ACT TWO
SCENE TWENTY-EIGHT
Transformation music as the lights come up and MARRALAM and JINI enter from opposite sides.
MARRALAM: Dibinarra and Jini were hiding high up there in the ranges, waiting. Then Jini heard the shot.
The rifle shot is heard again.
JINI: I held my breath. Then I heard Ilaji and the others cheering.
The sound of cheers.
I knew my boy had come back to us. I skipped down those rocks like a nanny goat, like a little girl, just running to get there.
MARRALAM: But he was gone. Took off without a word. He left Mayannie to unlock us all. None of us knew what would happen. What to do.
JINI: When he walked in next morning, he said to dig a grave for Richardson. And then he just sat there, cleaning his rifle.
Lights up on JANDAMARRA at Lillimooloora, cleaning a rifle, as around him, the BUNUBA come and go in high spirits, carting goods, trashing and deconstructing the homestead. YILIMARRA watches JANDAMARRA.
ILAJI emerges wielding a cut-throat razor.
ILAJI: Nginyjaga ngindaji? [What’s this?]
JANDAMARRA ignores him. ILAJI snaps the razor shut without meaning to, cutting himself in the process. He exclaims and sucks at a finger.
YILIMARRA calls the hijinks to a halt and turns to JANDAMARRA.
YILIMARRA: Ngayi ban.ganggurangi. Nginyji-ingga banggayiya limba. [You can’t go back now. You’ve shot a policeman.]
JANDAMARRA: Ganday bagaray, jimarri-ngarragi nyirraji. [He was a rough bastard, but he was my friend.] Like Lindsay Bligh was. My two mates are finished. Nginyji gan.bawuwinanyi dulug’gaanju. [If you follow me, you might die too.]
MARRALAM joins them as YILIMARRA answers.
YILIMARRA: Ngayini garrganybu. [I can’t leave you.]
MARRALAM: Nhi ganinyi ma yathari? [He’s in charge now, is he?]
JANDAMARRA: Malngarri-ingga muway bananggarrwanbinigi… Ngindaji gurrijgurragi. [Whitefellers are coming to take our country. They’ll have these.] [Getting to his feet] Jilamana, bulit, ganpowda. Armi jangi. [They’ve got guns, bullets, gunpowder. Just like an army.]
ILAJI has rejoined them now.
ILAJI: Nginyjaga armi? [What’s an army?]
JANDAMARRA: Nyana-ngarri gurama jilamana ngarri. [A big mob of men with guns.]
Silence until MAYANNIE enters, with the baby crying.
JANDAMARRA turns to MAYANNIE and the babe, as JINI joins them.
Borbela Jambiyindi, yoo gudim noa Dadee nou. [Poor feller Jambiyindi. You’ve got no father now.]
[Taking the swaddled babe] Mie boi. [My son.]
MAYANNIE throws her arms around him. He kisses the babe then passes him back to her. He picks up his rifle and leads everyone off.
Ba wadbarra.
SCENE TWENTY-NINE
The lowing of a big herd of cattle is heard. JANDAMARRA, MAYANNIE, YILIMARRA and ILAJI take position on vantage points in the ranges, guns at the ready. MARRALAM runs on.
MARRALAM: Wadgurragali. [They’re coming.]
JANDAMARRA aims and fires. His rifle shot rings out.
JANDAMARRA remains frozen in the firing position, watching, as the others show themselves.
ILAJI: Nyirrami girrgarami. [The other one’s getting away.]
He shoots inexpertly. The recoil sends him stumbling backwards.
Aah, nginyjaga.nhi. [Aah, shit!]
The shot seems to bring JANDAMARRA back to reality. He glares at ILAJI, kneels, aims, fires, immediately followed by MAYANNIE with her rifle.
Yaiyee! Duluggawuwurranintha! [Both of them dead!]
MARRALAM enters, dragging GEORGIE, an Aboriginal stockman who throws himself to the ground. With his hands up, he pleads for his life.
JANDAMARRA: [calling] Jorjee! Gidub! [Georgie! Get up!]
GEORGIE rolls onto his back, in a state of terror as he eyes JANDAMARRA.
Gidub Ie bin sai. [Get up I said.]
GEORGIE struggles to his feet, shaking with fright. JANDAMARRA looks around at the others to make sure they get the message.
