Garma Festival

At this year's forum, Yolngu art and music was again employed to portray aspects of Yolngu ecological knowledge. Each evening, when Yolngu dancers performed their bunggul, Galarrwuy or Maandawuy would talk about the relation between ancestral song and dance, and Yolngu knowledge of the environment.

And for the forum itself, Dhuwarrwarr Marika produced four paintings which told the story of a turtle hunt. The story reveals the integrated nature of Yolngu ecological knowledge. It deals with the ownership of the land and sea, the kin connections that allow for joint hunting expeditions, the many species and the various Yolngu technologies which are integrated in turtle hunting, details of named places beneath the sea, the laws about sharing and about keeping your distance, and much else.

The pictures were used as a focus for discussion, and after the forum, Dhuwarrwarr dictated the following stories to Michael Christie, from the Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, NTU. The Yolngu version is in Dhuwarrwarr's language, Rirratjingu, and the hunt took place between the Yirrkala area, and Dhambaliya (or Bremer Island) - to the north of Yirrkala, clearly visible from the town on Nhulunbuy.

Artist: Dhuwarrwarr Marika
[Click on an image for larger version]

Long time ago, I don’t know when, but my father’s father or his great great great grand father, it happened really, it’s not a dream. These two yolngu, they prepare everything what they need: paddle, harpoon, rope, float, they used to carry a dilly bag, they used to put the belongings they used to carry all the time in the canoe. Also they carried a paper basket, they used to get it from the paperbark, and they used to carry the paperbark and fill it with water and carry it in a canoe.

Whenever they used those implements they said to each other, let’s go and try and get some green backed turtle for the family. So anyway, when they had their journey, they paddled in places called, Milmilwuy, Mol’nguwuy, Darrpa’wuy, Dhuwirriya ga Dhurriyurrnguwuy, until they found one green turtle.

When they caught it, they looked back to the mainland and they said to each other, “We can’t go back there, it’s too far. It’s a bit close here at Bremer island we might come and cook the turtle here at Ruwakpuy’. When they landed there, they got the turtle, and dragged it up to the beach and they made a fire, and when the fire was burning then they got the turtle and put it on the fire. And this little boy was running around on the other side of the creek his name was Gakarrarr. He smelt the flavour of that turtle and he said to himself, ‘Mmm that’s delicious. I wonder who is cooking the turtle. I better run down there and find out who are they’. So anyway he ran towards them. When those two men got the turtle out of the fire, and they threw it on the sand, and this young boy, he ran and sat on the turtle shell and one of the men Djarrungu said ‘who asked you to come here and sit on the turtle shell? I didn’t ask you to come and sit here.’ And the other man said to Djarrungu, let’s grab him and we’ll cook him.

When they done that, they dragged the turtle back to the canoe, and they paddled back to the mainland to a place called Mirrikiwuy. There was all the wives and children waiting for them, when they cut it and the split it up among the family. Bathirri said to Djarrungu. I haven’t got enough here. I gave it all away to my family. Can you share it with the other family?’ And he turned around and said to him, ‘No, this is all mine. I’m not going to share it.’ And those two rocks called Bathirri and Djarrungu, they turned into a rock and now, it’s still there and it’s a wishing rock. Every time when we go hunting, we pick up a stone and throw it at them and wish for something and it comes true. It’s still there standing near the shore at Mirrikinga.

Dictated by Dhuwarrwarr Marika to Michael Christie

Dhambaliyawuy dhaawu

Ngayam yaaku Dhuwawarrwarr Marika, ngaandi'mingu nyaaku Gumatj ga ngayam ngaandi'mingu Gumatjku. Ngayam yaka nhaangal baapa'minguny nyaakuwuy Mawalan' 1. Nhaan banha first start dhangu nuwayak. Ngayam yakan nhaangal baapa'minguny nyaakuway banha nhaan yakan djaama dhangu nuwayak.

