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ABORIGINAL LEGENDS and HERBLORE

CONTENTS

1.     Sunshine Coast Lore

                                i.            Introduction to the legends of the Sunshine Coast

                              ii.            The Jidi-Ghindi legend

                            iii.            Tibrogargan and Coonowrin

                           iv.            The Legend of the Rainbow Sands

2.     Woodford Region

                                i.            Tales from around Woodford

                              ii.            Dingadau vocabulary

3.     Links to Aboriginal Myths and legends sites

                                i.            Australian Myths, & Legends & Folktales Here you will find tales from the Land Down Under. It includes stories on

§         Creation: The Dreamtime

§         Baiame and Creation: The First Men and Women

§         Rainbow Bird

§         The Legs of the Kangaroo

§         The Koala Boy

§         How Kangaroo Got His Tail

§         Kangaroo Gets A Pouch

§         Koobor The Koala and Water

§         Where The Frost Comes From

§         Hunting the Sun

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Three Dreamtime tales - Extracts from Tales of the Sunshine Coast by ?

When the first white people arrived, the Sunshine Coast Region was the territory of the Kabi-Kabi who had roamed over the land for thousands of years. Their country extended along the coast approximately from Ninghi Ninghi Creek near Toorbul Point to Rainbow Beach and possibly as far north as the mouth of the Mary River. To the west it included the catchment of the Mary River.

The Kabi people took their tribal name from Kabi, the pale honey of the eucalypt country, which was different from Kuta, the dark, strongly flavoured honey of the tea-tree scrub.

John Mathew included Fraser Island in the Kabi lands; but later Aborigines living there and in the Tin Can Bay area called themselves members of the Butchulla Tribe. The Butchulla (or Batjaia) people may possibly have been a clan of the Kabi-Kabi. The clan occupying the coastal strip from the Ninghi Ninghi Creek to the Noosa River are believed to have called themselves the Dalia people.

The Kabi Tribe appears to have comprised several clans or groups who normally moved within their respective portions of the tribal lands, coming together for special occasions such as bunya feasts and initiation ceremonies. These groups had a common language that differed in vocabulary from most of the words used by neighbouring tribes.

According to an early report, the Kabi men were on the average not as tall as white men, their range being from 5ft. 1 in. (1 55 cm.) to 6 ft. (183 cm.), with an average of 5ft. 5 in. (165 cm.). Under tribal conditions, they were well fed, healthy and vigorous. Their varied diet, nomadic life-style and practice of killing-off weaklings ensured that they remained a healthy tribe,,while their hunting and inter-tribal fighting kept them in good physical condition.

They did not remain healthy and vigorous for many generations after the coming of the white people. Too many were attracted by the hand-outs of sugar, flour, tobacco and grog. Some of the Kabi men fell before the guns of white men and black police. Some of the Kabi-Kabi from the Mary River district were poisoned in retaliation for the spearing of shepherds when they made a raid near Sheep Station Creek. Large numbers succumbed to the epidemics of mumps and other introduced diseases against which they had no degree of immunity. Many others took up the drinking of rum and other spirits with disastrous results.

Apart from a few stories, some place names on the map, an occasional oval scar on a tree where a canoe was cut out, a marked bora ring and several unmarked bora and midden sites, no evidence of their occupancy remains in the region.

The legendary tales have come down to us from a series of white people. The Aboriginal story-teller would have added facial and bodily gestures and voice inflection to a narrative that was sparing in words. In the re-telling by white people, additional words and phrases have been necessary, while occasional interpolations and omissions have produced different versions. In each case the version used in this book is the one that makes the best story while being consistent with what is known of the beliefs and customs of the Kabi people.

The Glasshouse Mountains

In the eyes of most visitors, the Sunshine Coast begins where the Glasshouse Mountains come into view; and historically the beginning is there also. The dark-skinned people of the Kabi Tribe had been here long enough to be classed as original inhabitants and not visitors. When the first white men arrived, they came specifically to see these picturesque peaks that had' intrigued Captain James Cook twenty-nine years earlier.

