<translate> The old man said that the country gives everything the people need, if they take only what they need and always give thanks.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: bububu dajil yambayamba jananda, kaki jana kanbal nganga manil, ngulkurr balkal yabarrka.


<translate> In the hot season the camp follows the shade and the water, the old man said: walk at dawn, rest while the sun stands high, go again when the sun falls, for the hot season never forgives the traveller who picks a fight with the high sun.

Wangariji bayan wukurril wabarr bana baja, mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: jilba muduwajuny, kalka wungar wangkar jananya, dungay baja wungar daraynya, wangarijibu kariku bawal jilba-bama, nyulu kuniway-mal wungarka wangkarka.


<translate> Father put the rope on the ground.


<translate> We, not you, saw the dakwurr-dakwun hammer bird there.


<translate> I hear the trade wind there.


<translate> They saw the mawul freshwater eel there.


<translate> We see the bingkajiri tree here.


<translate> We saw the jumul-jumul grass seeds here.


<translate> Shade is the tree's quiet giving, the old woman said at the high sun: it asks for no thanks, it moves slowly like a good person giving ground, and it holds a coolness that no single fire ever made, so when you eat at midday, thank the tree above you: do not dig at its roots, and leave its bark whole.

Wabarr nyulu daji-jirray wunbu jukumuny, wulbumanangka balkan wungar wangkara: nyulu kuku-yukil kari babajil, nyulu jilbal buban-buban yala bama yukil bubu dayanya, nyulu kiway karrbal baya nyubunbu kariku murnilmuny, yalada kaki yundu nukal wungar wangkara, juku wangkara yulmbarrika: bangkan nyungu kari baka, warrur nyungu bawa wubulku.


<translate> I heard the song from far away, coming through the tall trees along the winding river.

Ngayu wulngku kala-kalbay-mundu nyajin, juku kalbay-burr kadan wawubaja-burr.


<translate> The flood broke down the shelter.


<translate> You see the love handles there.


<translate> Her voice was sweet like honey, and all the children listened to her.

Nyungu kuku jiba-wula-wula yala wunba, karrkay wubul ngaran.


<translate> Mother hears the thunderstorm here.


<translate> The child asked the girl about meat.


<translate> A thunderstorm struck the cow on the mountain.

Jarramali-ngka bulki dalbarrin manjal-ba.


<translate> You all saw the kawarr bloodwood tree here.


<translate> When the wild apples ripen, many birds come to eat them in the morning.

Bulngkar kulbul-ma-nya, buyi wubul kaday nuka-nka wunkuwingku.


<translate> It smelled good — everyone came quickly.


<glossary> baja ; type=adverb ; domain=manner <usage_example> I don't know what to tell


<translate> The old canoe was left on the beach for many years, the sun ruined the wood, and slowly it fell apart.

Marrakan jalun-ba bawan wungar wubul-muny, wungarangka juku buyun-bungan, murrnga-jin.


<translate> The old woman would have dug a big basket of yams that day, the old man said, but the ground was baked too hard by the long dry.

Mukul-jalbu-ngku bambayal ngunyin yalbay baka-nyaku yinya wungar-a, mukul-dingkar balkan, yamba bubu marral-muny junkurr bajaku dandi-ma-n.


<translate> The green tree snake is thin like a vine, but it is not dangerous.

Kalkamuku buban yala karra, yambada kari bambay-bungal.


<translate> You and I see the dove here.


<glossary> mulkal-mulkal ; type=noun ; domain=spirit-mythical-being <usage_example> They're fighting for no reason. Someone will have a baby.

Bula mulkal-mulkal; somebodyngka baby haveim-bungal


<glossary> yaral ; type=adjective ; domain=water <usage_example> You talk in the right way (not cheeky - talk as you should in a court case)


<translate> I see the death adder there.


<translate> The water gum tree grows right at the very edge of the creek in the wet lowland ground.

Dakumbar wawubaja karangkal-baja janay, bubu kima kaba-wungar-a bada.


<translate> You and I see the small sticks here.


<translate> They saw that wuymbariji scrub tree.


<translate> The women read the seasons by the trees: when this one flowers, that fruit is ripe.

Jalbu wungar ngaral juku-bu: yinya nganka-mal-nya, yinya mayi kulbul.


<translate> You hear the sharp sound there.


<translate> The two of them saw the morning star there.


<translate> Are you all coming to the ceremony? Yes, we will all come; bring your children with you; we will dance together through the night.

Yurra bubu-mundu kada? Yuwu, ngana wubul kada; yurranga karrkay-karrkay yurranji wundi; ngana muru wurin wujurr-burr.


<translate> You two see the snail there.


<translate> Do not forget to leave enough behind for the country when you gather, the old man warned, or there will be nothing at all next season.

Baluda milka-wula bubu-nka kanbal wuna-nka bangka-nya, mukul-dingkar balkan, yamba-kari yamba wungar-jarra yindu-ngu.


<translate> We see the wangay vine there.


<translate> The child saw the wild plum.


<translate> You all see the dalngarri flames there.


<translate> Grandmother saw the bark outside.


<translate> You saw the walmbaji peacemaker here.


<translate> We spread out across the grassland in a wide line at first light, walked slowly toward the swamp beating the grass, drove the wallabies ahead of us toward the waiting spearmen, closed the line as the ground narrowed, took four wallabies between us, gutted and cleaned them at the water, and then walked home together carrying the meat and talking of the hunt.

Ngana jikan-bubu naka-naka kanbal muduwajungu, bana-yaral-mundu buban-buban jilban jikan kunin, darrba ngana ngadiku daman-bama-mundu wandiman, kanbal karra bubu buban-mandanya, darrba jambul-jambul ngana dukurr-bu manin, bana ngundu karra jubulin, yalada nyubun-nyubunji bayan-mundu jilban minya jarrakulbal balka-balka balbilmu.


<translate> The Leichhardt tree is here.


<translate> You and I see the mangkurr-mangkurr garfish there.

Ngaliny mangkurr-mangkurr yinyay nyajil.


<translate> One young man stood very still, spear raised, watching the shadow of a big stingray move over the sand.

Warru nyubun janan wunbu bajaku, kalka wangkar, yawu yalbaymu wabarr nyajinya jukar wuyar jalamanya.


<translate> The green frog sat very still on the broad leaf and caught the flies as they came near.

Karrkurr birra yalbay-ba janka bunda-l, marra-warri ngundu kada-nya karrba-l.


<translate> The two of them see the yurrunji tree here.


<glossary> walal ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=motion-travel <usage_example> He went into the house


<translate> The men made woomeras of three lengths; the long one threw a heavy spear, the short one threw a small spear, and each one fitted a different hand.

Dingkar-dingkarangka mirrba kulur bungan; kala-kalbay-ju kalka kulngkul yilban, kulka-ju kalka buban yilban, nyubun-nyubun mara-nka.


<glossary> warngku ; type=noun ; domain=bodily-mental-state <usage_example> Three days ago I left


<translate> The man saw the open ground there.


<translate> Don't drink that dirty water from the low swamp; it will make you very sick!

Kari nuka bana buyun janka-muny! Nyulu yununy bambay-mani-l junkurr-baja!


<translate> We two, not you, saw the mawul freshwater eel there.


<translate> You two saw the stick there.


<translate> We, not you, saw the yirku-yirku frog there.


<translate> The old man said the whole of wisdom can be folded into one conditional: if you would know what to do, imagine the person you most respect is watching, and do what would make them nod, for we all carry such a person inside us, put there by those who raised us well, and to live rightly is only to stop and ask them before we act.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: wawu-binal wubulku kuku-ngaral nyubunba yijarril: kaki yundu binalka wanya bunganka, milka bama yundu ngulkurr-baja milkal nyaji, bunga yamba nyulu wawu-mini janji, ngana wubulku bama yinya dukurr-bu karrbal, bama jana ngana ngulkurr wandilman yijarrinmu, yukil janayka nyulu nganga mara-kunbay jana babajinka ngana bunga ngadiku.


<translate> Send the children to get more firewood.


<translate> You and I saw the mudcrab there.


<translate> Will the rain come tonight, or not?


<translate> The old man said the little birds all fall silent at once when the goshawk comes, and that sudden silence is how you know the hawk is near.

Mukul-dingkar balkan: buyi buban wubulku nyubun-bu yirrka kunbayn jinabiju kada-nya-ba, yinya balka-kari yundu binal jinabiju ngundu-nya.


<translate> The black cockatoos flew in the late afternoon.


<translate> He sees the mirrbangku pencil cedar tree there.


<translate> The two of them saw the mulumu dove there.


<glossary> kunka ; type=adverb ; domain=grammatical-particle <usage_example> People might talk about you


<translate> The boy watched the old man fish with a spear from the rocks, then tried it himself: he stood too noisily and the fish scattered, he learned to freeze and wait, he misjudged the water's bending of the light and missed three times, the old man showed him to aim low, he speared his first fish on the fourth try, and then grinned so wide that the old man laughed out loud.

Buban mukulungku dingkar kalkabu kuyu daman kuljimuny nyajin, yalada nyulu-nyulu murni-nyajin: nyulu kaya-kayabu janan kuyu kala-kalbay warrin, nyulu binalman karra bundanka, nyulu bana miyil murninya kari binal kulur bawan, mukulungku dingkarangka milbin bada damanka, nyulu kuyu ngadiku jambul-jambul yilba-manin daman, yalada yajarrin yalbay-baja mukul yajarrin junkurr-bu.


<translate> A younger brother must not eat food from his elder sister.

Yabaju-ngku mayi kari nuka-l babarr-andamuny.


<translate> The man saw me by the fire in the dark, but I did not see that man at all.

Dingkar-angka nganya nyajin baya ngundu ngungul-ba, yamba ngayu yinya dingkar kari nyajin.


<translate> You and I see the nyumbil coolibah tree here.


<translate> You all saw the kurrmaja larvae there.


<translate> Mother's fishing line is in the house.


<translate> Grandmother saw the cassowary at camp.


<translate> You two see the whip snake there.


<translate> He saw the wankar tree here.


<translate> I saw the shooting star here.


<translate> You two saw the biwul snake there.


<translate> The big spider built its round web between the two trees beside the quiet path.

Malal yalbay-angka bayan warral-warral juku jambul-ba bungan, jina janka karangkal.


<translate> The two of them saw the diwalngku bird there.


<translate> The two of them see the marsupial native cat there.


<translate> The old man said this yam is rather big, but that one is very big, the biggest I have dug in this ground for many years.

Mukul-dingkar balkan: yinya bambayal jarra-yalbay, yamba yinya yalbay-baja-ku, yalbay wubulku-muny ngayu bubu yinya-ba baka wungar wubul-muny.


<translate> The girl stored up plenty of food and clothes before she went to her husband's camp.

Maralangka mayi, kambi baja bangkan wubul, dunyu-mu bayan-ka dunga-nyjiku.


<translate> We two, not you, see the queenfish here.


<translate> I feel sorry for the very sick child, so I will take some soft food to its camp tonight.

Ngayu jiba-badil karrkay bambay-baja-nka-ku, ngayu mayi kima bayan-ka wundil nyiku wujurr.


<translate> Which little word would you keep, if you could keep only one? the girls teased, and the old woman said: the ji — because everything I love, I love with.

Wanjaku kuku buban yundu karrbal, kaki nyubun nganga? jalbu-bubanangka yajarr-ji babajin, wulbumanangka balkan: '-ji', yamba wubulku ngayu wawu-manil, ngayu wawu-manil '-ji'-bu.


<translate> The old woman said if you want your children to be honest, be honest with them even about hard things, for children believe what they see far more than what they are told, and a parent who lies to spare them will raise a child who lies to be spared, and the lie passes down like a family face.

Wulbumanangka balkan: kaki yundu wawu nyungu karrkay-karrkay yukil janayka, yukil janay jananji yamba dandi baja, karrkay milmilbil nyaji jana wubul-baja jana milbinmuny, ngamu-nganjan nyulu warmbil jana bawanka nyulu karrkay bungal nyulu warmbil nyulu-nyulu bawanka, warmbil nganga badaka dungay yala jawun-karramu miyil.


<translate> What are you ill with, old man? I am ill in the head and my chest is sore; I cannot hunt, so my sons bring the meat to me.