Jorjee, dulim orlu thaijin mob, en bileej mob, orl lud. Wee gudim bag ou gundree nou. Enee wujbulu wee fiendim lu Bunuba gundree na, wee guddu gillim. Yoo gibidim thud wird. [Georgie, you tell all the station mob, all the police mob, everybody. We’re taking our country back now. Any whitefeller we find on Bunuba land now, we kill them. You tell them that.]
GEORGIE: [retreating] Yij boj. Janggiyoo, janggiyoo. Ul dulim orlabud Bijin. [Yes, boss. Thank you, thank you. I’ll tell them, Pigeon.]
JANDAMARRA: Oi Jorjee!
GEORGIE turns.
[Laughing] Mudbee thai guddu jidim julb? Liegu yoo. [Reckon they’ll shit ’emselves? Like you.]
A shot from MARRALAM near his feet makes GEORGIE skip as he rushes off.
Ba wadbarra, waginyawu! [Come on. Don’t let that wagon get away!]
JANDAMARRA runs off, followed by all except MARRALAM.
MARRALAM: What a feast we had that night! We cut the fattest cows out of that big herd, and got all sorts of fancy tucker out of the wagon. Jandamarra was right about the guns too. He started teaching us how to use them. He had a plan, and by then, as far as fighting the whitefellers went, I was ready to do whatever he said. Dibinarra wasn’t happy. He’d been to Yilimbirri’s spring. The water there was gandayi—no good. He reckoned that Yillimbirri Unggud snake wasn’t looking after his country. He said we had to go and sing for the snake. But Jandamarra said, ‘I’m here to fight. Not to sing the snake.’ He wouldn’t go anywhere near Yilimbirri.
SCENE THIRTY
ILAJI enters wearing a silly wig and a robe, followed by FORREST. Other actors don silly hats and become MPs making parliamentary-style interjections.
ILAJI: [shouting] Order! Order in the House! The Member for the Kimberley has the floor!
FORREST: Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the treacherous attack at Devil’s Pass cost not only the lives of Burke and Gibbs—
Angry interjections.
—and the loss of many hundreds of stock. On top of their arsenal from Lillimooloora, the murderers seized—let me list it—one Winchester rifle, one Schneider rifle, a double-barrelled shotgun and four revolvers! 4,000 rounds of ammunition, four pounds of gunpowder and 20 pounds of shot.
MEMBERS are shocked.
Gentlemen, we are facing an insurrection! In these circumstances, I must ask of you, is the life of one white man not worth that of a thousand natives?
The sound of morse code. The CROWD yells its agreement as they transform into Derby townsfolk and become JOE’s CROWD in Derby.
JOE enters, waving a piece of paper, and holds up his hands for silence. MARY follows him and watches.
JOE: Good people of Derby, ‘Is the life of one white man not worth that of a thousand natives!’ That was Forrest in the Parliament in Perth last night. And there’s not a true white man in this land would say otherwise!
The CROWD cheers.
There’s already three white men dead out there. And Edgar only escaped by the skin of his teeth. You can do your sums as well as me! I fed and I clothed that heathen devil Pigeon when he was a young’un. And against my better judgement I let him back to work on Lillimooloora. Richardson—may he rest in peace—called him a brother! Enough of trust. Enough of charity. Let our bullets do the talking!
A frenzy of cheering as JOE flourishes the piece of paper with one hand and hefts a rifle with the other. The CROWD fades away as MARY runs to JOE.
MARY: Joe, this is about Lindsay, isn’t it? He wouldn’t want you to have blood on your hands.
JOE: ‘Blood on my hands.’ How dare you! You think my son would’ve stood by and let these savages wreak their havoc?! They’ll have gobbled up Burke and Gibbs’ kidney fat by now. And you know what? The devils will’ve dug up Lindsay’s bones by now, to use in their cursed potions.
He brandishes his hands at her, shouting as he exits.
Let ’em be covered in blood. The more the better. As long as it’s nigger blood.
MARY: And so the madness began.
SCENE THIRTY-ONE
JINI enters. There are night sounds as she closes her eyes, gathering her memories, before launching into the story. Others re-enact the story, making grass bundles, etc. JANDAMARRA can be seen directing the OTHERS.
JINI: We knew what they were going to do; the police always came at first light.
MAYANNIE: There was no moon—that was good for us. We used all the blankets from Limalurru to cover up bundles of grass—make it look like there was a mob camping down by the river. Jandamarra picked out the places for the all the men with guns, and gave them their orders.
JINI: I was in the back of the big cave, in charge of all the women and kids. Not Mayannie though.