Cook had noticed three peaks of unusual shapes after anchoring his ship, "Endeavour", in the protected waters that we know as Moreton Bay. They appeared to be rising independently above the coastal plain, separate from any mountain range. The following morning, 18th May, 1770, he gazed at them again while their rocky sides gleamed in the sunlight. As they reminded him of the kilns of glass-works in Yorkshire, he named them the Glass Houses.

Glasshouse Mountains

The individual peaks and hills have retained the names given to them by the Aborigines, with spelling that is the result of attempts by white men to represent the sounds.

Seen through the faint blue haze of distance, they have won the description, "Mountains of Mystery". Yet there is nothing mysterious about their origin, for they are merely residual plugs of ancient volcanoes that erupted ages ago before there were any people on earth.

But according to the stories told by the Kabi people to the early settlers, the mountains had once been people. The Aborigines used to recount legendary tales to explain not only how hills, caves, springs and other land features were created, but also why, in the first days of their race, some men were turned into birds, animals or fish. Onc such story tells why there is a spring at the base of Mount Ngungun which is a short distance east of Mount Coonowrin. It also tells about Jidi-Ghindi, the wagtail, who was once a man.

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1.   THE JIDI-GHINDI LEGEND

In the Dream Time Jidi-Ghindi was a restless, skinny man who was an inveterate gossip. He ran about here and there, always trying to find out what was happening to other people s o that he could gossip about them. That was what kept him thin. He was a jealous man, too, jealous of everyone else. That was why he liked sprea ding stories about them. Sometimes he made up a little extra to add spice to what he had heard.

At that time there was a lovely girl named Boolguroo. Her cheeks were as soft as the down on a young bird; her eyes were like pools of water with the sun shining on them; her voice was soft and musical, like the voice of the wind in the Coo-looli cypress pine trees.

There was a young warrior named Wongo. He was straight and strong and handsome. After he had been made a man, he saw Booiguroo and fell in love with her. But that was bad because they belonged to the same group that according to the law must not marry one another.

Boolguroo fell in love with Wongo and they used to meet in secret in a cave that Wongo had found in the side of Mount Ngungun. They would go there when Boolguroo was supposed to be finding fern roots or birds' eggs or else d igging for yams. Wongo would bring some of these things for her to put into her dilly-bag so that she would not be in trouble with the elders of the tribe; and as he was a skilful hunter, he himself never went baCK to the camp empty-handed.

Jidi-Ghindi saw Wongo's tracks going the same way each day so he followed him. Having spied on Wongo and Boolguroo, he went back and gossiped about them. He told everyone in the camp that Wongo and Boolguroo had said they were going to run away together.

The elders said that Wongo and the girl would have to be caught and punished for breaking the ancient laws. Jidi-Ghindi told them where they would find the two lovers. Having painted themselves with white pipe-clay, the tribesmen took their fighting spears and followed him.

While they walked towards Ngungun, Jidi-Ghindi danced about and chattered all the time, behaving in the way a wagtail does now. Wongo heard the chattering and looked out from the cave.

When he saw the painted tribesmen coming he guessed why they save Boolguroo. carried their fighting spears and thought, "I must They may spear me, but she will get away."

He led Boolguroo to the end of the cave where there was a hole leading to the side of the hill outside. When she climbed out, she would be hidden from the tribesmen. Then while she was climbing through the hole, Wongo stood up and faced the avenging party, calling out, "Why have you come painted like that?"

"Spear him," the head man shouted.

Wongo fell to the stony ground at the base of the hill. The tribesmen took their spears and returned to their camp. But they had not found Boolguroo who came back to the cave after they had gone.

The elders declared that either Jidi-Ghindi had told lies or else Boolguroo had escaped because she had heard him chattering so loudly that day. He must be punished, so they decided that he should be no longer a man but should become a restless, chattering bird. That is why Jidi-Ghindi, the wagtail, still chatters and jumps about all the time.

When Boolguroo came back to look for Wongo, he was not in the cave. Searching around, she found his body lying on the ground at the foot of Ngungun. She was so sad that she wanted to do nothing but weep for ever and therefore turned herself into a spring that would express her sorrow. Her tears still keep the ground moist at the base of Ngungun where she had found Wongo's body.