Yundu wanyurrinji bambay, mukul-dingkar? Ngayu dukul-bu bambay, ngayku damu kaka; ngayu kari balbil, ngayku kangkal minya ngaykunku wundil.


<translate> We see the scrub tree there.


<translate> The knife was made of a sharp shell before the white man's knife came; with it the women cut fish, cut the meat, and split the pandanus for weaving.

Naybu warkal jalngkun-muny bungan, waybala-mu naybu ngadiku; naybu-bu jalbu-jalbu kuyu yakan, minya yakan, juku wukurril-nka yika-daman.


<lexeme> the point between Kangkiji and Kaway


<translate> They two see the bamboo spear stick here.


<translate> Mother shared out all the food at the camp.


<translate> The big kangaroo was speared by the two hunters out on the level plain.

Mayarriji yalbay dingkar jambul-anda dama-jin, bubu dubar-a.


<translate> We see the murrabal barramundi here.


<translate> The policeman asked the young man about the grog.


<translate> At last, as the sun went down, the men came back carrying two big kangaroos and many fish.

Wungar bada dunganya, dingkar-dingkar kadan baja, mayarriji jambul yalbay wundin, kuyu wubul.


<translate> You see the wurru-bulan small crab there.


<translate> They heard the grunt sound there.


<translate> The person here is not quiet.


<translate> I see the miyilabu mangrove tree there.


<translate> They saw the little wallaby here.


<translate> We see the turtle spear point there.


<translate> The old man said the sea people, the Jalunji, know the water as the inland people know the scrub, and the sea is their whole country.

Mukul-dingkar balkan: jalun-bama, Jalunji, jalun binal yala bubu-bama madja binal, jalun nyungu bubu narmba.


<translate> He sees the bujabay tree here.


<translate> He pinched his little brother and ran away.


<lexeme> First bay south of Bloomfield River along coast


<translate> The child sees the Torres Strait Island pigeon.


<translate> I see the bronze wing pigeon.


<translate> The club is a heavy weapon of hard wood, used to kill the wounded animal quickly and cleanly.

Mirru juku junkurr kulngkul, minya kaka-jirr kuni-nka buyun-buyun.


<translate> You take a spear before a pig comes.

Yundu kalka wundil, bikibiki kada-nyjiku.


<translate> The child's stomach is full of the good meat and the sweet fruit, and now she is sleepy and quiet.

Karrkay jibar minya ngulkurr mayi jiba-wulay-jirr, niji nyulu warngku-warngku janka.


<translate> You saw the karunkurr crested pigeon there.


<translate> The man with the dogs went off hunting, but the man without a dog stayed hungry in the camp.

Dingkar kaya-jirr balbi-ka dungan, yamba dingkar kaya-kari bayan-ba dakwuy bundan.


<translate> You and I see the yarrka bee there.


<translate> The old man said a spear with a good balance and a spear without it look almost identical lying on the ground, but in the throw the difference is everything, and this is true of many things a person makes: the flaw is invisible to the eye and only shows itself in the using, so a maker must learn to feel the rightness with the hands, not just see it.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan kalka yukil-ji kalka yukil-kari nyubun yala bubu wangkar wunay, yilbalba yindu-yindu yamba wubulku, yinya yukil yamba wubulmuny bama bungalmuny: mumbu miyil-kari nyulu janka manil-mabinga nyubun murnil, murni-bama nyulu binalman yukil maranga jilbanka, kari nganga nyajil.


<translate> Above, the water plans; below, it celebrates.

Wangkar-wangkar bana milkabu baykal: bada-bada nyulu yajarr-mal.


<translate> The old man helped the boy string his very first spear and showed him how to hold it and throw it strong and true.

Mukul-dingkarangka karrkay mara-dajil kalka nyubun-nya kaja-nka, nyunguny binal-bungal dama-nka junkurr-bu.


<translate> The old woman said: the country's remedy is strong, but a person also gets well from good care and quiet.

Wulbumanangka balkan: bububu kalbal junkurr, yambada bama jani-mal ngulkurrbu wunbungu.


<translate> The children kept coming and coming to the old man for stories, and he told them one after another until the fire burned low.

Karrkay-karrkay kankaday mukul-dingkar-nka kuku-nka, nyulu balka nyubun-nyubun-baja baya bada waju kariku.


<glossary> karrul ; type=noun ; domain=bodily-function <usage_example> He is drooling


<translate> I saw the kungkun snake there.


<translate> The sea was calm and the children trailed their hands in the cool water as the canoe slid along.

Jalun ngulkurr, karrkay-karrkayangka mara bananga yijarrin kiwaymba, marrakan julbarr-warrinya.


<translate> They see the black-tip shark here.


<translate> You two see the mangkurr-mangkurr garfish here.


<glossary> buban ; type=noun ; domain=quantity-number <usage_example> He stayed a little while


<translate> Father saw the mountain there.


<translate> The woman cut herself on the finger by mistake while cutting up the meat.

Jalbu kanban mara-nga yaka-jin, minya yaka-l-yaka-nya.


<translate> The rain came and the sand got wet.


<translate> You all see the jumper ant there.


<translate> The young man cut a long straight bamboo shaft and made himself a good fishing spear.

Warru-ngku dara jinbal kalbay kulban, nyulu-nyulu kalka ngulkurr bungan.


<translate> The old man said a good hunter waits quietly and never rushes the kangaroo.

Mukul-dingkarangka balkan balbi-bama ngulkurr janka karrbal, kariku mayarriji warri-bungal.


<glossary> warmbill ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> The people don't believe the Pastor


<translate> The children walked behind, listening and learning.

Karrkay-karrkay kudamundu jilba dungan, milka-jananya, binalmanya.


<translate> The young man made a spear from wood.


<translate> The two young men swam out beyond the reef to the deep blue water where the big turtles feed on the drifting weed.

Warru jambul-angka dulngku-muny kala-kalbay-ka maraji, bana dajali jiri-mu-ba wanja ngawiya yalbay wayul warri-nya nuka.


<translate> You all see the mijan wart there.


<translate> Grandfather saw the scrub turkey at camp.


<translate> You see the newly cleared scrub there.


<translate> The two of them saw the dakwurr-dakwun hammer bird there.


<translate> We saw the julbal tree there.


<translate> The old man said the most dangerous changes are the slow ones a person does not notice, for a fast change frightens you into action but a slow one lulls you, and so a creek slowly silting, a skill slowly forgotten, a young person slowly drifting into bad company, a custom slowly falling into disuse, can each go too far before anyone acts, and he taught the young to watch especially for the slow quiet changes that no single day makes visible.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan yindu yinil bajaku nyulu yindu buban-buban bama nyulu kari nyajilmuny, yindu warri nyulu yundu yinil-bungal murninka yambada buban-buban nyulu yundu warngku-bungal, wawubaja buban-buban jukar-mal, binal buban-buban milka-wula, warru buban-buban jilbal bama-mumbu-nku, yala mukul buban-buban bada-mal murni-kariku, nyulu nyubun-nyubun jilbal dukurr bajaku ngadiku wanya murninya, nyulu warru milbin nyajinka bajaku yindu buban-buban wunbu wungar nyubun kari nyaji-bungalmuny.


<translate> The two of them saw the mirrku kidney bird here.


<translate> We see the corkwood pine here.


<translate> If you lose the path in the thick scrub, the old man said, follow the little creek downhill and it will always bring you to the big water.

Kaki yundu jina madja junkurr-ba wula-mani, mukul-dingkar balkan, bana-jandu bada-ka jilba, nyulu yundu bana yalbay-ka kada-baja.


<translate> The boys waited at the crossing.


<translate> The old man said the flame cooks the outside and leaves the inside raw, but the earth oven cooks slowly from every side at once and cooks the food all the way through, and this is a lesson about people too: quick heat only scorches the surface, but patient warmth changes a person all the way to the middle.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: wula ngalanga wajul dukurr-bu nganja bawal, kurrma buban-buban wubulku ngundumuny nyubunku wajul mayi wubulku dukurr-mundu jani-manil, yinya milbil bamamu baja: wumbul warri ngalanga nganja jirra-manil, wumbul maku-janal bama murni-manil dukurr-bu bajaku.


<translate> The child happened to step on my hand.


<translate> The pheasant coucal calls its low double note in the afternoon before rain, and the old ones say when you hear it start up out of season you should look to your shelter, for it has never yet been wrong about the coming water, and the little birds go quiet and fly low just before the first heavy drops fall.

Bulbul balkan nyungu kuku bada jambul kunarangkal bana-wungar ngadiku, mukul jana balkan yundu ngaranya nyulu wandin wungar-karinga yundu bayan-wawun nyajinka, nyulu kariku ngadiku kanban bana kadalmu, buyi buban dandi-manda bada marra-warrin bana yalbay jirakal badanya ngadiku.


<translate> You and I see the kalburiji bee here.


<translate> You and I saw the kundurr-kundurr crescent perch there.


<translate> The old man asked the children by the fire: "Who killed the big kangaroo out on the plain today?"

Mukul-dingkar-angka karrkay-karrkay babajin baya ngundu: Wanyangka mayarriji yalbay kunin bubu-ba niji?


<translate> Grandmother put water on the girl's foot.

Babi-ngka bana yijarrin maral-anda jina-nga.


<translate> They called you to the song gathering, but you did not want to go.

Jana yununy kunjan wulngku-ku, yamba yundu wawu-kari dunga-nka.


<glossary> wukal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> He scared me, fooled me (told me there was a snake)


<translate> The cassowary is standing there.


<translate> There was dugong fat for everyone, and that night the fires burned big and the singing went on very late.

Biwuy wandul bama wubulku, yinya kunarangkal baya yalbay wajun, wulngku badi dungan kunarangkal bajaku.


<translate> I saw the grasshopper there.


<translate> He saw the jiljay grub there.


<translate> I see the jingajalka tree here.


<translate> We two saw the big grey kangaroo on the plain, and the old man speared it with one throw.

Ngali julmbanu yalbay nyajin bubu-ba, mukul-dingkar-angka daman nyubun-bu.


<translate> My younger brother follows me everywhere I go in the country.

Ngayku yabaju nganya wukurril bubu wubulku, ngayu wanja-baja dunga-nya.


<glossary> jikaji ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=posture-rest <usage_example> You stretch when you get up


<translate> The men pulled the heavy net onto the sand and the whole camp came to help carry the fish.

Dingkar-dingkarangka makarr yalbay kulban jukara, jana wubulku kadan kuyu wundinka.


<glossary> yalaymbu ; type=temporal ; domain=time-deixis <usage_example> He missed the fish. By this time we should have been eating (it)

Byulu minya nyundan. Ngana yalaymbu mukanyakuda


<translate> When the big tide comes into the mangroves the fish swim in among the roots to feed, and the crocodile waits there.

Yira yalbay kajul-ka kadan, kuyu kajul-jina-nga maraji nukanka, bilngkumu yinya-nga karrban.


<translate> The old man said the old people could recite a line of descent back through many generations, naming each father and each mother in turn like a chain of beads, and this was not idle memory but the very deed to a country, for it was by tracing an unbroken line of the right ancestors that a person proved their belonging to a place and their right to its resources, so the genealogy was at once a family's history and its title to the land.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan bama mukul balkan karra-jina wungar-kadal wubulku ngadiku, kunjal nganjan nyubun-nyubun ngamu nyubun-nyubun yala karra-diburr-mabi, yinya kari milka-nganga yambada bubunka kuku-yukil, nyulu karra-jina yijarr-kari ngadiku-bama yukil wukurrilbu bama nyulu dandi-bungan nyungu bayan-karra bubu nyubunku nyungu kuku-yukil nyungu bubu-nka, karra-jina nyulu nyubunku jawun-karra nyungu kuku bubu nyungu karrbal-kuku baja.


<translate> The two of them see the straw-necked ibis here.


<translate> Where are you all going so early this cold morning, the old woman called out to the young men as they left the camp together.

Yurra wanjabu dunga-y wunkuwingku ngiki niji? mukul-jalbu-ngku warru-warru burri, jana bayan-muny muru dunga-nya.


<translate> The two of them see the clam there.


<translate> You saw the kanjal companion here.


<translate> We all, not you, see the black snake there.


<translate> They saw the kaya-kaya dogs here.


<translate> The grass-tree resin is there on the spear.


