Cirrus@Austlit

'The spotted cat is a culture hero who rescues the inhabitants of a large area from the depradations of a man-eating giant, a feat resembling others in myth, for example George and the dragon, Beowulf and Grendel or Odysseus and the cyclops.'

(Source: Warlpiri Dreamings and Histories, p. 21)

'This account of the Warlukurlangu (fire dreaming) story by Uni Nampijinpa is distinguished by its psychological realism, the detailed attention given to the characters and their feelings. The traditional story, very ancient, has great dramatic potential, describing as it does the persecution by the father, a figure of great magical power, of his two sons after they have broken a taboo of which they were not aware, ironically in order to satisfy him, and the subsequent painful deaths of the two young men.

(Source: Warlpiri Dreamings and Histories, 1994, p. 35)

'All the events in the narrative take place at or in relation to Yajarlu: the theft of the child, its return to its rightful home, the separate but always present concern of the old Jupurrurla for both the people, the mother and child, and the country, and who might be lighting fires. The narrative is about restoring things to their rightful state and position, In this way at the close of thstory, the traveller who is passing through on his way to his own home and relatives provides a coda elegantly emphasizing this central concern.'

(Source: Warlpiri Dreamings and Histories, 1994, p. 43)

'The tale of the travels of the witi poles is a central Warlpiri myth ... [it] involves a complete description of all the procedures relating to a boy's initiation, both the ceremonies, and the travels that precede and follow the ceremonies.'

(Source: Warlpiri Dreamings and Histories, 1994, p. 89)

'This story was told by Jimmy Jungarrayi, the senior traditional owner of the budgerigar dreaming at Patiliri, to Peggy Rockman Napajarri, who is a younger owner of the same dreaming, which belongs to the Jungarrayi-Japaljarri men and Nungarrayi-Napaljarri women ... Jungarrayi's central concern in telling the story is to place all the associated jukurrpa - the two men and the emu, the thieving cockatoo and the yam, the budgerigars, and the wind - in their correct relation to the place, Willowra (or Wirliyajarrayi) where he is, to Patilirri which he owns, and to Peggy, the interlocutor, and her associated jukurrpa. This follows the pattern of Warlpiri modes of address in which two people are addressed according to their relationship to both each other and to the speaker.'

(Source: Warlpiri Dreamings and Histories, 1994, p. 103)

'This narrative is an account of a major battle, the battle between the small yam (ngarlajiyi) people from Wapurtarli and the large yam (yarla) people from Yumurrpa. The climax of the narrative, its turning-point is when the leaders of the two groups decide the slaughter is so great that they should settle the matter by engaging in single combat, sitting cross-legged on the ground, a gruesome method which allows neither to escape. When the hero from Wapurtarli convinces the other that continuing to fight is useless, he does this without loss of face, which may well be the cultural achievement the jukurrpa celebrates, As the severly wounded hero limps back towards Wapurtarli, mourning as he passes the ranks of the dead now turned into stones, he heals himself by singing.'

(Source: Warlpiri Dreamings and Histories, 1994, p. 115)

'The Warlpiri jukurrpa of the two dogs (jarntujarra or malikijarra) concerns the travels of two black dogs all the way from Yarrajalpa in the extreme west of Warlpiri country to Alekarenge on the eastern edge where they settle. Popeye Jangala, who lives at Yaruman in West Australia, follows the adventures of the dogs as far as Yurlpawarnu. The later part of the story is told by Joe Jangala (q.v.) from Alekarenge in the east ... '

(Source: Warlpiri Dreamings and Histories, 1994, p. 125)

'This account by Joe Jangala of the later, eastern part of the story of the two dogs follows the progress of the couple from Warlarla, in the centre of Warlpiri country, to Yurlpawarnu and from there to where they finally settle at Alekarenge ... this section of the tale concerns the customs and protocol of living in the world particulary in relating socially to other different groups of people.'

(Source: Warlpiri Dreamings and Histories, 1994, pp. 135, 137)

'This jukurrpa story of the man Jungarrayi from a place called Wawarlja concerns a man who collected a large number of wives regardless of their kinship affiliations, a practice locally described in English as "marrying people of the wrong skin". For Warlpiri people, for whom the kinship or skin system is pivotal in both social arrangements and in the relationships of people to the land ...'

(Source: Warlpiri Dreamings and Histories, 1994, p. 157)

'This story is an account of a major historical event which took place at Yurrkuru near Coniston in 1928 and later became known as the Coniston massacre, although the killings took place in different Aboriginal camps scattered over the area ... the narrator retained the use of traditional narrative techniques such as imitating the protagonists' probable speech patterns and feelings, and locations ... '

(Source: Warlpiri Dreamings and Histories, 1994, p. 171)

'This is an account of how Mrs Olive Pink (1884-1975) ... was taken on a vine stretcher to Puyurru and then Yumurrpa, after she became seriously ill while living at Pirdi-pirdi (Thompson's Rockhole) with a group of Warlpiri people ... Ted Egan Jangala has used repetition to emphasize the sustained effort involved in travelling considerable distances with the sick woman, and also the way in which the sick are given constant support and personal attention ... Although this is not a jukurrpa story, it is now considered to belong to the Jangala-Jampijinpa men and women of one particular family.'

(Source: Warlpiri Dreamings and Histories, 1994, p. 179)