BOOLGUROO AND WONGO

Boolguroo had cheeks of velvet,
Limpid eyes like sunlit pools,
Voice as sweet as singing pine trees
That the sea-wind fans and cools.

Love of Boolguroo came swirling
Like a fire through Wongo's head,
But the tribal laws forbade them
And they knew they must not wed

Boolguroo was filled with longing
That could never be denle&
She and Wongo met in secret
In a cave on Ngungun's side.

But a tribesman, Jidi-Ghindi,
Mean of stature, keen of eye,
Saw the marks of Wongo's footstep,
Followed him and stayed to spy.

Jidi-Ghindi was a gossip
With a restless tongue and mind,
And he chattered of the lovers
And the cave they thought was blind.

Then the elders rose in anger
When the gossip gave them cause,
Taking spears to punish lovers
Who defied the ancient laws.

Wongo saw the old men coming;
Boolguroo he had to save:
Swiftly, silently she clambered
Through a hole above the cave.

When the old men hurled their weapons,
Wongo stretched to reach the sky,
But he tumbled lifeless, crumpled,
Where the pebbled ground was dry.

Boolguroo was struck with anguish
As she joined him where he lay,
And with tears that issued softly
She became a spring that day.

The Kabi people told a second story about Boolguroo and Wongo and the spring at the foot of Ngungun. In the Dream Time the Thunder Man, Ngooloo Ngooloo, had three wives. One of them was Yurgoo, the Wind, the second was Diguroo, the Lightning, and the third was the young woman, Boolguroo.

Wongo was a handsome young man who was also a skilful hunter, but the elders would not allow him to have a wife. He was a considerate man and was especially kind to the old women of the tribe who otherwise might have been left to starve. He used to give them some portions of the meat he obtained from his hunting.

One of the women helped by Wongo was old Milgay who was given the job of keeping the stars bright. She thought it was wrong of the elders to deny a wife to Wongo and from her place up in the sky she thought she would like to be able to repay his kindness in some way.

When Wongo first saw Boolguroo, he believed she was the loveliest giri.in the tribe. She was attracted to him, too, and the two became lovers. But they were forbidden to marry, not only because the elders had given her to Thunder Man, but also because she and Wongo belonged to the same tribal group. Nevertheless they used to meet secretly at night in a little cave on the side of Mount Ngungun.

Jidi-Ghindi, the busy-body, gossiped about the way the two young people met. When Ngooloo Ngioo heard about it, he and his two other wives went to the little cave. He shouted loudly while Diguroo threw her fire-stick into the cave and Yurgoo blew her breath as hard as she could.

Boolguroo and Wongo tried to escape. The girl climbed to the top of the mountain, followed by Yurgoo who was sending a fierce wind after her. When Boolguroo was almost at the summit, the wind made her lose her balance and she crashed to the ground.

Wongo was climbing up the slope when Diguroo caught him and carried him up to the sky. There she pushed him into a big cloud that was passing over the mountain. Up there, she thought, he would be kept as a prisoner for Thunder Man to punish when he was ready. But Milgay, the old woman, saw what had happened. She decided to help Wongo to escape before Thunder Man could reach him.

Milgay waited until Diguroo had gone back to Thunder Man. Then she beckoned to Wongo and showed him where she had poked a hole in the cloud. Looking down, he saw that he was over the top of Mount Ngungun and so was able to drop down.

After climbing down to the ground, he crept to where his friends were sleeping and asked them if they knew where he Could find Boolguroo. Some did not know and the others were afraid to tell him lest Thunder Man should be angry with them. They all told him that in any case he must not walk about in the night.

Wongo knew that one man would be sure to know so at dawn he went looking for him. Jidi-Ghindi was not under his leaf shelter. Wongo stood quite still and listened. When the sound of a chattering voice came from the other end of the. camp, he knew where he would find the know-all, Jidi-Ghindi.

Wongo went to him and asked where he would be able to find Boolguroo.