JOE, BARNETT and TROOPERS creep on and take up positions.
MAYANNIE: They came creeping in, just like he said. Two lots, one from the north end, one from the south. They settled down, watching our ghost camp. And we watched them. All waiting for the dawn.
JINI: We knew as soon as he fired the first shot, all the others would follow. If they shot straight, most of those police would be dead before they knew it. The police, the station mob, Joe Bligh. The whole lot… It was that blacktracker Jim Crowe that saved them, coming down over the top with those Queensland boys.
JIM CROWE: [offstage, shouting] Take cover! They’re in the rocks!
The sound of one shot.
JINI: His shot put a hole in the sergeant’s hat, but not in his head. That’s how close it was. After that it was like…
MAYANNIE: Like hell. Everybody shooting. The sounds bouncing around off the walls of the gorge. All the white cockies screeching, the kids screaming and crying.
A fusilade, actors ducking and shooting. The screeching of cockatoos, screaming and gunshots.
But then it just stopped… Everybody was just shooting at shadows. The malngarri had got cover, and our mob were hidden. The bullets were just bouncing off rocks.
Lights up on JOE and another squatter, ALF BARNETT, hunkered down.
JOE: Must be five hours, Alf.
BARNETT: She’s a stalemate alright. First one on either side makes a move is gonna get his head blown off.
JOE: Least we’ve got shade. It’ll be getting hot for the coppers over there.
BARNETT: Reckon it was only Phillips got hit?
BARNETT cautiously raises his head to peer out.
JOE: Think so.
Bang! BARNETT ducks back down.
JANDAMARRA: [calling] Ngayi bujawunggurrugu bulit. Yarri Bunuba. Yarri linggawarra. [Don’t waste your bullets. We’re Bunuba. We know how to wait.]
MAYANNIE: Yilimarra must’ve had something he needed to tell Jandamarra.
YILIMARRA is on the move. The boom of a shotgun. He clutches at his back and goes down.
JOE: Got the bastard!
There is an outbreak of cheering and a fusilade of shots. JANDAMARRA appears.
JINI: Jandamarra ran out to drag him in, but Yilimarra waved him back—he knew he was gone. That’s when Jandamarra took his first bullet.
We see this.
He didn’t feel it. He was just staring at Yilimarra, crying.
She pauses. She shudders before picking up the story again.
The police got a better line on the cave, and the bullets started coming inside. A woman and two kids were hurt. And he just stood there. Then they were charging across the sand, to get up close.
MAYANNIE: [screaming] Jandamarraa!
JINI: He stepped out, and let off two shots. Then he took his next bullet.
JANDAMARRA staggers.
MARRALAM: Us men in the other caves ran out of bullets. Soon it was just Jandamarra and Ilaji left, with Mayannie reloading the guns for them.
JINI: I started pushing all the women and kids back up the tunnel. It was a nightmare. Climbing through all these rough, tiny tunnels. Everyone crying, scared. But they got through, up to the top and clear away.
JANDAMARRA’s actions match JINI’s description. MAYANNIE can be seen passing rifles to him and ILAJI, letting off a couple of shots.
MAYANNIE: Jandamarra took another bullet, through his shoulder. I was screaming at him to pull out, but he was telling me to hold on, so the others could get a start.
JINI: He was at the front of the cave—three bullets he had already—and he leaned against the rock with one hand—all bloody it was—and he kept firing and firing. He was hit in the leg. Another one in the guts, and still he didn’t stop. Till at last he collapsed, and slid down. He left this big bloody scrape on the rock.
MAYANNIE: [screaming] Waaraa! Ngay wadbayurrmagi! [Don’t let them take him!]
MAYANNIE and ILAJI drag JANDAMARRA back and they disappear. ILAJI reappears and pops off one last shot. The wailing of women can be heard over JINI’s lines and into the start of the next scene.
JINI: We thought he was dead. It was like a dream, but somehow we got him through that tunnel, up to the top of the cliff, and away to Tunnel Creek.
Over JINI’s last lines, JOE leads BARNETT and a TROOPER up. They peer into the cave, whilst JOE scrapes the rock with a finger, which he then licks.
SCENE THIRTY-TWO
The next day, at Lillimooloora. JOE is kneeling by Lindsay’s grave, carefully wrapping a canvas parcel. BARNETT and a TROOPER enter.
BARNETT: [calling anxiously] Joe?! You coming?! [To himself] What’s he doing?