<translate> I see the running water here.


<glossary> balibali ; type=adjective ; domain=physical-property <usage_example> The house is leaky, the water is coming in


<translate> He sees the shellfish there.


<translate> The wuymbariji scrub tree is here.


<translate> We two walked in the hot sun all day and grew very tired, our legs and feet weak and sore.

Ngali wungar-a jilba-nya wungar wubulku, baja-burray-ma-n, ngali jandal jina bambay baja.


<translate> Why does the order matter, if all the work gets done? the clever boy pushed back with words, and the old woman gave him the fish that had stood unwashed all through the cooking of the food, and after one mouthful he said quietly: teach me the order — and the camp laughed for three days.

Wanyurrinku murni-jina yalbay, kaki murni wubulku kunbay-manil? buban miyil-ji jurrngan kukubu, wulbumanangka nyulu kuyu dayan julurril-kari janaynmuny mayi wajunya, wawu-nyubun-muny nyulu balkan wunbu: milbi ngaykunka murni-jina, bayan yajarr-man wungar kulurku.


<translate> The old man said the hardest part of any long journey is the middle, when the excitement of setting out is spent and the joy of arriving is still far off, and it is in the middle that a traveller is tested and a companion is proven.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: jilbal kalbaymu dandi bajaku dukurrbu, wawu-mini dungalmu kilban wawu-mini kadalmu kala-kalbay yamba, dukurranga jilba-bama nyaji-nyajin jawun murni.


<translate> We all, not you, see the fire there.


<glossary> wawu-darra ; type=noun ; domain=dimension-size <usage_example> The house is too small for all the people (just can't fit in)


<translate> Homesick in your own camp — that is longing for the people who sat here long ago.

Milka-bujar bayanba yundumunyba: yundu bama wawu-manil, jana yanyaba bundan mukulbu.


<translate> I saw the jalkay salmon here.


<translate> When the moon was full the people from three camps came together for a big dance by the river.

Kija yalbaymanda, bama bayan kulurmuny kadan, wurinka yalbayka wawubajanga.


<translate> The two of them see the large mud clam here.


<translate> The woman saw the water there.


<translate> Grandmother saw the dog outside.


<translate> The old woman heard the baby cry and came quickly to pick him up.

Mukul-jalbu-ngku ngawa badi-nya nyajin, bila kadan, ngawa manin.


<translate> The old man's liver is the seat of his sorrow, and his liver-cry shows he grieves for the sick child.

Mukul-dingkar jiba nyungu jiba-badi-mu, jiba-badi nyaji-mani nyulu karrkay bambay-nka.


<translate> You see the marku species of oyster there.


<translate> You see the woomera butt here.


<translate> The people gather together here every year when the sweet fruit ripens in the warm hot season.

Bama yala muru kaday wungar-iji narmba, mayi jiba-wulay kulbul-ma-nya wumbul-ba.


<lexeme> Nganjin dungan, ngingkirr nyajin


<translate> Cousins of the opposite moiety may marry one another, the old man said, but cousins of the same one moiety are as brother and sister to each other.

Bangunji mandi yindu-mu dunyu-mani- nka, mukul-dingkar balkan, yamba bangunji mandi nyubun-mu yala yaba babarr-jirr.


<translate> They walked through the scrub to the river.


<translate> You hear the sharp sound here.


<translate> The old man kept one story he never told, and everyone knew he had it, and that was a kind of telling too.

Mukulungku dingkarangka kuku-jangkar nyubun kujin kariku balkanmuny, bama wubulkubu binal nyulu karrbal, yinya baja milbil-jina nyubun.


<translate> We all, not you, see the chin here.


<translate> The father shaped a small toy spear for his son so the boy could learn to throw; the boy practised all day, and by dusk he could hit the mark.

Nganjangka karrkay-nka kalka baki buban bungan, karrkay yilba binalma; karrkay wungar-wungar yilban, wungar bada-nya nyulu duburan daman.


<translate> After that, we close the house.


<translate> The grandparents keep the deepest knowledge of the people, the old man said, and it passes straight down to the grandchildren, not to the busy parents.

Kami babi-jirr binal dajali bama-mu karrba, mukul-dingkar balkan, jija-karra-nka bada dunga, kari nganjan ngamu-nka.


<glossary> yungal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=transfer-possession <usage_example> Mother sent to me the store


<translate> They two see the shield there.


<translate> I thought you meant to roast the fish, but you are boiling it in water.

Balu yundu kuyu dinda-nka, kari yundu bana-nga wajul.


<translate> You saw the mawul freshwater eel here.


<translate> They heard the clap sound there.


<translate> This one is ripe, that one wants two more days on the branch.

Yanya kulbul, yinya wungar jambul baja wawu-manil dakilba.


<glossary> wanyurrinku ; type=interrogative ; domain=grammatical-particle <usage_example> Why did he laugh?


<translate> They see the outrigger canoe here.


<translate> The two of them see the small conical shellfish here.


<translate> The man saw the smoke at camp.


<translate> We two, not you, see the mountain here.


<translate> A thing made by many hands together is strong, said the old man, like a family and like a camp.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: yamba mara wubulku ngaranmuny junkurr, yala jawunkarra, yala bayan.


<translate> Don't chase the dog near the fire, don't shout close to the sleeping baby, and don't run with the pointed stick in your hand — the old woman threw the three old no-words at the children like three quick spears, and then laughed: behind every one of them lies a mark, from me, from my mother, from her mother.

Kari kanga kaya baya ngundu, kari yirrkay ngawa ngundu wunanya, kari warri juku murru-ji maranga, wulbumanangka kuku-kari kulur yilban karrkay-karrkaynka yala kalka kulur warri, yalada yajarr-man: nyubun-nyubunba jina wunay, ngaykumuny, ngamumuny, babimuny.


<translate> You two see the posterior there.


<translate> The young men practised throwing their light spears at a soft bark target all morning.

Warru jana kalka buban warrur kima-ba mumal-mumal wunkuwingku wubulku.


<translate> The old man also cried for his dead wife, just like the others.

Mukul-dingkar yala-rrku nyungu manyarr wula-mu badil, bama yindu yala.


<glossary> baykal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> the dog bit the pig and held on


<translate> He sees the barramundi here.


<translate> You and I see the black snake here.


<translate> The child is afraid of the dog.


<glossary> wuljil ; type=adjective ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> They emptied out (the bee's nest) into the bucket


<translate> We put everything into the Toyota.


<translate> They saw the mangkurr-mangkurr garfish here.


<translate> We two (not you) saw the shield there.


<glossary> bajaybajay ; type=adjective ; domain=bodily-mental-state <usage_example> My body is sore after the fly


<translate> You two see the kurrkal shortcut here.


<translate> The old man's spear is harder and straighter than the young man's, for he chose the wood with care.

Mukul-dingkar-mu kalka jarra-dandi warru-mu-ka, nyulu juku ngulkurr milbin bunganka.


<translate> He saw the yirku-yirku frog here.


<translate> The old man taught the children to hide themselves well when danger came: Make yourself small, he said, be still as a stone, and let the danger pass you by.

Mukulungku dingkarangka karrkay-karrkay milbin ngaki-jinka ngulkurr yinil kadanya: Yundu-yundu buban-bunga, nyulu balkan, kulji yala janay, yinil yundunda bawa dungay.


<translate> Grandmother saw the saltwater crocodile in the water.


<translate> Father took water to the road.


<translate> You two see the archerfish here.


<translate> You and I see the stingray there.


<translate> In the morning, rain stopped.


<translate> If a strong wind comes, we will not go to the sea.

Kaki muyar junkurrji kaday, ngana jalun-ba kari dungay.


<translate> That little boy runs just like his own father, fast and light, with his head held high.

Warru buban warri yala nyungu nganjan, jinbal buban dukul wangkar-a.


<glossary> yirmbal ; type=noun ; domain=ceremony-magic-song <usage_example> The taboo (thing) grabs you and holds you


<translate> The man put his hand upon his chest, over his beating heart, and spoke the true words quietly.

Dingkar-angka mara damu-ba nanda, wubul-ba, kuku yukil janka balkan.


<translate> You see the dingki tree here.


<translate> Stay here with the old woman while I go and get the water.

Bunda yaluy wulbuman-ji, ngayu dunga-y bana mani-nka.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the flea there.


<translate> The old man wants to teach the boy the names of all the birds.

Mukul-dingkar karrkay binal-bunga-nka, nyungu buyi wubul-mu burri.


<translate> We all, not you, see the black cockatoo here.


<translate> Ashamed eyes look at feet; released eyes look at faces — help in the lifting of the head.

Miyil milka-murruji-ji nyajil jina, miyil bawanmuny-ji nyajil walu: mara-daji dukul wandi-bunganka.


<translate> Granny cooked three ways that day: she roasted yams in the coals, boiled fish in water, and baked meat in the ground oven.

Babingka kulur yala wajun yinya wungar: wukay dindan nulungu, kuyu nyaman bananga, minya wajun kurrmanga.


<translate> Turn around — look behind you!


<translate> We closed the house and then sat down. The next day we kept some food.

Ngana bayan nandan, bundan-da. Wunkuny ngana mayi kanbal kujil.


<translate> Get water from the top spring — it's clean.


<translate> The frog is sitting on the stone.


<translate> The little dog pestered the old woman for meat.

Kaya buban mukul-jalbu-nda minya-ka walngkurrijin.


<translate> They saw the ngumbi bandicoot here.


<translate> "How many days did you all walk through the scrub before you came to the big river country?"

Yurra wanjarrinya wungar jilban madja-burr, yurra wawubaja bubu yalbay-ka kada-nya kariku?


<translate> Respect the small teachers: the mosquito teaches the smoke, the big waja teaches the shade, and the sun teaches the water bag — the country runs a strict school.

Yulmbarri milbil-bama buban: kamubu kubu milbil, wajabu wabarr milbil, wungarbu bana-balji milbil: bubu school dandi karrbal.


<translate> The old woman said a grief with tears and a grief without them are both real, but they must be watched differently, for the mourner with tears is emptying the sorrow the way a body should, while the tearless mourner holds it locked inside where it can turn to sickness, so she sat closest of all to the ones who could not cry, and waited with them until the tears finally came.

Wulbumanangka balkan wawu-mumbu milbal-ji wawu-mumbu milbal-kari jambul ngadiku, yindu-yindu nyajinka, milbal-ji wawu-mumbu-bama nyulu wawu-mumbu buban-manil janka yala, yambada milbal-kari wawu-mumbu-bama nyulu karrbal jiba-nga wanja nyulu buyun-mundu murninya, nyulu bundan ngunduku bajaku jana kari badilmuny, bundan jananji dukul milbal ngadiku kadanya.


<lexeme> that's nonsense, take no notice


<translate> The old woman said a good marriage is not a fixed thing but a long slow changing of two people into a shape that fits together, for two who wed as separate young people, over many years of shared trouble and shared joy, slowly grind against each other like two stones in a river until each is worn to fit the other, and she said this is why the old people did not expect young couples to fit at once but trusted the slow changing that the years would do.

Wulbumanangka balkan dunyu-manil yukil nyulu kari yindu-kari yambada yindu buban-buban kalbay jambul bama nyubun-nyubunmuny jina nyubunku nyubunji murrbamuny, jambul dunyu-manin bama-warru yindu-yindu, wungar wubulku mumbu-yamba yajarr-yamba, buban-buban yurril nyubunji yala kulji jambul wawubajanga yalada nyubun-nyubun murrba-mal nyubunji, nyulu balkan yinya wanyurrinku bama mukul kari wawu-manin warru-dunyu murrba nyubunji ngadiku yambada kuku-junkurr-manin yindu buban-buban wungar nyulu murninmuny.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the karranda tree here.


<translate> Is there something moving quietly in the long grass over there, the child whispered fearfully, and the hunter went completely still and listened hard.

Junjuy yinya-ba jikan kalbay-mba janka mara-warri-nya? karrkay yararri-bu janka balkan, balbi-bama janjanay bajaku milka-janay junkurr.


<translate> Ask those two for the story; it lives only with those two.

Babaji bulanka kuku-jangkarka: nyulu bulanda janay nganga.


<translate> They see the kurrija octopus here.


<translate> The carpet snake is big but quiet, and it eats the rats around the camp.