'Go to the foot of the mountain and you will find her,' Jidihindi replied. He began telling Wongo about something that he had heard that morning, but Wongo was already hurrying to look for Boolguroo.

Although he walked around Mount Ngungun, he could not find any trace of Boolguroo. He returned to Jidi-Ghindi and upbraided him for not telling the truth.

" I told you the truth. Boolguroo is at the foot of the mountain. Come and I'll show you," Jidi-Ghindi protested. "I never tell lies."

Together they went to the mountain where Jidi-Ghindi pointed to a spring that was flowing from the base. "That is Boolguroo," he said. "She was changed into that spring when she fell. It will always keep the ground moist because it is full of her tears. She wished that, rather then stay with Thunder Man."

Wongo was sad. He had lost Boolguroo and he knew that he would not be able to stay with the tribe. Looking up, he thought of the little cave where he and Boolguroo used to meet. On the side of the mountain above the spring he turned himself into another cave with two holes in the top so that he would be able to look up to the stars and let Milgay know where he was. And from there he would always be able to look down and see Booiguroo's spring.

On a clear, starry night, if you go to Ngungun and look up from the spring, you can still see the stars that Milgay has been polishing, because they shine through the holes in the top of Wongo's cave.

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2.   TIBROGARGAN AND COONOWRIN

To visitors driving along the Bruce Highway from Brisbane, the mountain nearest to the road looks like a baleful, hulking monster. This is Tibrogargan who, according to the Kabi legend, was once a man. Their story-tellers had an explanation to account for his hunched back as he faced east, turning away from his son, Coonowrin, who had been left with a crooked neck.

In the time of the tribe's Dreaming, before the mountains were made, Tibrogargan was a large man, the father of a family. Beerwah was his wife. One day they took their children with them to look for food. Carrying their spears and throwing-sticks, Tibrogargan and his eldest son, Coonowrin, walked along the slope of a valley while they searched for wallabies and fat lizards. Beerwah stayed near the creek, showing the younger children how to find grubs and roots that were good to eat. ked towards Hearing the booming of thunder, Tibrogargan loo the west. Black clouds there told him that heavy rain was falling on the distant mountains. Overhead, however, the sky was clear. The storm clouds might possibly come closer later on, but if they did, he decided, there would be plenty of warning. He had no worries about Beerw ah and the younger children being near the creek.

When he speared a big lizard, he carried it to the little cave where he had left h.is fire-stick burning.

Two of the younger children, Ennee and Yooan, walked further up along the creek, splashing the water as they waded. Suddenly Ennee screamed.

"Big water!" she cried. "Big water is coming."

Beerwah heard the scream and ran along the bank of the creek. Some bushes blocked her view. Ennee screamed again and called out, "Run, everyone! Big flood is coming." She and Yooan scrambled up to a safe place on the higher ground.

Beerwah stood for only a moment but turned too late. A flood of muddy water rushed down the creek bed and overflowed its banks. The brown torrent swirled around Beerwah, swept her off her feet and carried her along. Luckily she bumped into a small tree and held on to it. She cried out for help.

Tibrogargan heard her cry. Looking down towards the creek, he saw her holding on to the little tree with flood waters rushina past her. Their tall son, Coonowrin, was standing at the edge of the water so Tibrogargan shouted, "Coonowrin! Heir) vour mother. Give her your hand. Pull her out to the high groun@.'.

As Coonowrin had long legs, he could have waded through the water quite safely, but he was a selfish, cowardly young man. He would not go to help his mother but turned his back on her and walked away.

Tibrogargan was angry. Again he called out to Coonowrin but the young man shook his head and refused to go into the water.

Tibrogargan ran forward to help Beerwah himself. When near enough to Coonowrin, he hurled the word at him, "Coward!" and followed it up by hurling his throwing-stick. Then Tibrogargan dashed into the water and pulled Beerwah to safety.

Coonowrin staggered when the throwing-stick hit him on the back of the neck. He leaned against a rock. The blow had knocked his head forward and when he tried to straighten his neck, it would not move. Sorry for himself, Coonowrin called to his father for help, but Tibrogargan was still angry and said he did not want ever to see him again.

