Ananyi ngura (Travelling country)

$3,400.00

Ngayulu kuwari aṟa irititja tjuṯa wangkanyi, wapar irititja tjuṯa. Indulkananya wiya ngaṟangi. Ngayulu Mimililanguṟu iṯi ngarinytja. Ngayuku ngunytjuku ngura Wanmaranya, kunyu.

Nganampa walytja tjuṯangku para-ngaṟapai ngura nyangangka, mutuka wiyangka iriti, nganaṉa tjina yankupai ka mamangk kukaku yankupai puṯingka. Iriti mutuka wiya, tjina nganaṉa yankupai. Tjina nganaṉa para-ngaṟapai puta wiya, maiku yankupai. Nganaṉa putikutu yankupai mai ngurinytjaku munu apu katu yankupai. Makuku yankupai raapitaku, miḻpaḻiku, mai winkiku. Nganaṉa mai nyangatja tjuṯa ngalkupai. Mamangku raapita tjawalpai munu paura yungkupai.

Nganaṉa walytjaṟara para-ngaṟapai tjinguṟu mankur-mankur munu Aṉangu winki kuḻu. Winki yankupai Walatinalakutu. Wagon-angka yankupai, taṟaka puṟuny palu kamula kutjarangku ilaṉi. Alatji nganaṉa nyinangi puṯingka para-ngaṟangi, pukul alatjika. Aṟa wiṟu tjuṯa. Palu kuwari nganaṉa aṟa irititja tjuṯa kanyini munu witini, para-ngaṟanytja tjuṯa nganampa ngurangka, nganampa mantangka.

I’m going to talk about the old ways, stories from long ago. Indulkana; this place wasn’t here back then, no Indulkana Community. I’m from Mimili, I was born there at Mimili. My mother ’s place they say is Wanmara in the Everard Ranges. Our family would travel around, no cars back then, we would travel by foot and our father would go hunting and get meat from the bush. We lived barefoot, travelling around collecting foods. We would travel around and go around the hills and look around. We would eat witchetty grubs, dig for rabbits and hunt for goannas. My father would dig and give us cooked rabbit.

We would travel around, about six people or so, and sometimes in larger groups. Lots of us would travel over there to Walatina on a wagon, like a truck but with tw o camels pulling. This was us, travelling around the bush comfortably. Lots of good times! And today we have really good memories from those days of travelling around on country.

Transcribed and translated by Karina Lester.

Excerpt from Iwantja: Iriti / kuwari / tiṯutjara (Then / now / always), Iwantja artists, Thames & Hudson Australia, 2023, p. 147