| baduwaduyunamirri |
confusing, distracting. |
| balanda |
European, white Australian, same as ŋapaki. |
| balyunmirri |
invest (in the sense of investing in a particular place or totem as a source of identity) a reflexive verb. |
| birrka’yun |
try, test |
| bothurru |
to count (A Macassan verb introduced to Yolŋu languages before the arrival of the balanda) |
| buŋgul |
traditional ceremonial song and dance. |
| dambumiriw |
literally headless, from a headless rulu of turtle eggs, ie four |
| dharaŋan, dharaŋul |
recognise, understand |
| dhapinya |
open-handed, generous |
| dhol-bunanhamirri |
mix in together [dhol =dust, mud; bunanhamirri = meet together] |
| dhudi-dhawu |
the underlying story, the bottom of the story [dhudi = base, dhawu = story] |
| dhumbal’yun |
confused, unable to make sense of something |
| dhunupa |
straight, correct. |
| Dhuwa and Yirritja |
two fundamental divisions of Yolŋu life. Every person and thing is either Dhuwa or Yirritja. |
| djalkiri |
foot, footprint, foundation, used to describe the history of a person’s relation to land. |
| djinaga |
inside, not seen |
| gakal |
changing from one form to another from an ancestral form into a here-and-now form – usually in a ceremonial context, here used to talk about a good Yolŋu connection or nexus between Yolŋu environmental-home experience and the Gawa school. |
| gaminyarr |
grandchild (woman’s son’s child or classificatory equivalent) |
| gamurru |
point, nose |
| ganguri |
a yam species. The metaphor is that to find the yam you need to trace the leaves and stem back carefully to the root. This is often quite a difficult thing to do in the jungle, if it snaps, you may well miss out. |
| garma |
a public ceremonial space and open (non-secret) performances which take place there, used as a metaphor for collaborative knowledge making as in the garma curriculum at Yirrkala School. |
| gayku |
cloud |
| gumurr-dalthina |
coming across an obstacle [gumurr = chest, front; dal = hard; thina = become] |
| gurrutu |
the Yolŋu kinship system |
| guwal-budapthunaŋur |
crossing in the opposite direction, [guwal = waist, budapthun = cross over, ŋur = at] |
| liya-different-thirr |
to think in a different way [liya =head, thirr = become] |
| luku |
same as djalkiri |
| luku-warwaryun |
stray [luku = feet, warwaryun = wander] |
| lurrkun’ |
a few, often used for the number 3 |
| mannersmirri |
with respect (manners) |
| maŋutji-lakarama |
show, demonstrate [maŋutji = eye, lakarama = tell] |
| matha |
tongue, language |
| midawarr |
fruitful season after the monsoon |
| miŋurryun |
to value, to hold precious, Maratja connects the idea of maths to the idea of value, also of taking pride in the Yolŋu world view |
| ŋapaki |
European, white Australian, same as balanda |
| ŋurrŋgitj |
charcoal referring to ancestral sites of cooking, living and learning |
| ŋuya |
undercurrent |
| Raminginiŋ |
one of the Yolŋu communities |
| ranhdhak |
dry, without sustenance |
| raypirri’ |
admonishment, discipline, verbal |
| reŋgitj |
totemic words and places |
| rom |
traditional law, cultural practice |
| rrambaŋi |
the same, together, equal, -thirri to become |
| rrupiya |
money |
| rulu |
a pile of five turtle eggs – four together in the sand and another on top making 5 |
| subitise |
the ability to recognise how many in a small group without counting |
| waŋgany goŋ |
5 from a hand |
| waŋgany rulu |
5 from a group of turtle eggs |
| washim |
wash |
| wetj |
something that’s given as an investment so that there will later be a reciprocation |
| yidaki |
didgeridoo |
| yony-barrtjun |
the process of dividing up a loaf of sacred cycad bread for distribution in a ceremonial context. Yolŋu value being used to make the equivalent of a percentage |
| Yothu Yindi |
a Yolngu rock’n’roll band |
| yutuŋgurr |
literally means lower leg, but in talking about ancestral song, it talks about the key parts of the song before embellishment |