Kungkun yalbay yambada janka, kukur nukal bayan kudamundu.


<translate> The white crane is standing at camp.


<translate> The old woman said the mother's brother, the uncle called kalnga, has special duties toward his sister's children that the father does not, for in the old way the uncle helped make a boy into a man, gave him some of his first weapons, spoke for him at his initiation, and had a say in his marriage, so that a boy grew up owing a particular respect and a particular closeness to his mother's brother.

Wulbumanangka balkan ngamu nyungu yaba, kalnga kunjal, nyungu yamba-yukil junkurr nyungu babarr nyungu karrkaynka nganjan nyulu kari karrbalmuny, ngadiku-kuku kalngangka buban dingkar-manil, nyungu kalka ngadiku dayal, nyungu-nka balkal bujur-warrilba, nyungu dunyu-manin kuku-manil, buban nyulu mukul-manda karrbal yulmbarril junkurr karra junkurr baja kalnga-nka.


<translate> Grandfather saw the white wattle.


<translate> The man got the stone and put it on the ground.

Dingkar-angka kulji manin, bubu-ngu yijarrin.


<lexeme> First bay south of Bloomfield River along coast


<translate> I see the forest kingfisher here.


<translate> The old woman knows every fruit tree in the country and when each one ripens.

Wulbuman binal mayi-juku wubul bubu-ngu, wanja-wanja nyubun-nyubun kulbul-mal.


<translate> The dog followed the children from behind.

Kaya-ngka karrkay-karrkay wukurrin kudamundu.


<lexeme> {'english': "He's well now after being sick", 'translation': 'Nyulu bambaymun ngulkurrda'}


<translate> The old man dreamed about his country.


<translate> You and I saw the torch there.


<translate> The child saw leaves on the tree.


<translate> He sees the small conical shellfish here.


<translate> The young cassowary is here.


<translate> Why are you crying? I am crying because my mother has died. And why did the old man come here? He came for food, for his own camp has none.

Wanyurringku yundu badil? Ngayu badil, ngayku ngamu wulan. Wanyurringku mukul-dingkar nyiku kadan? Nyulu mayi-nka kadan, nyungu bayan-ba mayi kari.


<translate> The two of them saw the star there.


<translate> The little bat flew out of the dark tree hollow at night and caught small insects over the water.

Mali buban juku ngungul dukurr-muny marra-warrin wujurr-ba, minya buban bana wangkar-wangkar manin.


<translate> They heard the sharp sound there.


<translate> You see the spear barb here.


<lexeme> {'english': 'I put out the food on the table', 'translation': 'Ngayu mayi wamban tablebu'}


<translate> They gathered light pumice stones from the beach to grind and smooth the wooden spears.

Jana jundi buban jukar-muny bangkan, kalka juku jinali-mani-nka.


<translate> Barking came; meanwhile the child slept.

Ngangkurr kadan, karrkay warngku wunan-kuda.


<translate> You all saw the mawu grass there.


<translate> When the sand crabs rise out of the sand at low tide the children chase them and put them in the paperbark.

Ngalngal jukar-muny dakan yira buban-ba, karrkay jana jirrku-mal, buyku-ngu wunan.


<translate> We see the sugar glider there.


<translate> He sees the kookaburra there.


<translate> Two women weaving side by side worked twice as fast as one, not because four hands are faster than two, but because each kept the other's spirits up through the long hours, and the talk made the work light.

Jalbu jambul nyubun-nyubun ngundu wukurrinya jambul-baja junkurr nyubunmuny, kari mara jambul-jambul warri mara jambulmuny, yambada nyubun-nyubun wawu wangkar karrban wungar kalbayka, balka-waybu kirraji buban-manin.


<translate> The old man said a fire is never refused to a traveller in the cold, not even to an enemy, for the night and the cold are older enemies than any quarrel between people, and to let a person freeze within sight of your flames when you could have shared them is a wrong so deep that the country itself would remember it against you.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: baya kariku bawal jilba-bamanka kiwaymba, kari bama-kunika baja, wujurr kiway-kiway ngadiku-kuni bama jambulmu kuni-waymuny, bama kiway-wulal nyungu wula nyajilba yundu daji-nyaku yinya mumbu bada bajaku bubu nyulu-nyulu milkal yundumuny.


<translate> Did you get the lawyer cane? Yes, I cut it in the scrub by the mangroves.

Yundu kaku manin? Yuwu, ngayu madjanga yakan kajulbu.


<translate> We two, not you, see the rat there.


<translate> That milbarakal tree is there.


<translate> The children were not afraid, because the old people told stories all through the storm, laughing at the thunder.

Karrkay-karrkay kari yinil, kamba-kambangka kuku balkan jarramali wubulku, jabulbinaka yajarrinya.


<translate> The old woman began to grind the hard seeds on the flat stone at first light, the old man said, and finished the whole heap only at midday.

Mukul-jalbu diburr junkurr kulji balbal-ba murni-nka yudal wunkuwingku-ba, mukul-dingkar balkan, narmba kunbayn wungar wangkar-wangkar-a nyubun-bu.


<translate> The old woman cooked the turtle slowly in the ground oven all through the night.

Wulbumangka yalnga waju kiray-baja bubu-ngu wujurr wubulku.


<translate> You see the kuralbi tree there.


<translate> The old man laughed at father.


<translate> We all, not you, saw the boomerang here.


<translate> Another young man was slow but careful, and by midday he had the most fish of all, laid out on the sand.

Warru yindu buban-buban yambada wunbu, wungar wangkar janan, nyulu kuyu wubul bajaku karrban, jukara yijarrin.


<translate> We, not you, saw the bayil jungle perch there.


<translate> You and I see the archerfish here.


<glossary> ngangkay ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> You will soon be surprised when I show you something

Yundu juma ngangkay, ngayu yunundu junjuy milbil


<translate> Mum is grinding the zamia nuts.


<translate> I see the juku-juku bronzewing dove there.


<translate> The queenfish is fast and strong and fights hard on the spear, the old man said, so hold the shaft tight or it will break away.

Balarri bila junkurr, kalka-ba kuli-ma-l bajaku, mukul-dingkar balkan, kalka junkurr karrba, kari nyulu dumbarri wanarri.


<translate> That house there is not huge.


<translate> You and I see the kalburiji bee there.


<translate> We see the julbal tree here.


<translate> The young man is like his father.


<translate> The rich old man had many dogs, two strong young sons, and a big camp full of food.

Yinya mukul-dingkar mani-ji, nyungu kaya wubul, warru junkurr-ji jambul, bayan yalbay mayi-jirr.


<translate> The cross-cousins are the right ones to marry, the old people say.

Kambanmu jana ngulkurr manyarr-bunga-nka, mukul-bama balkal.


<translate> The Leichhardt tree is there.


<translate> When it was finished, the men set the net across the mouth of the creek at low tide.

Makarr ngulkurrmanda, dingkar-dingkarangka makarr yijarrin wawubajanga, jalun dunganya.


<glossary> karangaji ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=hunting-fishing-gathering <usage_example> The man stalked the wallaby


<translate> So the old man gave the boy the whole shape of thinking: if you do this, that follows; do this lest that happen; perhaps it will, perhaps not — but always leave enough behind.

Yala mukul-dingkarangka karrkay-nka milka narmba daji: kaki yundu yala-ku, yinya kaday; yala-ku, yinya kada-nyji; nguba, nguba kari — yamba kanbal wuna-baja wubulku.


<translate> We see the ngiwa moray eel here.


<translate> Your dilly bag is torn — I'll make you a new one.

Yunu balji kadaban — ngayu jirakal balkal yununku.


<translate> The child was scolded by its own father because it had kicked the camp dog.

Karrkay nganjan nyungu-ndu murru-kanga-jin, kaya jabi-nya.


<translate> Grandmother roasted the wild yam.


<translate> You and I see the swamp here.


<translate> The old people came together from every country, walking many days to the big ceremony in the north.

Mukul-bama muru kadan bubu narmba-muny, wungar wubul jilban wungar yalbay kungkarr-ka.


<glossary> dalngarri ; type=noun ; domain=fire <usage_example> I have to go to the toilet


<translate> We, not you, saw the jalkay salmon there.


<translate> They saw the lightning there.


<translate> We see the kangaroo rat here.


<translate> The two of them saw the yalnga turtle here.


<translate> In the afternoon the shadows grow long, and the old man turns back towards the camp and the fire.

Wungar bada dunga-nya, ngungul kalbay-ma-l, mukul-dingkar bayan-ka baya-ka nyunban.


<translate> They saw the grey March fly here.


<translate> The sand goanna digs in the soft ground and eats the eggs and the small lizards.

Jadi bubu kima-nga bakan, bajuy buban nukal.


<translate> I will show the house to my friend.


<translate> You and I saw the jumul-jumul grass seeds there.


<translate> The two of them see the dove there.


<translate> I saw the bujil-yiran ibis here.


<translate> You and I saw the jimu grasshopper there.


<translate> The old woman said the bloodwood gives more than honey and shade: its red sap dries into a hard gum that seals a leaking canoe, glues a spearhead, and makes a strong medicine for a mouth-sore, so she gathered the sap in the season it flowed and stored it in a little bark cup, and it was one of the most valued small things a family kept.

Wulbumanangka balkan babajaka dayal ngulkurr-baja wunba wabarrmuny: nyungu mula-jurrbil kiway-manda junkurr-yikari nyulu marrakan bana-mundu karra, kalka-murru karra, ngandal-buyun kalbal junkurr baja, nyulu jurrbu bangkan wungar nyulu dungay-mba warrur-jibarrba karrban, nyulu yamba yukil bajaku buban jawun-karra karrbanmuny.


<translate> The two of them see the kaya-kaya dogs here.


<translate> Which one is your house — the big one near the water, or the small one up on the ridge?

Wanjinya yunu bayan? Yalbay bana ngundu, yamba buban wangkar-a?


<translate> I see the marubu species of oyster here.


<translate> In the late afternoon, wind came from the sea.


<translate> The men burned the grass in the cold season.

Dingkar-dingkarangka jikan wajun buluriji.


<translate> You all see the mirrbangku pencil cedar tree there.


<translate> You two saw the kujuway pigeon there.


<glossary> wuban ; type=adjective ; domain=physical-property <usage_example> pulled with all our strength


<translate> You all see the water there.


<translate> He saw the ngarkay waterhen here.


<translate> You children go and get water.


<translate> They saw the jalbil lizard there.


<glossary> kunil ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> He hit the dog with a stick


<translate> Mother left clothes in the shade.


<translate> I go to the old man sitting there.

Ngayu wulman-anda dungay, yinyay bundanda-nya.


<translate> On the shore the old man lit a great fire and kept it burning, so the young men could see it and come home through the storm.

Jalun ngundu mukulungku dingkarangka baya yalbay ngaran, kujin wajunya, warru-warru baya nyajinka, bayanba kadanka jarramalimuny.


<translate> We, not you, saw the jiwurrmal pheasant cuckoo there.


<translate> You two see the kawarr bloodwood tree there.


<translate> The road is narrower than the open ground.


<translate> The ground pigeon feeds quietly among the fallen leaves under the shady trees.

Munungkul birra dara-nya-nga nuka-l, juku bada wabarr-ba.


<translate> They see the murrkul tree here.


<translate> When the wattle flowered along the river, the people knew the cold season was ending and the fish were coming back.

Nganka wandinya wawubaja ngundu, bama binal buluriji dunganya, kuyu kadanya baja.


<translate> You two see the bujabay tree here.


<translate> The mother asked: How many fish did you catch, and who carried them all the way back to the camp?

Ngamungka babajin: Yurra kuyu wanjarrinya manin, wanyangka jana wundin bayanka kalbaymuny?


<translate> In the evening the sun goes down into the sea, and the cool night comes over the quiet camp.

Wujurr-ma-nya wungar jalun-ka bada dungan, ngiki wujurr kaday bayan janka-nga.


<translate> So the children grew up giving and helping and teaching each other, and they carried that way of living to their own children after them.

Yalaku karrkay-karrkay kambaman daji-wanya, mara-daji-wanya, milbi-wanya, jana yinya yala bundaymu wundin nyungu karrkay-karrkayka kudamundu.


<translate> The tall tree with sweet fruit and white flowers stood beside the deep, still waterhole.

