Kawurn Ashes for Tobacco with Violet Donald Wadrill Nanaku Biddy Wavehill Yamawurr Nangala Topsy Dodd Nganyjal Nangari Peggy Wavehill Mayawurr Nangala Gurindji Kawurn 'Ashes for Tobacco' story told in Gurindji by: Violet Donald Wadrill Nanaku and Biddy Wavehill Yamawurr Nangala Topsy Dodd Nganyjal Nangari Peggy Wavehill Mayawurr Nangala produced by: Felicity Meakins University of Manchester with funds from: Volkswagen Foundation Endangered Languages Documentation Project www.mpi.nl/dobes with thanks to Diwurruwurru-jaru Aboriginal Corporation, Katherine West Health Board for accommodation, and Helen Morris Namija, Sarah Oscar Nanaku and Erika Charola for help with transcription. for copies please contact: Diwurruwurru-jaru Aboriginal Corporation (08) 8971 1233 © 2008 How to read this book This book is written in two languages: Gurindji and English. Some Gurindji and English words are highlighted to help read the book. e.g. Ngayu-ma ngurna larlup manana kawurn yuwanana kartak-ta. I scoop up the ashes and put them in a tin. A list of Gurindji words can be found at the back of the book. Jampawurru-la Nyawa-ma ngurnalu mani parnngirri kawurn-ku ngarramirli yungkuj-nginyi Here we are getting bark from a ngarramirli gum tree which has fallen down to make ashes. ngarramirli kind of gum tree Nangari-lu-ma juluj kangana parnngirri kurrurij-jirri. Nangari carries the bark to the car. Pinka-ka Nyawa-ma kawurn-ma ngurna mani kaarniyinkarra yalangka. I got these ashes there from the east side of the river. Kawurn ngungantipa. Kula-rnalu ngantipa-rni pirti nyanya. Kajijirri-lu, pulkapulka-lu ngulu manani kuyany-ma kawurn-ma. Ngayiny-ju ngamayi-lu nguyi pinak jayinga ngayu-ma, an ngayiny-ju jaju-ngku.That's why ngurnalu manana nyawa na kawurn. These ashes are for us. But we're not the only ones who know about this. The women and men from the old days used to collect ashes. My mother and grandmother taught me about it. That's why we get this kind of ash now. parnngirri bark kawurn ashes janyungu warlayirra ngunyju tobacco Janyungu ngurnalu yuwanana kawurn-ta yalangka. We put tobacco in those ashes. Ngurra-ngka Ngayu-ma ngurna larlup manana kawurn yuwanana kartak-ta. I scoop up the ashes and put them in a tin. Pinka-ka Pinka-ka kaarniyinkarra, ngungayirra kanya, Nangala Mayawurr, Nangari-lu-ma. Nguja pani nyila na parnngirri. Nangari took us to the east side of the river, Mayawurr included. There we cut some bark to make ashes. Nyila-ma panana nyantu-rni purrp nyawa-ma karnti-ma walarri-ma parnngirri-ma. Ngayu-ma-rna nyangana warlakap karnti-kari-wu ngurna parru parnngirri-ma. Ngayu-ma-rna parru karnti-kari. Only Mayawurr finishes cutting the bark off this ghost gum. I look around for another tree to cut bark off. I'm going to cut it from another tree. walarri ghost gum Nangala-lu-ma panana parnngirri walarri. First Nangala cuts the bark of the ghost gum (with the blade of the axe). Nangala-lu-ma lutju-ngku panana yala-ngku-ma wirlka-ngku-ma. Then she uses the back of the axe to hit off the bark. Jirrip-karra panana nyila-ma parnngirri-ma. Finally Nangala strips off the bark. Ngayu na ngurna turl panana nyila-ma parnngirri-ma. Ngurna panana na jintapakari na, karnti-kari turl panana ngurna. Me now, I cut the bark off. I got bark off another tree. Ngayu-ma ngurna lutju-ngku panana yalangku-ma wirlka-ngku-ma. Yalanginyi-ma ngurna turl-karra panana nyila-ma parnngirri-ma. Jarrwa nguja panana! I hit the bark with the back of the axe head. Then I strip off the bark. We cut off a lot of bark! Jululuj na manana Nangala-lu-ma, warrart-ku-ma. Nangala carries it up to take it back to dry it out. Ngurnawula kangku na ngurra-ngkurra ngungayirra Nangari-lu-ma. Kangku-ngayirra na murrka na ngurra-ngkurra. Nangari takes us back home. She drops us off at our camp. Ngurna yuwanana wartartart na. Wartartart murrkun-kurt jiyawu-nga. Nyamu-ma wurruja-ma karru nyilarra-ma parnngirri-ma, kamparnu na ngurnalu kamparnana na kuliyan-pirrji. Back at home, I put the bark out to dry now. It will take about three days to dry out. When the bark is dry we burn it to make it cheeky. Kula-rnalu laikim manana tuja-ma. Kuliyan ngurnalu laikim manana, ngajik ngurnalu karrwarnana. Tuja ngayirra-ma ngurnalu waj, nyila-ma-rnalu waj yuwanana tuja-ma. We don't like the ashes when they are tasteless. We like them cheeky because they keeps the flavour longer. If the ashes are tasteless we throw it away. Nyilarra-ma kirri-walija-ma yanku-ngantipangulu liwarrap-karra yalawu-rni. Nyamu-lu-nga paraj pungku kuliyan. Nyamu-lu marlarn panana kuya kuliyan, kirri-walija-lu. Liwarrap ngungantipangulu-rla na ngurnayinangulu filimap yuwanana, kartak-kula-ma cigarette-nginyi-la-ma. Lots of women will come and humbug us for those ashes. When they find out we have cheeky ashes, well they come and sample some. Then they humbug us for it and I fill their log cabin tins. Kuliyan-ta-ma nyamu-rnalu yuwanana ngajik purinyjirri igin, karrwarnana ngurnalu. Maiti kaput ngurnalu payarnana, yuwanana ngurnalu yalangka na kawurn-ta. Yalanginyi-ma-rnalu karrwarnana ngajik. If you use cheeky ashes the flavour lasts all day. We bite it and put it in the ashes maybe in the morning. Then we keep it all day in our mouths (because the ashes keeps the flavour all day). Gurindji-English word list Words for things: kawurn ashes parnngirri bark kartak tin warlayarra tobacco tuja tasteless, blunt kuliyan cheeky, bitter wurruja dry wirlka axe Doing words: pirti know pinak teach larlup scoop turl chop off bark jirrip strip off, tear off juluj carry on hip purrp finish wartart dry out liwarrap humbug