TROOPER: Did you see him back there, Mr Barnett? Dipping his finger in that pool of Pigeon’s blood? Tasting it? [Shaking his head] I reckon he’s losing the plot.
BARNETT: Leave him be.
TROOPER: I’m more than happy to stay out of his way.
JOE gets to his feet, holding the canvas parcel. He looks around, before he lets his gaze come to rest on the TROOPER.
JOE: We gave this place to you lot. Look at it. Wrecked.
BARNETT: Come on, Joe, we’ve got to hit the track.
JOE ignores the TROOPER, addressing himself to BARNETT, who has looked across to the grave, then back to JOE.
JOE: I’ll not abandon my son.
BARNETT: Jesus, Joe!
JOE: I’ll not abandon him to them, I tell you! I was going to get him away from here. Down to school. He’d’ve come back a man, and we’d’ve taken on the world. I was going to get him away.
He sits, the parcel on his knees.
Better late than never, hey boy. It’s no fit place this. Not now.
The TROOPER steps back, appalled. BARNETT squats beside JOE.
BARNETT: Joe, we’ve got to go. Come on. This is no time to be riding solo.
JOE: You go. I’ll follow directly.
The TROOPER and BARNETT exit as JOE tenderly brushes dirt from the canvas, then hugs the parcel to his chest.
Flesh of my flesh. There’s naught but bones now.
He stumbles to his feet and walks unheedingly across stage, talking to the canvas parcel.
They killed you, Lindsay, sure as he killed that fool Richardson and the others with his bullets. I know it. They’ll not take you for their wicked spells, lad.
He turns and crosses back.
In holy ground you’ll rest. White man’s ground.
MAYANNIE and ILAJI drag/carry a desperately wounded JANDAMARRA to his recovery place. She arranges his head on her lap and sits stroking him.
SCENE THIRTY-THREE
The lights change. Derby. MARY storms on as JOE approaches, still staring down at the parcel of bones.
MARY: How dare you!
JOE: I saved him from them, Mary.
MARY: From who?! From what?!
JOE: We must see to his funeral.
MARY: We! This is your… [searching for the word] … crusade. Not mine. I’ll have none of it, Joe. [Defiantly] I’m going back to the station.
JOE: Fine. Just don’t expect me back there for a good while yet. I will bury my son—in holy ground. And then there is a job to be done. I’ll crush those vermin.
MARY: What is happening to you? Lindsay loved that land. He was happy there like no other place in his short life… You had no right to move him. No right. He was my son too, Joe.
MARY runs off as FORREST enters.
FORREST: They’re finally getting serious down in Perth. They’re sending Sergeant Lawrence up.
JOE: Lawrence, hey? They say he’s done a good job in the Pilbara.
FORREST: And his offsider, Mingo Mick. And listen to his orders! [Reading] ‘Upon arrival you are to assume control of the whole force and direction of the operations against the natives. In doing so you must be guided by circumstances and your own judgement.’
JOE: Free rein at last!
FORREST: [reading] ‘You must understand that the object of your mission is to free the district in a decisive manner and act promptly in the matter.’ It’s about time, eh? There’ll be extra coppers and trackers coming with him, not to mention guns and ammo. Any local who’ll volunteer can be sworn in as a Special.
JOE: Special Constable Bligh reportin’ for duty, Alexander. I’ll give Lawrence the guided tour.
FORREST: I figured you might.
JOE and FORREST exit.
SCENE THIRTY-FOUR
Lights up on JANDAMARRA. Still MAYANNIE sits stroking him as she softly sings the Dirrara lament. MARRALAM enters.
MARRALAM: They started up near Garang.ngadja and came down the river. Lawrence’s mob on the north side, Joe Bligh and his men on the south.
A rifle shot, offstage.
From Garang.ngadja through to Derby—200 miles… And hundreds of bodies.
MARRALAM continues as a WARRIOR staggers on, holding a wound. He collapses. JOE follows, then crouches over the body, cutting. He stands, holding a necklace of animal bones. He examines them, fondles them, then places them around his neck.
I watched from the cliffs, talking to the ones who survived, taking word back to Dibinarra in Tunnel Creek when I could. One Noonkanbah bloke told me a bad spirit had got hold of Bligh. He rode in there from Milijidee side one night and started dragging people out of their beds, screaming at them.
JOE: [screaming] Where is he?! Where’s Pigeon?! Tell me, or I’ll take the whip to you!