When Tibrogargan turned away, Coonowrin called to his mother, but she also refused to help him. When he asked for forgiveness, they ignored him.

Then Coonowrin was changed into a stone and because all of the people in those days were very large, he became a mountain. His neck remained crooked for ever, and some people still call the mountain Crook Neck.

Tibrogargan also became a stone mountain and, as he had turned his back on Coonowrin, vowing never to look at him again, that is the way he remains. With his shoulders hunched, he is bending angrily and his stone face still has a savage look.

The mother, Beerwah, also became a stone mountain, but because she forgave Coonowrin after all, she stands fairly close to him. But she still has her face turned half away from him.

The remaining members of the family were turned into mountains too, known to the Kabi people as Beerburrum, Tibberoowuccum, Ngungun, the Tunbubudla twins and the Coochin twins. A road from the Glasshouse Mountains township leads to the Mt Beerwah National Park where there is a splendid lookout. A branch road gives close views of Coonowrin. But the best view of the Glasshouse Mountains is gained by looking down from the Mary Cairncross area south-east of Maleny.

TIBROGARGAN AND COONOWRIN

Tibrogargan, hulking monster,
Sulking monster, angry one,
Snarling like a biting possum,
Turns his back upon his son,
While the young man, tall Coonowrin,
Contrite now with downcast eye
Begs forgiveness of his parents,
Stands aloof with neck awry.

In the Dream Time, Tibrogargan
Hunting lizard on the plain
Saw the muddy waters swirling,
Rising after sudden rain.

Tibrogargan grabbed his children
As they floundered in the mud,
Calling loudly to Coonowrin,
"Save your mother from the flood."

But the young man, tall Coonowrin,
Rushing on with heedless bound,
Caring only for his safety
Dashed to gain the higher ground.

Left his mother, gentle Beerwah,
Struggling where the waters swirled,
While his father, Tibrogargan
Took his boomerang and hurled:

Hurled his boomerang in anger
With a fierce, unerring aim -
At the coward who was running,
At the son who brought him shame.

In his flight the young man faltered
As he felt the sudden shock,
Knew his neck was dislocated,
Stopped to lean upon a rock.

When the waters had subsided,
Tibrogargan came again
With his lubra and the children
Hunting on the tribal plain.

Then Coonowrin begged forgiveness;
But his father turned away,
Still resentful, full of anger,
So remaining to this day.

And Coonowrin, tall and handsome,
Contrite now with downcast eye,
Pleading with his mother, Beerwah,
Stands aloof with neck awry.

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3.   RAINBOW MAN and MURRAWAH

The legend of the making of the Rainbow sands at Teerwah.

Coloured Sands

When the piccaninny day
Grew to manhood, Murrawah
Left the trees to gaze away
At the mountains faint and far.

As along the beach she turned,
All her dreams caught fire and ran:
Soft eyes glowed and glad heart burned
For the handsome Rainbow Man -

Rainbow Man whose ways were strange,
Who with smile and joyful shout
Strode in glory from the range
When the clouds went walkabout.

Hope and longing side by side
Walked with her throughout the day,
He would take her as his bride,
Come to carry her away.

For Burwilia claimed her hand -
He whose voice was like the crow,
Face with ridges like the sand,
Heart as hard as rock below.

When the mountains shouted loud,
Rainbow Man came from afar,
Leaned down from the moving cloud,
Softly called to Murrawah.

Then Burwilia snarled and ran
For his fighting boomerang:
Threw to strike the Rainbow Man
While triumphantly he sang.

As the weapon whirled and chopped,
Bands of yellow, gold and red
From the Rainbow Man were lopped
Failing from his wounded head

So the Rainbow Man was slain;
But the maiden, crying aloud,
Clung to him and they remain
As a rainbow on the cloud.

And the yellow, red and gold
Where they lie in fallen bands,
So the Kabi men have told,
Make the cliffs of Teewah's sands.

