper bark, see just over here, you can see that there’s a big waterhole. It’s about the diameter of, about ten, fifteen metres of circle.
It’s about that and a very very deep and the waters springing up very very clear and on the other side is a paper bark trees couldn’t probably see very well. But it’s just in that direction over there.

12:06
And that’s where they stood up the digging sticks in that direction over there and a it became into the image of the um, the thunder cloud, which is the image of the digging sticks of those two sisters.
Are you still with us?

12:34
Hello? Can you still hear us? Thank you, thank you for being so patient listening.

13:16
Just going back to where he first started. When they first came up from way over there, from the south east direction and they sat, made a camp just up here. That’s where they first struck the water with the digging sticks. And it actually came bubbling out just up there. And they decided to cover it up again and followed the direction of which way the water was running from down there, and they thought this water is running down this way, see if we can struck another hole just over here. And when they came over here, just over here, they struck this one and the same water came out. So a, the other one is just behind the swamp, like a, waterholes down here, they sat down here in that direction there, is a, they covered it up as well with the, some bushtucker that they gathered and maybe some leaves and stuff that they covered it up and left this waterhole here. Which is a, at the present now.

14:53
That’s where the story concludes here, and a….
These are the guys that are not only, if I might add, not only you are being students there, these younger lads here, my son in the back, my two nephews, and are being taught by the old people.

Yiŋiya pointing out the younger lads as students also.

15:30
And that is how we always learn from old people we never we sit down in class and ask questions. It is only when an old man, the senior leader as my older leader, as my wäwa, or brother decides when it’s time to teach about land, and then he calls the people and starts telling them stories about the land. That’s when they start to, he knows and feels confidence at these people are gonna carry on the job of being a, the next leaders.
As the old people are getting older they pass the story on to be carried on for the next generation.

16:26
I’m sorry I can’t answer any questions but a you can a, in the a, chat box there you can ask some questions or write some questions down and we’ll probably answer them for you. I’ll just show you where it is.

17:00
So ask a, write down any questions and we’ll a try answer them for you.

John Greatorex looking at the laptop with the men.

17:09
Like John here. Can you read that? Hello?

John (reading message from Ca): “We can hear you but you can’t hear us…”

The people in California are sending messages by text on Skype…

18:12
I can read that now. Ah, if you got any questions at all, if you wanna write. See if we can answer them for you.

Yiŋiya sightseeing. Showing the waterhole.

Is that you saying that you don’t have any questions or you can’t hear us? That’s all no questions for the time being? Try telling us something by writing it down.  You don’t have any questions?  You can’t hear me?

20:42
Be careful for yourself. There’s the edges of the waterhole. It starts off here and around there. You’ll think a like, if someone dug a well. But this is actually sacred and the water springs out from there.
Long time ago there was a cyclone that might have come through. And it actually lifted all the roots and all the plants around here. The waters always bubbling out and everything here belongs to this land.
Call the sacred reeds, they all belong to this land. Belongs in the waterhole, it’s called the Milminydjarrk. Made by Djaŋ’kawu sisters, it’s called the Milminydjarrk. And we’ll go back later on when we go down to where we camped last, right down on the mud flats there’s another Milminydjarrk there created by same Djan’kawu sisters that walked over. 

22:11
Yesterday when we were at Badaybaday, that was another story about turtle hunters, great turtle hunters and how that area used to be under water, a reef, because of the big giant turtle took the water down with it, to down where we camped last night.

22:35
Up the stream that’s where it resting.

Yiŋiya explains to the others that Galikali is a Yolŋu studies student from CDU.

22:52
How do you feel now when you’re actually stand and look at what we are talking about.

Yiŋiya talking to Galikali

22:56 – student
I feel like I can understand a lot more what you’re talking about.

Without having to explain, I think you can understand what we’re talking about. So a, not just standing at the classroom and trying to explain about a white gum tree that was the image of the …  You got to be able to see what it look like. And got to be able to see where it is and what it looks like…

23:18 – Student
Yeah.

And you have to be able to see where it is and what it looks like.

23:32
Do they explain themselves?
But this is not natural. This is a water pump.

23:48
Here’s the water. You want to have a drink? Spring water.

24:02When we, when I’m teaching
in the uni or going out places, teaching either through website, through Skype and they can, the people decide. I don’t do it under my own control, authority. I always let my old people know, the leaders, the rest of my clan. That we all agree and it’s something that we use for the next generation in the near future. So always consult with my people, before I actually go out and do something. So that’s the way it’s gonna be, that’s the way it has always been.
And he’s the final senior leader in the clan, gives us the final authority to go ahead, tell story even to go ahead and conduct the ceremony. It’s got to be under his power. Yow, just thought I’d say that.

25:15
When standing in classroom and there are stories about our land and I have no power to go ahead and tell stories about our land.

Concludes by saying that all the business of getting agreement and permission is too hard in the classroom.

25:18 Ga ŋarrany powerless, I’ve got no power to go ahead ŋarra dhu ḻakaram dhäwu nhakun wäŋapuy mala yapitjan. Always ŋarra dhu asking ga yaka ŋunha manymak ŋarra dhuka yan ring up contact ga yan ŋäŋthun nhumalany.
Dhäwu ŋarra dhuwalaŋuwuy, dhuwalaŋuwuy lakaram nhawipuy, Dhamiyakapuy, nhawipuy Baḏaybaḏaypuy, yaka.  

As a teacher, Yiŋiya do not have the authority to talk about his land.
Not until he is given permission by the elders, as a clan, an agreement to
 Share the knowledge and wisdom to others in regards to the land and what it holds.
The knowledge and wisdom that had been handed down generation after generation is regarded as sacred and it is an identity of who we are and how we are connected to the land. Through the song lines, the stories and so forth. 

25:39 It would be more better, ŋali dhu räli marrtji, nhumalany gadayman. You tell me, yow wo yaka.
While I must teach to students, to government departmentsgu mala nhawiku, interventiongu dhuwal.
Very very strong dhuwannydja. Nhakun dhuwal nhawiŋur. Every dhäwu ŋarra ga teaching must be nhawiŋur, under full authority from my leaders. I don’t call myself a leader and do it by myself. There’s got to be a clan to meet together.
Hummm, yow, ma!