JOE staggers off, clutching at the bone necklace. MAYANNIE’s song is heard again for a few more bars, then MARY enters.
MARY: I saw Joe once in three months. I sat it out at Brooking Springs. Long, silent days and nights, with the air hanging heavy, as if there was an evil taint to it.
MAYANNIE’s song again. JINI enters.
JINI: We never thought he’d live, but Yilimbirri Unggud wouldn’t let him go. Three months he was layin’ there, inside Tunnel Creek, barely alive, while Lawrence and Bligh ran wild. They shot everyone they found who wasn’t shivering in the station camps.
MARY: [turning to JINI, shocked] But Lawrence’s report said there were twenty-eight shot.
JINI: [furious] Twenty-eight! Bullshit, Mary! It was everyone they found. Not just Bunuba. Gooniyandi, Nyigina, Walmajarri, Mangala, Unggumi. Ngarinyin. Everyone.
What, you reckon blackfellers can’t count? Twenty-eight! I know the names of the dead. I knew the husbands and wives and grannies and little kids that got left behind.
The lament again, louder this time, MAYANNIE crying as she sings. JINI turns away from MARY, disgusted.
MARRALAM: One day, I was following Lawrence and his gang. I came over the crest of the range and spotted their camp. They had five men and two women chained up round a tree. I was too far away to hear him proper, but Lawrence was shouting at the trackers. Those trackers were shaking their heads and trying to back away, but Lawrence kept at them. I saw them lift up their rifles, and I heard the shots, and the screaming of the women, until all seven of them were dead, right there on the chain. Then they took the chains off them, and piled a mob of wood around the tree, and started the fire… I could smell it, all the way up there on the range, those bodies burning.
MARY: Surely not.
JINI and MARRALAM give her scathing looks, taking a step towards her.
MARY realises that they are speaking the truth and tries to take it in.
SCENE THIRTY-FIVE
Projected animation #12: Raii flicker around JANDAMARRA.
JANDAMARRA is alone now. Images of the Raii—the spirits of the Bunuba world—can be seen flickering around him. There is a low rumbling: the sound of Yilimbirri Unggud. He stirs slightly.
Projected animation #13: Snake breathing, smaller in girth (further away), but bright.
The projected image of a snake appears on the rocks above JANDAMARRA. For a moment, the rumble is louder, before fading again. JANDAMARRA twitches, then is suddenly awake. He sees the image of the snake and half sits, propping on his elbows.
YILIMBIRRI UNGGUD: Iminyji.
The word echoes. JANDAMARRA sits up properly.
Ban.gawina muway-yawu. [Bring me home.]
The rumble flares, and then fades away, as does the snake image.
JANDAMARRA: [fearfully] Yilimbirri Unggud.
He gets gingerly to his feet. He feels his torso uncertainly, then leans for a few moments on the rocks. He takes a step back, and almost falls. Eventually, he staggers down.
MAYANNIE is the first to see him. She bounds to his side to support him. DIBINARRA, MARRALAM and ILAJI run on and join them, hovering anxiously.
Yilimbirri Unggudingga wayami ngarragi. ‘Ban.gawina muway-yawu!’ [Yillimbirri Unggud called to me. He said, ‘Bring me home’.]
ILAJI: [bewildered] Nga nhi? [Where is he?]
JANDAMARRA: Iminyji-yawu. Birriga Ngarinyin muwayi, nyirrami-yuwa bilanyi… Iminyji-yuwa yathawurrantha. [Iminyji. In the north-west near Ngarinyin country, with the snake there… He’s gone to Iminyji.]
JANDAMARRA closes his eyes, exhausted. He leans back against MAYANNIE, who holds him tight and gently rocks him.
ILAJI: [deeply alarmed] Yilimbirri Unggud Iminyji yuwa? Nginyjaganhi warigawanu? [Yillimbirri Unggud at Iminyji? Why did he leave?]
DIBINARRA, though, looks as if a penny has dropped.
DIBINARRA: Nyirraji ngambi milha minybali bagawurragi. Winyji ngay. [That’s why the meat is all skinny. Why we can’t get rain.]
ILAJI: Nhir muwayi nyirraji. Ngarranggani nhi. [But this is his country. From the Creation.]
DIBINARRA: Malngarri-ingga wirrijgiranyi garuwa. [It must have been when that white boy buggered up his spring.]
DIBINARRA signals ILAJI to be quiet and gestures at JANDAMARRA who seems to have fallen asleep. They half carry him off. MARRALAM is left alone.