Juku kalbay mayi jiba-wulay-jirr, nganka balbal-jirr, janay janku dajali karangkal.


<translate> We all, not you, saw the bamboo stick there.


<translate> He called to the others and they paddled hard toward the light, following the fire through the wind and the waves.

Nyulu yindu-yindu yirrkan, jana birungubaybu junkurrku dungan baya maku, wukurrin baya muyarmuny mulngkumuny.


<translate> The eel is long and strong and hard to hold, so the old man spears it against the bottom of the hole.

Mawul kalbay yaykarr, karrbal dandi, mukul-dingkarangka yinba-bu daman bana-jina-nga.


<translate> The stingray is in the water.


<glossary> nganya-burra ; type=adjective ; domain=ceremony-magic-song <usage_example> That man is on trial


<translate> The dog bit mother's stomach.


<translate> The brolgas dance together on the open floodplain at the end of the wet season, the old woman said, rising and bowing and spreading their great wings.

Kulbal muru jurbu bubu ngalkal jalungkarr-mu-ba kaba-wungar kunbayn-nya, mukul-jalbu balkan, jana wandi bada-ma-l, nangki yalbay ngalkal-ma-l.


<translate> The stars are out — time to sleep, little ones.

Dawar wubul — warngku wunay, ngawa-ngawa!


<translate> You all see the kambar white clay there.


<translate> The husband does not drink alcohol so that his wife is happy.

Dunyu-ngku kamukamu kari nuka-l, manyarr wawurrwawurr-ma-nka.


<translate> The children learned the dance today.

Nyiku karrkay-karrkay binalman warrmaka.


<translate> He saw the wankar tree here.


<translate> They saw the bloodwood tree.


<translate> You all see the spring there.


<translate> You all see the marrka calm sea there.


<translate> The old woman said if you would test a friendship before you trust it with something large, trust it first with something small and see whether it is carried carefully, for a person who is careless with a small trust will not suddenly become careful with a large one, and the small test spares you the large betrayal.

Wulbumanangka balkan: kaki yundu jawun nyaji ngadiku yundu yamba yalbay wawu-karrbalka, yamba buban ngadiku wawu-karrba nyaji nyulu ngulkurr jarrakulbal, bama nyulu binal-kari yamba buban wawu-karrbanmuny nyulu kariku yabarrka binal yamba yalbaybu, buban nyajil yundu yalbay warmbilmuny bawal.


<translate> When you eat the sweet turtle fat, it warms your whole body on the cold, cold night.

Yundu ngawiya wandul jiba-wulay nuka-nya, nyulu yunu bangkarr wubulku wumbul-bunga-l, wujurr ngiki-ba.


<translate> The snake is on the open ground.


<translate> I see the marsupial native cat there.


<translate> They saw the wuba red ochre there.


<translate> He wanted to eat the sweet fruit, but it was still up too high for him to reach.

Nyulu wawu mayi jilanji nuka-nka, kari wangkar-a-baja, nyulu kari mani.


<translate> They two saw the bamboo spear stick there.


<translate> This is your mother, she said, ngamu, the one who carried you and fed you; and this is your father, nganjan, the one who hunts for you and will teach you the country.

Yinya yundu ngamu, nyulu balkan, ngamu, nyulu yundu wundinmuny nukamaninmuny; yinya yundu nganjan, nganjan, nyulu yunduka balbil, bubu yundu milbil.


<translate> The two of them saw the running water there.


<glossary> jarrngkurr ; type=noun ; domain=weapon <usage_example> He hit the man with his weapon


<translate> The two of them saw the makarra streaky yellow ochre here.


<translate> The child sees the wild plum.


<translate> The golden whistler is there.


<translate> A quick hand catches one fish, said the old man, but a patient hand fills the whole camp's bags.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: mara jinbal kuyu nyubun karrbal, yambada mara wunbu bayan wubulku balji mumbal.


<translate> The man put the stick on grandfather's back.

Dingkar-angka juku yijarrin kami-nda muku-ngu.


<translate> The night bird called and the dogs howled back.

Ngurrku yirrkan, kaya-kaya yirrkan baja.


<translate> The woman saw the shark in the water.


<translate> When the dogs chased the kangaroo, it ran fast toward the deep water.

Kaya-ngka mayarriji kangan-nya, nyulu warri bila bana-dukurr-ka.


<translate> They two saw the spear barb here.


<translate> Burn some ironwood tonight, the old man ordered, lest the thunderstorm come, and take the dry grass away from around the camp lest a small fire walk through it in the dark, for if you act first, the big fire never comes.

Jujubala waju wujurrba, mukulungku dingkarangka balkan, jarramali kadanyji, jikan bana-kari mana bayan ngundumuny, baya-buban jilbanyji wujurrburr, kaki yundu murnil ngadiku, baya yalbay kariku kaday.


<translate> You two see the karrandal tree here.


<translate> We see the dulmbi umbrella palm there.


<translate> We see the ngurrkul fig tree there.


<translate> We see the karraway snail there.


<translate> You and I see the bujabay tree here.


<translate> He shaped a new axe handle from hard wood and bound the stone head to it with vine.

Nyulu waymbil kimil jirakal ngaran juku junkurrmuny, kulji dukul kajan kalalbu.


<translate> The two of them saw the kungkun snake there.


<translate> One year the wet season rains came harder and longer than anyone could remember, and the river rose higher every day.

Nyubun wungara buluriji kaba kadan junkurr kalbay bama binalmuny, wawubaja wangkar wandin wungar wubulku.


<translate> The two children ran on their little bare feet across the warm sand towards the wide blue sea.

Karrkay-karrkay jambul warrin jina buban-ba jukar wumbul-burr jalun yalbay-ka.


<translate> That very strong man lifted the big fat pig right up onto the high fork of the tree.

Dingkar-angka junkurr-ji-baja-ngka-ku bikibiki yalbay kulban juku dakil wangkar-a.


<translate> We all, not you, see the bamboo stick there.


<translate> You all saw the kukur rat there.


<translate> The two of them saw the yuray snake here.


<translate> The old man said: a weapon is not for anger; the spear feeds the family, the axe builds the camp, the digging stick finds the yam — hold your weapons for life, not for killing your own people.

Mukul-dingkarangka balkan: jarrngkurr kari kuli-nka; kalka-ngku bama mayi dayal, warrbi-bu bayan ngaral, karrkany-ju banjay manil; yurra jarrngkurr wawu-nka karrba, kari yurranga bama kuni-nka.


<translate> I see the seashell headband here.


<translate> The old woman stayed at the camp.


<translate> You and I see the dikirr waterlily there.


<translate> The old woman saw the bone in the bag.

Mukul-jalbu-ngku bajibay balji-nga nyajin.


<translate> Do you know how to find good water out in the dry country, the old man asked the boy, testing carefully all that the child had learned so far.

Yundu binal bana ngulkurr mani-nka bubu marral-ba? mukul-dingkar-angka karrkay nyajin, karrkay-mu binalman narmba nyaji-nyaji.


<translate> There were more fish than the people could eat, so the women split them and dried them in the sun.

Kuyu wubul bajaku, jana murruji nukal wubulku, jalbu-jalbungku kuyu yakan, wungara marralmanka.


<translate> The old man remembers the hot season when his mother's father died, long ago in this same country.

Mukul-dingkar binal wungar-iji-mu, nyungu ngaji wungar-iji wulan kalbay-muny bubu yinya-ba.


<translate> The stringybark tree is there.


<translate> We see the karrandal tree there.


<glossary> wawu-daki ; type=adverb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> He wants to live alone


<lexeme> First bay south of Bloomfield River along coast


<translate> The tea tree grows thick beside the swamp, and we take its long peeling bark for many things.

Bijin daburri karangkal junkurr janay, ngana nyungu warrur kalbay mani-l yamba wubulku-ka.


<translate> We see the black bean tree here.


<translate> The old woman said the duties between kin were as real and binding as any law: a mother owed her child food and teaching, a child owed the parents care in their old age, an uncle owed his nephews a share in making them men, cross-cousins owed each other help and laughter, and to fail in a kin-duty was a serious wrong, watched by the whole family and long remembered.

Wulbumanangka balkan yamba-yukil karra-nga nyulu ngadiku junkurr kuku wubulmuny: ngamu nyungu karrkay mayi milbil dayal, karrkay nyungu ngamu-nganjan mukul-yukil dayal jana mukul-mandanya, kalnga nyungu jija-warra dingkar-manilba junkurr dayal, kambanmu nyubunji wawu-manil yajarr baja, karra-yamba kaka-manda nyulu mumbu junkurr, jawun-karra wubulku nyajil wungar kalbay milka-manil.


<translate> I saw the bujabay tree there.


<translate> The children cracked the nuts open on a flat stone by the fire.

Karrkay darka dumbarrin kulji-nga baya karangkal.


<translate> He sees the tree kangaroo there.


<translate> You all saw the jabil lizard here.


<translate> This fish is big and good; we will cook it in the hot ashes tonight.

Yanyu kuyu yalbay ngulkurr; ngana nulu wumbul-a waju-l wujurr-ba.


<lexeme> want something but can't get it


<translate> The echidna dug quickly into the hard ground with its strong claws when the dogs came near.

Ngangkin bubu junkurr-ka buyun-buyun bakan mara junkurr-bu, kaya ngundu kada-nya.


<translate> The two of them saw the small sticks here.


<translate> We see the mirrku kidney bird here.


<translate> You and I see the kawarr bloodwood tree there.


<glossary> nyandal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> He chopped firewood for me


<translate> They saw the native cat here.


<translate> If you are tired, said the mother, then lie down and rest, for a tired hunter catches nothing and only frightens the game.

Kaki yurra baja-burray, ngamungka karrkay-karrkayka balkan, yurra bada wunay, mara-kunbay, balbibama baja-burray kari yamba manil, minya yinyil-kangal nganga.


<translate> When they came out of the water, the mother dried the children with soft paperbark, and their skin was cool and clean and their eyes bright.

Jana banamuny badinda, ngamungka karrkay-karrkay marralbungan buyku bubanbu, jana bangkarr kiway dayirr, miyil balbajinya.


<translate> The chicken hawk hangs high and still in the wind, the old man said, then drops like a stone on the little bird in the grass.

Jinabiju karrkan-ba janka bunda muyar-a, mukul-dingkar balkan, yinyamun nangki mudu-ma-l, kulji yala bada daray buyi buban jikan-ba.


<glossary> dakal ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=motion-travel <usage_example> he got on the truck


<translate> Later that day, in the heat, a whirlwind spun across the dry flat, lifting dust and dead leaves high into the still air.

Yilay-yilay wungar wumbulba, jukar-warra bubu marralba jalaman, jukar birra wulan wangkar wandin muyar jananga.


<translate> The children ran across the wide sand to the water, laughing and calling to one another.

Karrkay-karrkay naka-naka wanarrin jukar kalbay-burr bana-ka, yajarri-l yirrka-wa.


<translate> From the top you can see the whole country.


<glossary> kala-jalamal ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=motion-travel <usage_example> He jumped over (the mud) on the rocks


<translate> The man without a dog found no pigs at all, and came home with an empty dilly bag.

Dingkar kaya-kari-ngka bikibiki kari nyajin, bayan-ka kadan ngunyin mayi-kari.


<translate> The man saw the spear on the road.


<translate> The pair of little girls, sisters always side by side, sang the old song together softly.

Maral-bulal muru balkan kuku mukul, bula wungar wubulku muru janka.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the mountain here.


<translate> The women are scraping the yams clean.


<translate> The clear morning sky is bright and blue, with not one small cloud anywhere.

Jiri wunkuwingku balbal ngulkurr, kaba-jiri nyubun kari wanja.


<translate> My husband's brother is my brother-in-law; he helps me carry the heavy loads, and I cook for him when my husband is away hunting.

Ngayku dunyu-mu yaba ngayku banji; nyulu nganya mara-dajil wubul junkurr, ngayu nyulu wajul dunyu balbi dunga-nya.


<translate> From the rain, the water rose.


<translate> The two of them see the wankar tree here.


<translate> We, not you, saw the kulmba-kulmba gecko there.


<translate> The old woman kept the string, the small dilly bags, and the hard stones all in her big carrying bag.

Mukul-jalbu-ngku karra, ngunyin buban, kulji junkurr narmba balji yalbay-mba nanda.


