Guwaabal 10 Narran / Narran Lake and Narran River

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In the right-hand column the story is broken down into individual sentences. The first line is in Yuwaalaraay, the third is an English 'free' translation. The second line is an 'interlinear' translation; it shows the various parts of each Yuwaalaraay word (verb, noun, suffix etc). By examining this line you can see how words and sentences are built in Yuwaalaraay. Go back to Version 1 or go to the Notes page to find out the background to the story. This version of the story is fairly difficult to follow, and the notes will help you to understand the story better.

00		Narran narran Narran Lake and Narran River
01		Giirr ngaama nguu, yinarr nguungu really that.the he/she [Aboriginal]woman her/his bulaarr bayama-y. two catch-Past This fellow [a crocodile] grabbed another fellow's two wives.
02		Ngadaamali-nga banaga-nhi-nya. downstream-then run-Past-that.there Then he took off downstream.
03		Bayama-y ngaarrma-nga, bulaarr-nga-bala gungan catch-Past that-then two-now-contrast water gaa-waa-nhi, ngadaamali. carry-moving-Past downstream He caught them [the two women], he was also carrying the water downstream. [This sentence is unclear. At some stage the version changes, and there are two crocodiles.]
04		Ngiyarrma-nha-bala ganungawu, wunga-y-la-nhi, there-that.there-contrast all swim-continuous-Past [at Narran Lake]. [at Narran Lake]. They [the crocodiles] were swimming there, at Narran Lake.
05		Yilaa nguu-nga ngarra-y, ngaarringaarri-nga, bulaarr-nga. then he/she-then see-Past right.over.there-then two-then Then he [Baayami] saw the two of them far off in the distance.
06		"Bayama-li nhama ngaya, catch-Future that,the I "I will catch them,
07		ngaya birran.gaa-gu gayawi-li. I tomahawk-with throw.at-Future And I will pelt them with my birran.gaa. [Here the story changes from a narrative and Baayami describes his own actions.]
08		Giirr ngaya dhaygal-i buma-y. really I head-circumstance hit-Past I hit them on the head!
09		Giirr ngaya-nga gaa-gi. really I-then take-Future I will take them now.
10		Ngaama ngaya-nga bulaarr ngay yinarr dhuwima-li, that.the I-now two my [Aboriginal]woman remove-Future ngarraagulay-nga ngaya gaa-g-uwi-y, over.there-then I have-g-back-Future I will take my two wives out of them, and I will take them back over there.
11		Ngiyarrma-nga ngaya buurrngan-da dhanduwi-y-ma-li." there-now I meat.ant-in,at,on sleep-Past-cause-Future I will lie them down there, on the ant[bed]."
12		Gaba ngaama-nga dhaygal gi-ngindaay, ngaama good that.the-then head get-Rel.suff that.the ngaya gaa-g-uwi-nyi, bulaarr-nga, ngaarrma, guliirr ngay. I carry-g-back-Past two-then that husband.wife my And when they got better [heads got better] I took them back home, the two of them, my wives.
13		Ngaarrma-nga gungan gagil, baadjin-biyaay. that-now water bad poison-with The water there is now bad, poisoned. [Here Arthur Dodd is describing a pool at Narran Lake, the pool where Baayami washed his wives.]
14		Waal ngaanduwaa gungan ngawu-gi-la-nha, no one (doer to) water drink-continuous-Present balu-gi ngiyarrma. die-Future there No-one, nothing will drink the water there because they will die.