that munanga linguist

Hey sorry. I haven't posted for a while. To play catch-up I'll just have to summarise the last couple of weeks, but I'm going to do it in the style of my real banji (brother-in-law), who describes things as a 'F' (big 'f') - which is a good thing and then 'f' (little 'f') - which is a not-so-good thing. Here's a summary of the last couple of weeks working here at Ngukurr: F - an amazing session working with old MT on Marra. FR and BR were also there, creating a very rare Marra speech community. We recorded some conversation. MT *demanded* I speak Marra to her ("You've been here long enough!"), which was extremely difficult but fun. We translated and transcribed 6 minutes of Marra in 3 hours. JJ and AJ learned some basic skills on ELAN. It was pretty spectacular. F - helping three artists with stories for their entries to the 27th Telstra Aboriginal Art Award. Not only do I love learning about the art, I also get a ...

I learned a cool new Rembarrnga word yesterday. Me n my wawa were listening to an old recording of him telling a story and halfway, I lost what he was talking about. "We saw two policeman", he translated for me. But I couldn't hear where he was talking about any blijiman (Kriol for policeman). And so my wawa taught me that Rembarrnga has its own word for policeman (which is what he said on the recording): Nguwahjœrrœ . It's my favourite new word which I'm going to use now, and say, " Nguwahjœrrœ baganh! ". (There's a policeman there!). Note: Question for further thought - What's the cultural significance of the fact that the Rembarrnga word for policeman incorporates the Rembarrnga word for 'cheeky' or 'a thing to be wary of'...

Last week, I danced bunggul for the first time. (Bunggul is a form of traditional dancing from Arnhem Land.) It was so fun. I loved it, but it was bloody difficult and I was feeling very self-conscious. Bunggul is performed here for funerals and other ceremonial occasions, like when there is an opening and other things like that. Well, last week, this bloke from England was hanging around and talking to the bunggul mob about touring overseas. (They are very good dancers and musicians). And so they had a bit of a bunggul session at the school so this guy could videotape them. So it wasn’t for any big occasion, that’s why I could pluck up the courage to give it a go. And I’m glad I did. I’ve been to watch bunggul a few times now and people keep saying to me, half-joking, half-serious, “Come on Wamut, you now!”. I’ve always wanted to have a go, but been too embarrassed. But I thought to myself, I better just do it, or else people will stop asking me and I’ll miss the opportunity...