WAN YANGBOI GO LANGA NAJA KANTRI Ross Tukumba WAN YANGBOI GO LANGA NAJA KANTRI Ross Tukumba KRIOL Bamyili Press 1981 © Copyright Bamyili Press 1981 ISBN 0 86822 115 5 Long taim langa bush wanbala yangboi bin lib garrem im mami, dadi en blanga im yang braja. Deibin abum bla olabat ampi wansaid langa wan big bilabong. Ebri dei deibin oldei go anding lugaran daga blanga idimbat. Wal wandei jad olmen bin talem langa jad yangboi, "Wal jan, mi jik na, buji ai lujim yubala, yu lugabdum mami en yu lil yang braja, sabi?" "Yowai," jad yangboi bin lagijad. Neks dei jad yangboi bin go anting en wan imin kambek garrem keinggurru from anding imin luk bla im mami en yang braja bin kraikrai en imin askim dubala, "Wanem bla yunbala kraikrai?" En bla im mami bin set, "Dadi bin binij biain wan yu bin la anting." Jad yangboi bin budumdan im spiya en keinggurru en go insaid langa jad ampi aus en olum bla im dadi laswan en im krai bobala. Burrum jeya imin budum bla im dadi bodi langa keib en imin gobek talem bla im mami en braja, "Wi silip wan nait iya en tumoro wi kipgon langa naja kantri." Neks dei, dei bin kipgon langa naja kantri. Dei bin wokwok olawei til deibin kamad langa wan wodahol. Wal deibin dringim woda garrem beibabak en abum res jeya bajam idimbat keinggurru lef-oba brom yestadei wan jad yangboi bin kilim wan imin anting. Burrum jeya dei bin kipgon. Deibin wokwok en dis yangboi imin go lida, imin luk imiyu. Imin gibid hensain langa im mami en braja bla stop en jidan kwaitbala. Orait jat yangboi bin jinigap rili julubala, wan imin glujap langa jad imiyu imin libdimap im spiya julubala, budum jad bondok en teigimbek im am rait bek en gibid jad imiyu otlidwan langa rib. Jad imiyu bin ran garrem jad spiya en boldan dedwan bobala. Jad yangboi bin go en jandap wansaid langa jad dedwan imiyu en bla im mami en lil braja bin kam en jad yangboi bin sei langa im mami, "Wal im nili leit, wi labda meigim kemp abwei." "Yowai," im mami bin sei. Jad yangboi bin libdimap jad imiyu en karrimap langa im jolda en spiya en bondok langa im naja hen en dilibeg langa im naja jolda. Deibin go kamad langa wan lil krik en deibin budumdan ola jing bla olabat. En jad yangboi bin digimat tu faiya stik burrum im dilibeg en imin rabumbat til imin smok gidap en imin meigim big faiya bla kukum jad imiyu. Wan jad imiyu bin kukkuk langa andagran abin jad yangboi bin go gidim loda big bigwan bujij en meigim win breik bla jilip naitam. Orait jad yangboi bin gobek en digimat jad kukwan imiyu brom jad andagran abin en imin talem im lil braja bla go gidim beibabak en budum langa gran en jad yangboi bin budum jad kukwan imiyu ontop langa ola beibabak en deibin idimbat. Wan deibin binij idimbat deibin dringim woda en silip. Alibala deibin gidap dringim jugabeg en kipgon. Deibin wokwok til deibin kamad langa wan big hil, deibin klaimap jad hil en burrum ontop deibin luk loda ampi wansaid langa wan big riba. Deibin gudan en kamad langa jadlot ampi en ola pipul bin luginat olabat. Wanbala olmen brom jad traib bin askim, "Weya yubala bin gaman?" En jad yangboi bin sei, "Sangudan wei." En jad olmen bin sei, "Wanem bla yubala bin kam iya?" En bla dubala mami bin sei, "Main hasbin bin dai en mai tubala san en mi bin libum jad pleis en kam lugaran nyuwan pleis bla sidan." Wal jad olmen bin sei, "Wal orait den, yumob gin sidan langa mibala." Wal jad yangboi, im mami en braja bin baindim nyuwan femili. A YOUNG MAN GOES TO ANOTHER PLACE. AUTHOR, ILLUSTRATOR & TRANSLATOR: ROSS TUKUMBA Long ago in the bush lived a young man with his mother, father and a young brother. They had two humpies beside a big billabong. Every day they set out hunting in the bush in search for food to eat. One day the old man told his eldest son, "Well my son, I'm feeling sick. If anything does happen to me, take good care of your mother and your young brother okay?" "Yes," replied the young man. Next day the young man set out hunting. When he returned from hunting with a kangaroo he killed, to his surprise he saw his mother and brother weeping. "Why are you two weeping?" asked the the young man. His mother said, "Your father, he died while you were away hunting in the bush." The young man put down his spears and the kangaroo and went into the humpy and saw his father, held his father's body for the last time, and cried. He then got his father's body and carried it into a big cave and left it there and went to where his mother and brother were and said, "We'll stay here overnight and leave for another country tomorrow." Next day they set out for another country. They walked till they came to a waterhole, they drank water and had a rest for a while, eating some left over meat from the kangaroo which the young man killed while hunting yesterday. Then they set off again with the young man walking ahead of them. Suddenly he saw an emu and stopped and gave handsigns to his brother and mother to stand still and not to make a sound and lifted his spear, attached to his spear thrower and raised his arm as far as it could go. With all his might he let the spear go and hit the emu in its rib. The emu ran painfully with the spear still stuck in its rib and soon fell down dead on the ground. His mother and brother came running to where the young man stood beside the emu. The young man said, "It's late, so we'll have to make camp somewhere. "Yes", replied his mother and brother. The young man threw the emu over his shoulder, the dilibag onto his other shoulder, took the spear and spear thrower in his hand and carried it on his way. They walked till they arrived at a small creek, put their things down and the young man took two fire sticks from his dilibag and began to rub them together until they began to make smoke and was made into fire to cook the emu. While the emu was cooking in the underground oven the young man went to get some bushes to make a wind-break to sleep in for the night. When it was time for the emu to be cooked which takes an hour or so the young man told his young brother to go and fetch him some paper barks and lay them on the ground, and his young brother did just that. The young men then took the cooked emu out from the underground oven and placed it on the paperbarks ready to eat. Later on when it was a bit cold they started to eat some meat and drank fresh water and they went to sleep. In the morning they got up and drank sugar bag and ate some left over emu meat from yesterday's kill and set off again. After a half an hour's walk they arrived at a big hill, climbed at the top of the hill and looked down and to their surprise they saw a group of humpies beside a big river. They went down , crossed the river and came to the group of humpies. The tribe stared at their arrival and the eldest of the tribe an old man said to them, "Where did you come from?" And the young man replied, "Where the sun sets." The old man said, "Why did you come here?" Their mother said, "Because my husband died and we left our home and came to find a new place to live with my two sons ." "You can live with us," replied the old man. They young man, his brother and mother lived happily with their new families. PRINTED BY BAMYILI PRESS with assistance from AUSTRALIA COUNCIL ABORIGINAL ARTS BOARD Private Mail Bag 25 Katherine. N T. 5780