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Stories from the Woodford Area

The junction of the Brisbane and Stanley Rivers was known as Gunundjin, meaning 'hollow place', and was the point where the Garumngar, Dungidau and Dungibara territories met. A bora ring 1km west of Gunundjin, presumably in Dungibara territory, stands on the level part of a ridge in the middle of a pocket with the Brisbane River to the north, east and south. It is 17 metres in diameter and has an opening towards the west. Gunundjin was a sacred place. Swimming was forbidden there and Gairnbee Rock on the south bank stands as a warning to all who break this law. According to legend, a small girl went swimming there. Her father, who was a Gundir ("doctor"), saw that the girl was in danger so he used his magick to turn the girl into a rock, apparently with the intention of saving her from the wrath of an evil spirit. Gairnbee, which means "water gum" or its flower, was also the name of the Stanley River.

The Brisbane River was known as Mairwar, which means "platypus" in the Dungidau language. The Dungidau occupied an area bounded by Garumngar to the south and Dungibara to the north. The western boundary with the Dungibara was the Brisbane River, the eastern boundary with the Nalbo was a line from Woodford to Caboolture. The Dungidau people were the most centrally situated of the Dungibara and the place from which the name Dungibara is derived lay within their territory. It was a patch of "leura cane" (jini), about 25 acres in extent on Mount Kilcoy. The site of Kilcoy was called Bumgur, which meant "blue cod", and it was the birth place of Willie McKenzie, an aboriginal of the Dungidau Tribe from whom much of this lore comes, born at Kilcoy about 1875. The name Dungidau is derived from Dungi ("river") and Daw ("water gum").

The most important social centre in Dungidau territory was at Villa Neuve on the Stanley River just north of Mount Archer. Buruja ("edible grub") was the name of the swamp between the railway station and the river, as well as the name of Mount Archer. It was the main camp for corroborees on the Stanley River during the bunya season. It was also the testing of prospective doctors and the chief meeting place of the bora council of the Dungidau. There was a cave on Mount Archer where the bones of the dead were deposited in dilles. The name Neurem (Neurem creek enters the Stanley River a few kilometres upstream from Villa Neuve where there has been a large camp site reported) means "sleep" and is also the name of a magick bone dust scattered on an enemy's bed to produce sores, or the name of a magick crystal.

The former Durundur homestead, established by the Archer brothers in 1841, was situated on a low ridge west of the Stanley River and about a kilometre north east of the junction of Beerwah Road with the D'Aguilar Highway. It is now marked by a few tall hoop pines. The name Durundur means "witchety grubs", or " Moreton Bay Ash". In the 1840s it was a gathering point for three groups of aboriginals - the Dungidau, the mountain natives (Dallumbura and Nalbo) and the salt-water natives (Undanbi). Burarum ("water lily") was a lagoon on the Stanley River near Durundur. It was the source of Jimding ("magick white stones") and a place of healing and rain making. Another lagoon known as Bimanbi at Woodford was also the source of Jimding. Bora rings in Dungidau territory can be found in Somerset Dam, Oakey Creek and Wararba Creek and there are also rings said to have existed at Durundur and Villa Neuve.

The people of the Conondale Range and the head waters of the Stanley and Mary Rivers were the Dallumbura. Their language was Dalla which means "staghorn fern". They were often called the mountain natives and their territory was referred to as Bunya country as it contained a concentration of bunya pines, particularly at Baroon pocket and near Kenilworth. The Dallumbura were largely displaced when Durundur was taken up as a cattle station in the 1840s. Burgalba, a lagoon about 7 kilometres up the Stanley River from Durundur Head Station, belonged to the Dallumbura and the lands extended across the Conondale Range. Their fighting chief was Ubie Ubie who was observed to have killed a young man in a fight between the Dungidau, the Undanbi and the Dallumbura. They used a fern emblem because they lived in the mountain country and belonged to the Jinnaburra Federation with the Dungidau and Karung Ungar people. They regarded the call of the scrub magpie as an omen "for it is a mountain bird". They used knives made from quartz flakes. The language of the Dallumbura was really a dialect of the Dungidau languages. The Bergalba area was known as the 'little bunya country' in the 1840s. It was described as a fine flat of 4-500 acres, nearly clear of timber with some fine lagoons and dry ridges and the name Commissioner's Flat is said to relate to Simpson's visit in 1843. The Bergalba lagoon was an important cultural centre for the Dallumbura and itself was the home of Gairwar the "rainbow serpent". He was also the source of Mingom ("black stones") used in magick and it was the place of testing for youths who aspired to become doctors and finally it was a rain-making site where the Dallumbura doctors used their Jimding. The word Bergalba means "box trees" and eagle hawks used to build their nests in the box trees near the lagoon. The increase ceremony for eagle hawks was performed under the box trees and sticks were heaped up to resemble a nest and the eagles were commanded not to leave that locality.

