Ancestral Stories of Our Land
Introduction – Gaban thagaalbi
Language Points
Guugu Yimithirr
Ngutha-ngutha bama gurra bubu gurra buurraay buthu minhangay nganbaaygu yuba-yuba nhin-gay. Yinharrin nganba-nganba nhin-gaalgi nganhthanun bamaagal, gurra nganyja bamaagami.
Ngutha-nguthangan bamawi binaal wunay, nhila-ngarraalgu wunaana garra. Gurra thanaan-gal bithagurrgami milbi-barrga, gurra gunbu-barrga, gurra galmba gunbu nguthuwi, gurra galmba nguumbaarr-barrga, yarrba nganyja nganhthanun bubuungu.
Nganhthanun binaal wunay gurra nganhthanun milbingay wunaa yiway bubuwi. Nhanharrin wali wunaa bubu nhaaway thudaan binaalga wunanu, mundal thudaan milbithirr, thanaan bubu bithawi. Mundal thudaan milbithirr warra galbay buthun thadaa-ma yarrba garra nhagala Nagaamun gurra yarrba Guwa gurra galmba Gunggaanun yarrba Thibarra.
Yinharrin mundal thudaan binaalthirrgu wuguurrgurr minhangay gurra ngutha-nguthangan nguunhangay thadaariga. Mundal milbi wunaa nhagala nhamu buurraay daabaalbiya yarrba garra bubuwi. Nhaaway thudaan milbithirr nhagala warra mugul-buthun gurra nhaaway galmba milbi thudaan milbithirr nhagala wunay garra tharra thagaalbigu.
Milbi gurra binaal wunay yinharrin thudaan gurra yuba-yubaaygu bubuwi. Thamaalbi thadaara yarrba bubu barrga walu miirrilil milbi, nganhthanun nganhthaan milgaan nhaathinu milbingay gurra galmba nganyja nganhtahnun-gami bubuungu, gurra galmba nganhthanun bamaangu. Nganhthanun milbi thudaanngun nganba gurralal bubu milbithirr. Yinharrin bubu milbithirrngun banyjiilnyjil ngamu-buthun nganaa binaal. Mundal nganhthanun bubu milbithirr ganaa waaminu gurra bama wawu binaal mathinu milbi yinharrin bubuungu.
Nhagala thudaan milbithirr thadaara yarrba garra nganhthanun bubu-barrga gurra buurray-barrga nhijin thudaan wunaana wangunh galmba.
English
In traditional times people and land and waters and animals were all related and connected. These connections were embodied in our complex kinship relationships and laws.
Ancestral knowledge and law is preserved and passed down from one generation to the next through stories, songs, dance, ceremonies, art and through our continuous relationship with our land.
Our knowledge and our stories are in the land. Throughout the country there are paths of knowledge. Some story paths belong to small areas. Some story paths are very long, travelling all the way from the east to the west and from the north to the south.
Some of these paths of knowledge follow the journey’s of spirit animals or ancestors. Some stories are about the movement of water across the land. There are story paths that are very old and there are story paths for stories that happened just a little while ago.
The stories and knowledge in these paths are connected to Country. Walking a path through country is like telling a story, helping us to remember the stories and the laws of our land and our people. Our story paths join our story places together. These story places contain a lot of knowledge. Some of our story places can be visited by anybody, but some places are secret. Only some people can go to these places and only some people can know the story for these places.
The story paths that travel through our lands and waters sometimes have a path in the sky as well.
Ancestral Stories of the Guugu Yimithirr Nation
Here you will soon find some ancestral stories of the Guugu Yimithirr Nation told in Guugu Yimithirr.
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