<translate> You two see the bamboo spear stick there.


<translate> The young man saw the mountain.


<translate> We see the scrub goanna here.


<translate> You two see the small sticks here.


<translate> In the late afternoon the friend came.


<translate> When the canoe was finished, they carried it to the water, and it sat well and true on the river.

Marrakan ngulkurrmanda, jana wundin bananga, marrakan wawubajanga ngulkurr bundandan.


<translate> Who came? A stranger came. Who speared the fish? The old man speared it, and he shared it with everyone.

Wanya kadan? Bama yindu kadan. Wanyangka kuyu daman? Mukul-dingkarangka daman, nyulu bama wubul-ku daji-way.


<translate> We all, not you, see the sugar glider here.


<translate> Grandmother laughed at grandfather.


<translate> The old man was glad; a camp that watches the weather and prepares is never caught out by the rain.

Mukul dingkar wawu-mini; bayan nyulu wungar nyajil, ngulkurr-bungal, kababu kari karrbal yabarrka.


<glossary> kala-balal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> Try out the log (to see if it will hold you)


<translate> The young man asked father about water.


<translate> You and I saw the mawul freshwater eel here.


<glossary> mala-yirrkay ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=speech-communication <usage_example> He was sorry and owned up


<translate> I thought I broke the spear, but the dog broke the spear.

Balu ngayu kalka dumbarrin, kari kaya-ngka kalka dumbarrin.


<translate> The branch broke off in the storm.


<translate> The dog bit the woman's neck.


<translate> The zamia nut was the hardest food of all to make safe, and it took the women three whole days of soaking and pounding and washing to take the danger out.

Barka mayi junkurr bajaku ngulkurr-manka, jalbu-jalbungka wungar kulur kalbay bananga yijarrin, dudan, julurril, yinil kudamundu manin.


<translate> I saw the yuray snake there.


<translate> The children learned to know their own bodies — to feel when they were getting sick, too tired, hungry or cold — and to meet those needs before they grew into trouble.

Karrkay-karrkayangka binalman nyungu bangkarr binalka: jana milkabu nyajil bambaymananya, baja-burranya, dakwuynya kiwaynya, yinya wawu ngulkurr-bunganka yamba yalbaymanyjiku.


<translate> You all see the valley there.


<translate> The two of them saw the karrmbil parakeet here.


<translate> The children asked the old man what was the single most important precaution of all, and he thought a long time and said: Never let your want for a thing blind you to the cost of getting it.

Karrkay-karrkayangka mukul dingkar babajin wanya nyaji-ngarr nyubun dandi bajaku wubulmuny, nyulu milka-bu baykan kalbay, balkan: Kari yundu yamba wawubu yundu yamba-nka dandika milka-kari-mani.


<translate> You two see the mulawajarr star here.


<glossary> bala ; type=adjective ; domain=physical-property <usage_example> You became skinny from not having enough food


<glossary> kuku yaral ; type=noun ; domain=speech-communication <usage_example> You go straighten him out / tell him straight


<translate> The tree roots are down below.


<translate> Grandad cut paperbark from the tree.


<translate> We all, not you, see the sandfly there.


<translate> He saw the spear point there.


<translate> You two saw the jadi goanna here.


<lexeme> that's nonsense, take no notice


<translate> We, not you, saw the jandu starch there.


<translate> The child does not want the bitter root; she wants the sweet ripe fruit and the cool clear water.

Karrkay wukay buyun-ka kari wawu; nyulu mayi kulbul jiba-wulay-ka bana ngiki-ka wawu.


<translate> The man cried out to the young man: "The dog came!"

Dingkar warru-nda yirrkan: "Kaya kadan!"


<translate> The little children love the sweet white witchetty grubs, eaten raw or roasted in the coals.

Karrkay-karrkay wawu mujurr jiba-wulay nuka-nka, kayal baja baya-nga wajun-nya baja.


<lexeme> The Daintree side of Rocky Point


<translate> The old woman knew every creeping and crawling thing in the country and its right name too.

Mukul-jalbu-ngka minya wubul mara-warri-nya bubu-ngu binal, nyungu kuku ngulkurr baja.


<translate> They should have made peace with the neighbouring people while the quarrel was still only words, the old man said, but pride on both sides let it harden into spears, and by the time the elders wanted peace too many had died on each side, and grief demanded more grief, and it took three generations for the killing to stop.

Jana wunbu-wan-nyaku bama ngundunji dukul-yamba kuku nganga janay-mba, mukulungku dingkarangka balkan, yambada wawu-yalbay jambul-mandanga nyulu kalka-manda bawan, mukul wunbu wawunya wubul-baja jambulmu wulan, walu-jirrbu-jirrbu walu-jirrbu-jirrbu babajin, wungar kulurmu kuni-way dumbanmu.


<translate> We heard the tree fall in the scrub.


<translate> The children carried these teachings, and though they still felt jealousy and anger and fear and grief all their lives, they had learned that feelings are weather, not climate: they pass, if you let them.

Karrkay-karrkayangka yinya kuku wundin, jana ngujan dukul-wuri yinil jiba-badi milka-binalku wawu wubulku, yambada jana binalman wawu yala wungar, kari bubu: nyulu dungay, kaki yundu bawal.


<translate> The man pushed the big stone and set it up.

Dingkar-angka kulji yalbay jurrngan, yijarrin.


<translate> You two saw the bakay snake here.


<glossary> kala-balal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> Try out the log (to see if it will hold you)


<translate> The girl watched the old women grinding the seeds on the flat stones, the old man said, learning the whole way of it with her eyes.

Jalbu-ngku mukul-jalbu-jalbu nyaji-l-nyaji-n, diburr murni-l-murni-nya kulji balbal-ba, mukul-dingkar balkan, narmba yalaku miyil-bu binalman.


<translate> The liver lay on the ground.


<translate> The children learned to work as one body: the strong ones carried, the quick ones fetched, the clever ones planned, the small ones ran messages, and even the very old had a task, for a people that wastes no one wants for nothing.

Karrkay-karrkayangka binalman nyubun bangkarr yala kirrajinka: junkurr jana jarrakulban, warri jana manin, binal jana ngaran, buban jana kuku wundin, mukul bajaku baja nyungu kirraji, bama nyulu bama nyubun kari kilbamanil kari yamba wawu.


<translate> My grandmother knows every shellfish on this beach by its shell alone.

Ngayku babingka mukirr wubul binal yanyu jukar-a, nyungu milbar-bu nyubun.


<translate> The dog licked grandmother's face.


<glossary> junkurr-murubuku ; type=adverb ; domain=manner <usage_example> He talked earnestly


<translate> The children asked the old woman a hundred where-questions on the long walk: where does the river start, where do the birds sleep, where is the edge of the country, where does the sky touch the ground, where did the old people first come from; and she answered the ones with answers and, for the ones without, she said honestly that these were the questions the whole people had been asking since the beginning.

Karrkay-karrkay wulbuman babajin wanja-kuku wubul baral kalbay-mba: wanja wawubaja ngadiku, wanja buyi wunay, wanja bubu-kunbayn, wanja jiri bubu kajal, wanjamuny bama mukul ngadiku bajaku kadan; nyulu kuku-yukil-manin kuku-yukil-jimuny, kuku-yukil-karimuny, nyulu balkan yukil kuku yinya bama wubulku babajinmuny ngadiku-mundu.


<translate> If you happen to see mangoes, take them.


<translate> We two (not you) saw the mackerel sky there.


<translate> You see the scrub tree here.


<translate> The old man taught the boys: the honey bees live in a hollow tree; watch which way they fly at sundown, follow them, and you will find the honey.

Mukul-dingkarangka warru-warru binalbungan: dabu jukungu wunan, yundu nyaji wanjaburr jana dungay wungar bada-nya, jana wukurri, yundu wunba nyajinka.


<translate> They saw the fighting spear there.


<glossary> kinbal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=speech-communication <usage_example> You got his attention to show him


<translate> We two sing it once together, and then you sing it alone.

Ngali badi nyubunbu, yalada yundu badi nyubunji.


<glossary> nyangarril ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> Pour the tea into the pannikin


<translate> We two, not you, saw the ngarkay waterhen here.


<glossary> yurru-janjil ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=motion-travel <usage_example> The mud sucked the legs down


<translate> Right hand for the spear, left hand for the shade — both employed, neither jealous.

Jurrubiji kalkanka, jakuji wabarrka: jambul murni-ji, ngujan-kari.


<translate> He saw the durra caterpillar here.


<translate> We all, not you, see the swamp here.


<translate> We two, not you, see the jingajalka tree there.


<translate> We came to a good camping place by the creek in the late afternoon, cleared the ground, cut poles and set up a bark shelter, gathered firewood and lit a fire, cooked the fish we had caught on the way, ate well, and then lay down and slept.

Ngana bubu ngulkurr bana ngunduku kadan kunarangkal ngadiku, bubu karra, juku dakan bayan-wawun jajirrin, juku-baya bangkan baya wandiman, kuyu ngana baralba maninmu wajun, ngulkurr nukan, yalada wunan-da.


<translate> You and I see the munungkul ground pigeon there.


<translate> I took the wrong spear by mistake and left my own good one back at the camp.

Ngayu kalka yindu kanban manin, ngayku ngulkurr bayan-ba bawan.


<translate> The man saw the child's ear.


<translate> You and I set these stones; when we two are gone they will keep saying we-two-you-and-me to the river.

Yundu ngayu kulji yanya yijarrin: ngaliny dunganya, kuljibu 'ngaliny' balkal yabarrka wawubajanka.


<translate> The wild plums are ripe now; the children climb the tree to pick them.

Junda kulbul niji; karrkay-karrkay juku-ngu dakan, junda mani-nka.


<translate> You all see the nyirribulu appendix there.


<translate> You two see the kalu garfish here.


<translate> They saw the exposed place here.


<translate> The house there is not huge.


<translate> They saw the freshwater eel in the water.


<translate> We all, not you, see the liver here.


<translate> You two see the nakawarra bee here.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the bilu-warra spoonbill here.


<translate> One cold morning a thick white fog lay over the whole river valley, so the children could not see the humpy next to their own.

Nyubun wunkuwingku kiway ngurrbal kalbay bubu wubulku wuyar dungay, karrkay-karrkay murruji wurun ngundu nyajil.


<translate> The hunter followed the tracks far inland, away from the sea and up into the hills.

Balbi-bama jina wukurri-l jibarr kalbay-ka, jalun-muny wangkar manjal-ka.


<translate> Grandfather saw the stingray in the water.


<translate> The child threw some onto the ground.


<translate> You and I saw the bilbil-bilbil gecko here.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the murma wasp here.


<translate> News travels fastest when it is nobody's business — keep your name out of other people's stories.

Kuku warril warri bajaku kaki nyulu bama-karimuny murni: karrba burri yunu ngalkalba kuku-jangkarmuny bamamuny yindumuny.


<translate> You and I see the flames there.


<translate> The two got fruit from the tree.


<glossary> wurril ; type=adverb ; domain=manner <usage_example> Don't sit on the edge of the boat, sit right

Yundu wurril kari bunday boatbu. Junkayku bunday.


<translate> That many-pronged fish spear is here.


<translate> The two of them saw the waterfall there.


<translate> I got the knife from the bag.


<translate> The old man turned slowly towards the children and told them to sit down quietly by the fire.

Mukul-dingkar jurrkin buban-buban karrkay-karrkay-ka, balkan jana bundal janka baya ngundu.


<translate> You all see the perch there.


<translate> That country over the range is quite different from my own, the old man said — different trees, different birds, and different talk.

Bubu yinya jamba kudamundu kari yala bubu ngayku, mukul-dingkar balkan — juku yindu, buyi yindu, kuku yindu.


<translate> If you are hungry, why did you not eat? I was waiting for you, so that we could eat together.

Kaki yundu dakwuy, yundu kari nukan? Ngayu yundunka bundan, ngali muru nukanka.


<translate> As a small child I used to eat kangaroo and echidna that my old grandfather hunted for us.

Ngayu karrkay-nyja-ku minya mayarriji ngangkin nuka-l-nuka-n, ngayku kami-ngku balbi-nya.


<translate> They saw the stony crossing here.


<translate> The dog saw the snake under the tree.

Kaya-ngka jarba nyajin badabada juku-ngu.