There was also a bora ground near Bergalba, alongside the Beerwah Road, 1½ kilometres east of the Running Creek crossing where the Glasshouse Mountains may be seen. The ring is probably the smaller of a pair, oval in shape, measuring 15 x 12 metres and may possibly be the remains of a bora ground which was in use in the 1860s. It was 3 miles from Durundur and had a pathway 32 metres long between the two rings, the smaller ring being 8 metres in diameter.

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DINGADAU VOCABULARY
Pronunciation Guide

'a'

as in 'father'

'i'

as in 'sin'

'ee'

as in 'seen'

'oo'

as in 'food'

'g'

always hard, nearly like 'k'

'g' before 'k'

very short

'c'

represented by 'k' or 's'

'q'

represented by 'kw'

'dj'

like French 'j', almost like 'sh' or 'th'

-

represents distinct separation of syllables

 

Numbers

English

Dingadau

English

Dingadau

One

Garoo

Two

Gwair

Three

Goorumdar

Four (or five, or many)

Yourrun

Many

Guremar

-

-

 

Parts of the Body

English

Dingadau

English

Dingadau

Head

Marr

Hair

Marr

Eye

Mee-ar

Eyebrow

Dibingeer

Nose

Mee

Nasal bone

Gera-gera

Mouth,lip

Damboor

Teeth

Dee-eng

Chin, beard

Yeedcar

Forehead

Yeeairm

Tongue

Doonoom

Breasts

Dundar

Nail

Jicen

Hand, finger

Bee

Foot, toe

Dinnung

Anus

Gneem

Urine

Garwoorr

Kidney

Dair-wair-yeer

Back

De-eer

Blood

Deerr

Female pubic hair (or covering)

Jambujambu

Ankle

Wooloo

Vulva

Doonoo

Penis

Dagkar

 

Natural Objects & Phenomena

English

Dingadau

English

Dingadau

Sun

 

Moon

 

Star

 

Cloud

 

Sky

 

Rain

 

Rainbow

 

Light

 

Shadow

 

Wind

 

Mist

 

Thunder

 

Lightning

 

Darkness

 

Morning

 

Day

 

Night

 

 

 

 

Geography & Miscellaneous Nouns

English

Dingadau

English

Dingadau

Creek

 

Country

 

Ground

 

Hill

 

Cold

 

Fire

 

Water

 

Demon, ghost

 

Stone

 

Smoke

 

Hole

 

Lump

 

Path

 

Footmark

 

Smell

 

Heat

 

 

Names of Persons

English

Dingadau

English

Dingadau

Aboriginal wife

 

Aboriginal man, Aboriginals

 

White man

 

Woman

 

Old woman

 

Old man

 

Boy

 

Girl

 

Baby

 

Father

 

Mother

 

Husband

 

Wife

 

Elder brother

 

Younger brother

 

Elder sister

 

Younger sister

 

Children

 

 

Names of Animals

English

Dingadau

English

Dingadau

Echidna

 

Koala

 

Dingo

 

Kangaroo

 

Possum

 

Emu

 

Goanna

 

Eagle hawk

 

Crow

 

Black Duck

 

Wood duck

 

Scrub turkey

 

Pelican

 

Kookaburra

 

White Cockatoo

 

Black Cockatoo

 

Swan

 

Fly

 

Mosquito

 

Worm

 

Snake

 

 

 

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Created by Quenten Walker on 3rd July 1997
Last Updated by Quenten and Kim Bruce-Walker on 1st August, 2000.