bad news — message about a death
boss for oneself — autonomy
business — ceremonies, ritual
business woman — woman who engages in and takes responsibility for ritual and ceremonies
camp — domestic space consisting of windbreaks, rows of sleepers and fires
cruising — driving or walking around, checking out what is going on elsewhere, and visiting
divorced — the end of sexual relations in a marriage
dolla-wangu — without money, broke
grow up — to look after and nurture a child
early days — the period of initial settlement and strict institutional control
humpies — shelters of corrugated iron and bush materials
jangkayi — men’s camp
jarnpa — a person who walks around at night in order to kill another person and make trouble, men with special powers to make themselves invisible who wear emu-feather foot covering to dissimulate tracks, who travel with harmful intentions, kurdaitcha, bogey-man
jilimi — women’s camp
jinamardarni — to hold and to look after
jinta — one, alone, single, singly, single-handed, solitary, same, unique
jukurrpa — dream, Dreaming, ancestral beings and associated rituals, designs, songs, places, ceremonies time of the ancestral beings, story, ritual, song, law, custom
kala-rla — lunchtime
kapu — he/she/it will (do something)
kardirri — white, light in colour
Kardiya — non-Indigenous person, whitefella
karikurda — erratic wind that changes direction, ‘upside-down’ winds
karlarra — west
karlarra-wardingki — ‘those belonging to the west’, polite way of referring to women
karna — I am (doing something)
-ku — suffix: to, for
kulkurru — in the middle
kumparri — thunder
kunarlupu — storm clouds, hail
kurdaitcha — see jarnpa
kurdu-kurdu — children, storm clouds
kurdu-kurdu-pinyi — to form clouds, make offspring, generate, form, spawn, and procreate
kurlangu — belonging to
-kurra — towards
lawa — no
look after — to be in a relationship of responsibility towards (a child, a ceremony, country)
marlpa — company, companion, companionship
-mayi — turning a sentence into a question, ‘isn’t it?’
munga — night
mungalyurru — early morning
mungalyurru-rla — as the sun comes up
munga-ngka — night-time, at night, in the night
ngapa — water, rain
ngati — mother, kinship term
-ngka — on, in, at; suffixed onto words with one or two syllables
ngunaka — lie down!
ngunami — to be, to lie, lying down
ngurra — home, camp, shelter, nest, ancestral place, country
ngurra-jarra — two camps, two nights
ngurra-jinta — one camp, one place, one night
ngurra-kurlarni-nyarra — (lit. camp-southside) = patrimoiety of J/Nakamarra, Jupurrurla/Napurrurla, J/Nampijinpa, J/Nangala subsections
ngurra-ngajuku — my home
ngurrara — country, fatherland, place, land, home
ngurrarntija, ngurra-wardingki — person belonging to a certain place, countryman, householder.
ngurra-yatuju-mparra — patrimoiety of J/Napanangka, J/Napangardi, J/Nungarrayi, J/Napaljarri subsections
ngurra-yuntuyuntu — place where many people lived for an extended period of time, large camp, long-term camp
nullahnullah —Aboriginal English term for fighting stick, also kuturu
olden days — pre-contact and early contact times, characterised by a nomadic lifestyle, a hunting and gathering economy and an elaborate ritual life
pipa —paper, bible, church service, funeral
-rla — on, in, at; suffixed to words with more than two syllables
run around — having transient sexual relationships
sorry, sorry business — vernacular term for mortuary rituals
sorry camp — camp people sleep in during mortuary rituals
sorry mob — group of people who have travelled from other settlements to participate in mortuary rituals
stopping — staying at, living with
story time — sitting around a fire with close friends and relatives and exchanging news and gossip, remembering events from the past, planning trips, and joking
visiting — coming and going from camp to camp for social interaction, daytime activity
visitor — ‘strangers’, people one does not know but who are in Yuendumu for some reason
wantimi —to fall
Warlpiri — name of people traditionally occupying northern part of the Ngalia Basin, the Tanami Desert, Lander River, Hansen River (see also Yapa), name of the language spoken by Warlpiri people
warlu — fire, firewood, hot, ashes, fireplace, hearth, cooking fire
warungka — deaf, forgetful, unable to understand or remember, stupid, retarded, foolish, mindless, uncaring, feeble-minded; also used for the very young and the very old: not fully knowledgeable social persons
wirnpa — lightning
wiyarrpa —poor bugger, poor thing, sympathetic exclamation
women’s business — women’s ceremonies and rituals
wuraji — afternoon
wuraji-wuraji — around sunset, late afternoon, evening
yalka — space between windbreak and head of sleeper
yani — going, walking
yanirlipa — we go
yanirra — going away (from us)
yantarra —go away!
Yapa — person, Warlpiri person, Aboriginal person, people, Warlpiri people
yaparla — reciprocal kin term for a person’s FM, FMZ and FMB, and SC
yarlu — space with nothing on or over it
yarlukuru — synonym for jilimi, women’s camp
yarrkujuju — place where deceased person lived, where person died, camp of dead person, deceased person’s camp
yatijarra — north
yitipi — outside, on the outside
yungka-ju! — give me!
yungkami — giving
yunta — windbreak, place where people sleep
yupukarra — married people’s camp
yuwarli — house (physical structure)
yuwayi —yes