Dhangun painting banha ngaya barpuru djaama, banha baapa'minguyu rakaran nyaaku, yow. Ga banha nhaan yaka warkthuwan nhaan yakan nyaaku rakaran banhaya nhaan yakan painting.

Ngarru dhaawu banha yolngu wulay maarrma'. Yaaku dhupal Bathirri ga Djarrungu. Yolngu wulay ngunhukuwuy Yirrkalawuy. Wangganyma Rirratjingu banham Batjirri yaaku, ga Djarrungum nhaanma Djambarpuyngu, ngunhukuwuy ngayiwuy Ruwakpuy ngunha raypa runu Dhambaliya. Djaama dhupal naku, raki, marrwala, biditj, djambatj. Ga batjim dhupalinggu bulpu'. Banha dhupalinggu batji bilanya nhakun guyarra ga waripum malanynha raki'. Ga dhaniya banha baying dhupal warkthun rangan gapuwu. Ga garrtjpa dhupal bay maayany gapuwu nokanawu. Yow, nguwakurru, banham linggu wanganharamin 'Go ngali waditj, ngali marrpangu bungga'punggam'. Galiyan dhupal, nhaangal ngayi yaaku Milmilwuy ngunha---a Mol'nguwuy, Daarrpa'wuy, Dhuwirriya ga Dhurriyurrnguwuy. Banha dhupal maayan marrpanma, bunakin marrpan maayan dhupal nakuli.
Djunama dhupal nhaangal ngayi, bitjan dhupal wanganharamin "Ngunha makarr yindi barrkun. Dhangum galkin ngayi, Ruwakpuyma ngali djinalan biyarrthan marrpanma." Dhawatthuwan dhupal rangili, djunama marrpanma maayan, warryuwan rangili djunama gurtha dhupal warkthuwan, dhawar'yuwan gurthangurun, djunama dhupal warryuwan marrpanma gurthali dhupthuwan. Ga nhaaranhan marrpanma, nhaan yothu ngarrungan ngunha gali' maninga Ruwakpuy, ngarru guya nhaan dhatthuwan wirikiri guya. Ngarru yarratami nhaan golanham. Djunama nhaan baying yothuyu wanggi'yuwan marrpan banbay, djunama nhaan yothu waangan, "Way, miyapunu dhika warrpuru wanggi'yuwan yenhu, ngaya nang'thun ga nhaama yol wulay dhika". Dhupal banha maayan miyapunu gurthanguru, gunyan munathali. Nhaanma yothum yutthuwan djunama nyenan diltjili marrpanli. Nhaanma Djarrungum waangan bitjan: 'Nhaku dhuwalnydja ngal'yurr dhipal marrpanlil? Yol nhungu bili waathundja?' Nhaanma Bathirrim waangan bitjan 'Ngali, nhaanan guyal'yun gundirrlin'.

Baman' yakan rom dhaayan, yaka nguli yothu wo miyalk marrtjinya ga nhinana galki, barrku nhinan, ga baay ngayi dhu gong-yawar'yun, ngunhi rom yaka dhaayan ngaatjilingu. Ngarru yaka banha nyaal' dhaawu.
Djunama dhupal maayan marrpanma law'yuman, ga djunama lipalipali, djunama dhupal galiyan raali makarr-yindili. Ga ngunhal dhupal dhawatthuwan Mirrikinga ngayinga yaakunga. Banhalan dhupal mitthuwanam marrpanma. Banha dhupalinggu miyalk ga djamarrkuli ga ngaandi'mingu, gurrutumi mala yakan galkulan. Djunama dhupal mitmitthuwan, djunama gungan yolngu'yulnguwun gurrutumiwuna.
Miyapunun malanynha yaaku dhangum banha bay mitmitthuwan, yaaku miyapunu ngukthan, ga rerra, barwu, doturrk, lipun, banha, burrwitj, dhirrithirri, gumurr. Banha mala yaaku banhaya divided baying banhaya, miyapunu djambatjnguyu, ga captaindhu dhurpunguyu.