<translate> Her little child is rather small, but he is already very strong and very quick indeed.

Nyungu karrkay jarra-buban, yamba nyulu junkurr-baja-ku jinbal-baja-ku niji.


<translate> The freshwater crocodile is there.


<lexeme> sharp corner in the upper reaches of Daintree River


<translate> If a brown snake bites you on the leg, the old woman said, tie the leg tight above the bite at once and sit very still and do not run.

Kaki jinkalmu yundu jina baykal, mukul-jalbu balkan, jina junkurr kaja baykal-nya wangkar-a nyiku-nyiku, janka bajaku bunda, baluda wanarri.


<translate> You saw the kalkamuku snake here.


<translate> The old man threw the curved boomerang and it flew out far and came spinning back.

Mukul-dingkar-angka wangal mumal, nyulu kalbay dungan kada-ny-baja.


<translate> The old woman carried the sleeping child on her back down to the water.

Wulbumanangka karrkay wuna-nya muku-ngu wundin bada bana-ka.


<translate> The breadfruit is big and heavy, and one tree feeds the whole camp.

Burrin-burrin yalbay kulngkul, juku nyubun bayan wubul daji-l.


<translate> Far away to the north the land is flat and dry, but here it is green and steep.

Kala-kalbay kungkarr-a bubu jirakal marral, yamba yaluy jikan-jikan jarra-jarra.


<translate> The young man killed the vicious snake.


<translate> You all saw the bamboo stick there.


<translate> The children carried the grandmother's teaching all their lives, and when they in turn became grandparents, they sat their own grandchildren beside them and taught the names of all their relatives, one by one, exactly as it had always been done.

Karrkay-karrkayangka babingkamu milbil wundin wawu wubulku, jana baja babi kami-mandanya, jana nyungu jija nyungu ngundu bundaman, nyungu jawun-karra wubulku burri milbin, nyubun-nyubun, yala yabarrka ngaranmuny.


<translate> Grandfather saw the grass in the shade.


<translate> The young man kept standing at the edge of the camp, watching the track, for his brother had said he would come back today.

Warru janjanay bayan wangkar-a, jina nyaji-nyaji, nyungu yaba balkan nyulu kaday-baja niji.


<translate> If he has a cough, he breaks up green ants and eats them.

Kaki nyulu ngiki-ji, nyulu yangka dumbarril, nukal.


<translate> Father said to the young man: "Go to the house!"

Nganjan-angka warru-nda balkan: "Bayan-ba dunga-y!"


<translate> We two, not you, see the bikarrakal fruit here.


<translate> The men hunted the kangaroo in the thick dark scrub on the steep mountain side.

Dingkar-angka mayarriji madja junkurr wujurr manjal-ba balbin.


<translate> I see the karraway snail here.


<translate> When the moon is bright, the children play late into the night down by the water.

Kija balbal-ba, karrkay-karrkay kunarangkal-baja kinka-l bana karangkal.


<translate> They saw the yalnga turtle here.


<glossary> narmba ; type=adjective ; domain=quantity-number <usage_example> All the people came


<translate> You see the spear point there.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the bujil-yiran ibis there.


<translate> The children asked the old woman a hundred where-questions on the long walk: where does the river start, where do the birds sleep, where is the edge of the country, where does the sky touch the ground, where did the old people first come from; and she answered the ones with answers and, for the ones without, she said honestly that these were the questions the whole people had been asking since the beginning.

Karrkay-karrkay wulbuman babajin wanja-kuku wubul baral kalbay-mba: wanja wawubaja ngadiku, wanja buyi wunay, wanja bubu-kunbayn, wanja jiri bubu kajal, wanjamuny bama mukul ngadiku bajaku kadan; nyulu kuku-yukil-manin kuku-yukil-jimuny, kuku-yukil-karimuny, nyulu balkan yukil kuku yinya bama wubulku babajinmuny ngadiku-mundu.


<glossary> walku ; type=adverb ; domain=motion-travel <usage_example> I went right past the house


<translate> Suddenly the kingfisher dived straight down into the water and caught a small fish.

Dabuy jinbal-baja bana-ka bada dungan, kuyu buban karrban.


<translate> The kangaroo ran from the hunter, through the long grass, and down to the deep waterhole.

Mayarriji balbi-bama-muny wanarrin, jikan kalbay-burr, bada janku dajali-ka.


<translate> The old man killed the black snake near the camp with a heavy digging stick.

Mukul-dingkar-angka bindimu bayan ngundu kunin, juku junkurr-bu.


<translate> You all see the dalkari bladder there.


<translate> The man saw me by the fire in the dark, but I did not see that man at all.

Dingkar-angka nganya nyajin baya ngundu ngungul-ba, yamba ngayu yinya dingkar kari nyajin.


<translate> You two saw the deep water here.


<translate> Mother cooked boneless meat.


<translate> One young man was quick but careless, and his line broke and his fish got away into the deep water.

Warru nyubun jinbal yambada wunbu-kari, nyungu badur dumbarrin, nyungu kuyu warrin bana badaka.


<glossary> balbay ; type=noun ; domain=sky-weather <usage_example> Lighting might strike


<translate> The old man said the fastest way and the best way are often not the same, and a wise person learns to tell the difference and to choose the best.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: yala junkurr bajaku, yala ngulkurr bajaku, yabarrka kari nyubun, bama binal binalmal jambulku murninka, ngulkurr maninka.


<translate> You all see the kalmnbagarr diver bird there.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the diwalngku bird there.


<translate> The old man taught the boy to feel for the buried cockles with his toes in the wet sand as the tide went out at dusk.

Mukul-dingkarangka karrkay balkan: darkay jukar-a wawan-nya jina-bu nyaji, bana jukar duna-ba, yira dunga wujurr-ma-nya.


<translate> The children filled two dilly-bags with oysters and mudcrabs and small fish, and the whole camp ate well from the reef that night.

Karrkay-karrkay ngunyin jambul julul kiju kuyu jirril-jirr warmba, bayan narmba dulngku-muny ngulkurr nuka wujurr yinya-ba.


<translate> You two saw the kujuway pigeon there.


<translate> The old man kept watching the sky and watching the sea all morning, and only when the wind kept turning did he say a big storm was coming.

Mukul-dingkar jiri nyaji-nyaji jalun nyaji-nyaji wunkuwingku wubulku, muyar jurrki-jurrki-ba nyulu balkan jarramali yalbay kaday.


<translate> The sick child got better after granny's remedy.

Karrkay bambay ngulkurrman wawu-kalbalmuny.


<translate> The baggy clothing is there.


<translate> The old people stayed up there.


<translate> The woman came from the scrub.


<translate> Give it to those two; they asked first.

Daya bulanka, bula babajin ngadiku-ngurr.


<glossary> bubu ; type=noun ; domain=land-geography <usage_example> his country is Shipton's Flats


<translate> We all, not you, see the death adder here.


<translate> You and I see the thigh here.


<translate> You two saw the bayil jungle perch here.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the jayju kangaroo rat here.


<translate> The family moved camp to the coast when the wet season came.

Jawun-karra jurrki-ji jalun-ka, bana-wungar kada-nya.


<translate> You all saw the sandfly there.


<translate> We saw the ngurrkul fig tree here.


<translate> They see the mukukanka tree here.


<translate> You see the grass tree here.


<translate> Do you want to eat this sweet honey now, or are you not hungry yet? — Yes, give it to me!

Yundu wawu wunba jiba-wulay niji nuka-nka, yamba yundu dakwuy kari? Yuwu, nganya daji!


<translate> The old woman kept lying awake the whole night, listening, because the wind kept moving in the trees like a person walking.

Mukul-jalbu wunanay wujurr wubulku, milka-janay, muyar jurrki-jurrki juku-ba yala bama jilba-nya.


<translate> The two of them see the sugar glider here.


<translate> We two (not you) see the bamboo stick here.


<translate> You all saw the kalngkan small mullet here.


<glossary> balkal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=speech-communication <usage_example> I already told you


<translate> He saw the wuba red ochre there.


<translate> Granny roasted the lily roots in the coals, the children ate them all, and they were better than damper.

Babingka ngara wajun nulungu, karrkay-karrkay nukan wubulku, damba-mun ngulkurr.


<translate> The men kept spearing around for fish but caught nothing.

Dingkar-dingkar kuyu-ngu dama-n-dama-ji, yamba kari mani.


<translate> We spread out across the grassland in a wide line at first light, walked slowly toward the swamp beating the grass, drove the wallabies ahead of us toward the waiting spearmen, closed the line as the ground narrowed, took four wallabies between us, gutted and cleaned them at the water, and then walked home together carrying the meat and talking of the hunt.

Ngana jikan-bubu naka-naka kanbal muduwajungu, bana-yaral-mundu buban-buban jilban jikan kunin, darrba ngana ngadiku daman-bama-mundu wandiman, kanbal karra bubu buban-mandanya, darrba jambul-jambul ngana dukurr-bu manin, bana ngundu karra jubulin, yalada nyubun-nyubunji bayan-mundu jilban minya jarrakulbal balka-balka balbilmu.


<lexeme> upper reaches of the Bloomfield River


<translate> We two, not you, saw the sea turtle here.


<translate> The old man said the family is the first country a child knows, and if that country is warm and safe and just, the child will look for warmth and safety and justice in the wider world, and will know them when they find them.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan: jawun-karra bubu ngadiku karrkay binal, kaki yinya bubu wumbul marral yukil, karrkay wumbul marral yukil bubungu yalbay nyajil, binal jana nyajinya.


<translate> You all saw the sea turtle there.


<translate> We all, not you, see the scrub goanna there.


<translate> Don't believe the river in the wet season; believe the old crossing stones.

Kari manubaja-bunga wawubaja bana-wungara: manubaja-bunga kulji mukul bana-baralmuny.


<translate> Mother saw grandfather's hand.


<translate> You all see the rock python there.


<translate> The baby's first laugh sent four grown people crawling on the floor to get the second one.

Yajarr ngadiku ngawamuny bama-yalbay jambul-jambul bubungu jilba-bungan jambulku maninka.


<translate> I left the paperbark in the shade.


<translate> Everyone carried something home: fish, roots, honey — and the smallest one carried the story of the day.

Bama wubulku yamba wundin bayanka: kuyu, bangkan, wunba, buban bajakubu kuku-jangkar wungarmuny wundin.


<translate> The two of them saw the bujil-yiran ibis there.


<translate> His father said: Yes, you can come, if you walk quietly and do exactly as I say, and do not frighten the game before I throw my spear.

Nyungu dingkarangka balkan: Yuwu, yundu kaday, kaki yundu wunbu jilbay, ngayku kuku yala ngaral, kari minya yinyil-kangal ngayu kalka yilbanyjiku.


<translate> The little rainbow birds gather at the flowering tree and drink from the sweet blossoms.

Biru-biru buban juku nganka-ba muru bunda-l, bana nuka-l.


<translate> The old woman's hands are wrinkled and thin, but they still weave the very finest dilly bags.

Mukul-jalbu mara ngungul-ngungul buban, yamba nyulu ngunyin ngulkurr bajaku bunga-l.


<glossary> wunay ; type=intransitive-verb ; domain=bodily-mental-state <usage_example> Are there any wallabies there?


<translate> The two of them saw the jangkan swift there.


<translate> You saw the kalmbangarr black diver bird there.


<translate> The old man sharpened his spear with a stone.

Mukulungku dingkarangka nyungu kalka nyurrban kuljibu.


<glossary> ngarra ; type=adverb ; domain=grammatical-particle <usage_example> Danny went to the store, Carol also went.

Danny storengy dungan, Carol ngarra dungan


<glossary> jikal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> They straighten the spear out in the fire


<translate> When the tide went out, the fish stayed behind the stones, and the people simply gathered them up.

Yira dunganda, kuyu bundan kulji kudamundu, bama nganga jana bangkan.


<translate> The two of them see the karraway snail there.


<translate> The large round oyster is here.


<translate> A thing the old people built for us, we keep for the children who come after, said the old man.

Yamba kamba-kambangka ngananka ngaranmuny, ngana kujil karrkay-karrkayka jana kadanyjiku, mukulungku dingkarangka balkan.


<translate> You two saw the binju snake here.


<translate> We two (not you) saw the three-pronged spear there.


<translate> They saw the giant herring there.


<translate> The little girl carried her grandmother's dilly bag, full of sweet ripe yams.

Karrkay buban-angka babi-mu ngunyin wundin, wukay kulbul-jirr wubul.


<translate> The woomera makes the light spear fly much faster and further than the bare arm.

Balur-angka kalka buban jinbal-baja kalbay-baja mumal, mara nyubun-muny yindu.


<translate> The old woman brought firewood from the scrub.


<glossary> kunukunu ; type=adjective ; domain=food <usage_example> That soup is too fatty


<translate> The stinging tree is standing there.


<translate> Grandmother went to the shade with a friend.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the barka snake there.


<translate> The cockatoos tore the ripe fruit from the tree and dropped half of it on the ground uneaten.

Kumurbina mayi kulbul juku-muny manin, jambul bubu-ngu daran nuka-kari.


<translate> Many black and red seeds are there.


<translate> He saw the kalburiji bee there.


<translate> The two of them see the clam here.


<translate> You all saw the jadi goanna there.


<translate> The boy kept spearing around for fish from the edge of the water.

Karrkay kuyu-ngu dama-n-dama-ji kalka-bu bana karangkal.


<translate> The fire flickered and shone on the shelter.


<translate> That mungari kaori pine is there.


<translate> The old woman is telling the girls about the women's places.

Wulbumanangka maral-maral balkal, bubuku jalbu-jalbunku.


<translate> They see the king parrot there.


<translate> The woman wove the bag from coarse grass.


<translate> The blood ran down his leg and he could not walk, so his friends carried him back to the camp.

Mula jandalmuny badanga warrin, nyulu murruji jilba dungay, jawunkarrangka nyungu wundin bayanba.


<translate> You all saw the yalnga turtle here.


<translate> He knows the country like his own hand: this ridge one finger, that creek another, and the swamp the soft middle.

Nyulu bubu binal yala mara nyungu-nyungu: wangkar yanya birri nyubun, wawubaja yinya birri yindu, daburri dindarra kima.


<translate> They put up a windbreak of leafy branches against the cold night wind from the south.

Jana bira dakil birra-jirr bungan, muyar ngiki wujurr-mu yindu-mundu.


<translate> The old woman said the country was the mother of all the people, feeding them from her own body every day, and that is why the people called the land their mother.

Wulbumanangka balkan: bubu bama wubulkumu ngamu, jana nukamanil nyungu bangkarrmuny wungar wubulku, yala bama bubu ngamu kunjan.


<translate> He sees the kalburiji bee there.


<translate> We see the scarlet robin there.


<translate> The old woman spread the soft possum-skin blanket over the sleeping little children.

Mukul-jalbu-ngka bilangkurr kima karrkay-karrkay wuna-nya-nga nandan.


<glossary> dukurr ; type=noun ; domain=location-deixis <usage_example> Rain is coming. Put the baby inside.


<translate> That many-pronged fish spear is here.


<glossary> julngkal ; type=noun ; domain=manipulation-impact <usage_example> I rubbed the medicine on the sore


<translate> We two, not you, saw the jika-birra tobacco leaf here.


<translate> Grandmother saw the freshwater eel.


<translate> You all see the mura tree there.


<translate> The old man said each kind of wood has its own gift for fire: the bloodwood gives coals that last all night, the light dead branches give a fast flame to boil water, the green wood gives smoke to drive the flies or to signal, and the fragrant woods give a smoke that flavors the meat, so a person who truly knows the trees never makes a bad fire.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan juku nyubun-nyubun nyungu daji baya-nka: babajaka ngunjil dayal nyulu wujurr wubulku, dakil wula-mabi buban wula warri bana balamunka, juku jinbal-jirakal kubu dayal minya-baykal kala-kalbay yambada jibar, juku-nganja kubu dayal minya nganja-mandanka, bama nyulu juku bajaku binal nyulu kariku baya mumbu bungal.


<translate> The old people told the deep old stories by the fire only after all the children had gone to sleep, the old woman said, for those stories are not for young ears.

Mukul-bama balka-balka dajali kalbay-muny-mu buri-ngka, wawu-warngku-nya-muny karrkay-karrkay wubulku, mukul-jalbu balkan, kuku yinya kari karrkay milka-nka.


<translate> The kingfisher shone as it flew low and fast straight down the middle of the creek.

Milman balbal, nyulu wawubaja-jina bada bila marra-warri.


<translate> We see the ironwood tree there.


<translate> Father scolded the child hard because it had kicked the poor camp dog.

Nganjanangka kangkal murru-kangan junkurr-bu, kaya jabi-nya.


<translate> The man saw the parrot at camp.


<translate> You and I saw the bilbil-bilbil gecko here.


<translate> This one's spear is longer than mine, and it throws farther.

Yalu-mbu kalka kalbay-baja ngayku-mu-baja, kalbay-mba bujan.


<translate> Stand up straight and look towards the north, and you will see the fire of the far-off camp.

Janay jinbal wandi, kungkarr-ka nyaji-l, yundu nyaji-l baya bayan kala-kalbay-mu.


<glossary> yaral ; type=adjective ; domain=water <usage_example> He's not angry any more


<translate> The children learned to share their food without being told, and when one had plenty and another had little, they made it even between them.

Karrkay-karrkayangka mayi daji-way binalman kari balkanyjiku, nyubun wubul, yindu buban, jana jambulku nyubun-bungan.


<translate> My cross-cousin married into the family across the river; now when we meet, we are both kin and joking-partners, and the two countries are joined.

Ngayku kambanmu mula-mula wawubaja yindu-ngu manyarr-bungan; ngali muru nyaji-way, ngali mula-mula kambanmu baja, jambul bubu muru-man.


<translate> The butterflies came in their clouds in a certain short season, drifting through the camp in their thousands of colors, and the old woman told the children they were the year's one useless beautiful thing, good for nothing but the joy of watching, and she said every country needs such things too, for a life that is only hunting and gathering and working is only half a life.

Walbul-walbul jana kadan ngurrban-mabi wungar buban nyubunba, bayan dukurr-bu marra-warrin nganja-jarray wubul-yalbaybu, wulbumanangka karrkay-karrkay balkan jana wungar nyungu yamba nyubun yukil-kari yilbay, yamba nyubun karika nganga wawu-mini nyajilmu, nyulu balkan bubu wubulku yamba yinya-mabi yabaku, wawu nyulu nganga balbil bangkal kirraji baja nyulu nganga wawu buban-baja.


<translate> Three-sentence: Uncle speared a big fish. Granny cooked it in the earth oven. Everyone ate well that evening.

Kalngangka kuyu yalbay daman. Babingka wayjun kurrmanga. Jana wubulku ngulkurrku nukan.


<translate> You two see the queenfish there.


<translate> You all see the flathead there.


<translate> Dig here, under the big rock where the ground stays cool, she said, and you will always find water.

Yaluy baka, kulji yalbay bada, bubu kiway yinyay; nyulu balkan: yundu bana nyajil yabarrka.


<translate> When did your father go away to the coast, and when will he return?

Wanjawanja yunu nganjan jalun-ka dungan, wanjawanja nyulu kaday-baja?


<translate> You and I saw the baringkan small bird here.


<translate> Did you show the young men the way? No, I should have shown them, but I forgot.

Yundu warru-warru baral milbin? Kari, ngayu milbi-nyaku, yambada ngayu kari binalman.


<translate> The two of them see the clam there.


<translate> They saw the spear barb here.


<translate> We see the grass wallaby here.


<glossary> yimarr-yiman ; type=adjective ; domain=body-part <usage_example> That man has a round face


<translate> The wind turned cold in the afternoon.


<translate> The old man said two people can walk into the same dry country, one with knowledge and one without, and the one with knowledge finds the hidden water and lives while the one without knowledge, seeing the very same ground, walks past the water and dies of thirst, for the country gives nothing to the unknowing eye.

Mukulungku dingkarangka balkan bama jambul bubu-kiway nyubunku jilbal, nyubun binal-ji nyubun binal-kari, binal-ji bama bana buyan manil wunay yambada binal-kari bama nyulu bubu nyubun nyajil nyulu bana ngundu-mundu jilbal wulal bana-dakwuybu, bubu yamba nyubun kari dayal miyil binal-karinka.


<glossary> bangkal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=transfer-possession <usage_example> When I went to Brisbane, I got (gathered) toys and clothing for my younger brothers

ngayu Brisbane dungan, toy, kambi bangkal-bangkan yabaju-karragna


<translate> You and I saw the flea here.


<glossary> ngura-nyajil ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> I'm jealous of that girl with a new dress

Ngayu yinya ngura-nyajin jalbu kambiji jirakalji


<translate> We, not you, saw the kajimarra food there.


<translate> The bird flew from the tree.


<translate> The Moreton Bay fig tree is standing outside.


<translate> We two, not you, saw the dukul-barangkal flathead fish here.


<translate> They see the shellfish here.


<translate> The lonely one sits close to the fire's talk.

Bama jirrbu-jirrbu bundal ngundu kuku-balkanka bayamuny.


<translate> You two see the mountain here.


<translate> The two of them see the dulmbi umbrella palm here.


<translate> The girls took the babies down to the shade.

Maral-maralangka ngawa-ngawa wundin wabarrba.


<glossary> kanyil ; type=noun ; domain=ceremony-magic-song <usage_example> to sing a curse song


<translate> You two saw the kalngkan small mullet there.


<translate> The boy carried his first wallaby home himself, and his mother met him at the edge of the camp, smiling.

Karrkayangka nyungu darrba bayanba jarra-kulbanyarr nyulurrku, ngamungka nyungu bayan ngundu karrban, yajarrinya.


<translate> The crab bit the dog's tail.


<translate> The camp was empty of people; there was nothing but the cold ashes of the fire.

Bayan bama-kari; yamba-kari, bajar ngiki baya-mu-baja.


<translate> They saw the nakawarra bee here.


<translate> You two saw the kalburiji bee here.


<translate> The mungka-mungka tree is here.


<translate> You two saw the wooden sword here.


<translate> We two, not you, see the flea here.


<translate> The man saw the woman's neck.


<translate> You hear the chewing sound here.


<translate> You and I saw the dawa-dawa magpie there.


<translate> Long ago the people always knew which tree held the wild bees and their sweet honey.

Kalbay-muny bama-ngka wungar wubulku binal juku wanyu dabu wunba-jirr.


Yinya-ngka kaya-ngka yalbay-ngka karrkay baykan.


<translate> You and I saw the mawul freshwater eel there.


<glossary> ngangkal ; type=transitive-verb ; domain=cognition-emotion <usage_example> The stranger doesn't know the road

Nyulu ngarrbal ngangkal-ngangkal baralka


<glossary> bajaybajay ; type=adjective ; domain=bodily-mental-state <usage_example> My body is sore after the fly


<translate> The young man asked father: "Did you come back?"

Warru nganjan-anda babajin: "Yundu kada-ny-baja?"


<translate> Share the meat with everyone!


<translate> The two of them see the ngalkarran tree here.


<translate> He saw the barka snake there.


<translate> The old man washed his upper leg.


<translate> One old man was ear-blunt from birth and never heard a single word, but nobody called him word-less, for he read every face like open country and talked fast with his two hands, and the old woman said: language is a river, if the ear is closed it simply cuts another channel.

Dingkar mukul nyubun milka-dudu wandinmuny, nyulu kuku nyubun kariku milka-janan, yambada bamangka nyulu kariku kunjan kuku-kari, nyulu walu wubulku nyajin yala bubu ngalkal, nyulu balkan warri marabu jambulbu, wulbumanangka balkan: kuku nyulu wawubaja, kaki milka nandajin, nyulu nganga bana-baral yindu yakal.


<translate> We all, not you, saw the spear point there.


<translate> We two, not you, see the large mud clam here.


<translate> The men spread out in a wide half-circle and moved in slowly, driving the wallabies toward the hunters who waited hidden in the long grass with their spears.

Dingkar-dingkarangka bubu yalbaymba jarran, buban-buban walan, darrba balbibamaka jurrkiman, jana ngaki-jinya jikan kalbaymba kalkaji maku-jananya.


<translate> They ate until the stars came out.


<translate> We heard the frogs down at the swamp.

Ngana yuday-yuday nyajin walngkanga bada.