MARRALAM: It took a clever man like Dibinarra to understand what Jandamarra said; to work out what had happened. And why. All the makers of this country had their places, where they had lived since the Ngarranggani, the Creation Time. When that friend of Jandamarra’s, that white boy, dug up his spring, Yilimbirri Unggud was so angry that he left. We didn’t have any stories about the Ungguds leaving their homes. What Jandamarra was telling us was unimaginable. But it rang true. That was why the country was sick. The trees were dying. The meat was skinny. And that snake calling to Jandamarra, what did that mean?
SCENE THIRTY-SIX
JOE stalks the floor, worrying at the string of bones and staring out into the darkness.
JOE: You’re out there somewhere, aren’t you? Working your magic. If you were dead, I’d know it… We will meet again.
He stalks off.
SCENE THIRTY-SEVEN
Projected animation #14: Raii flicker around JANDAMARRA.
JANDAMARRA is sitting cross-legged, where he lay in a coma. The Raii are flickering around him. He seems to be talking to them.
JANDAMARRA: Ngalanyba!… Ngalanyba, gimangarragi. [Sing!… Sing, sing, he keeps telling me.] Ngalanybila, ban.gawularri-ali. Bilirri ngarragi wurugana yarra? Mi ngarragi walay.yuwa. [If I sing, if I bring him home, will he take my spirit? Like he told me when I was a kid.] Nginyjaga junba ngalanybila? [Which song will I sing?]
MARRALAM: Dibinarra taught Jandamarra all the law he had missed—at his initiation, and in all the years he was running with the whitefellers. That, and more. Law, and knowledge, and songs that were too deep for a man like me. Dibinarra was showing him the path to power, to becoming a Jalgangurru.
DIBINARRA: Ngarrung.ngu yathari. [I think he is ready.]
WANGAMARRA sings the ‘White Cockatoo’ junba, which continues through this scene.
DIBINARRA faces JANDAMARRA. MARRALAM joins them. He ties bands of string around each of JANDAMARRA’s biceps. DIBINARRA puts a hand on JANDAMARRA’s shoulder.
Nginyji jalgangurru thirrili ngarri. Gamanbimbirragi inya, udgawalha jirigi jangi. [You are a medicine man, a Jalgangurru, with a big power. If they look for you, you will disappear like a bird.]
There is just the singing, as MARRALAM paints JANDAMARRA with white ochre. The painting continues, as DIBINARRA moves around, placing a hand on the other shoulder.
Raii-way Yilimbirri. Nginyji-ingga yadjilinyja, nyirra jarr-way waywirrantha nganggi. Winyiwunantha. [When Yilimbirri and the spirits call to you in your dream listen to them.]
The singing continues as MARRALAM carefully completes the painting, ending with the face. Then he hands an amulet of black cockatoo tail feathers to DIBINARRA, who places this around JANDAMARRA’s neck.
[Gesturing around them] Milawa. Muwayi ganday bagara yaranggi. Nginyji ganinyi wadbira muwayi jalangurru awuni… Yarri.ingga ganba.winya. [Look. This land is sick, Jandamarra. You must lead the way if the land is going to be healed… We will all follow you.]
The singing ends. JANDAMARRA dips a hand into the coolamon of ochre, then holds it high.
MARRALAM: Jandamarra accepted his power, at last. His spirit. His bilirri. [Pointing at the ball of JANDAMARRA’s thumb] It lived here, in his hand.
JANDAMARRA walks away from them and out of view. ‘Cooloo-coo-coor’, the cry of the topknot pigeon rings out. MARRALAM and DIBINARRA turn and watch the projection of a flying bird.
Projected animation #15: Dub bird flies away.
SCENE THIRTY-EIGHT
JANDAMARRA and MAYANNIE creep on. She scatters flour, in which he stomps, then dances before they exit.
TRACKER GEORGIE sees the footprints as he enters. He gasps, looks again.
GEORGIE: Ahh, shit… Boss! Come quick!
He points urgently as a TROOPER runs on.
[His voice quavering] Look! Pigeon for track!
TROOPER: Track him down, Georgie.
GEORGIE: [fearful] No! He’s teasing us.
TROOPER: [raising a hand as if to give him a backhander] I’ll whip you. Track him down.
They run off, with GEORGIE in a state of terror, as MARY enters.
MARY: I had to hide the thrill I felt when I heard about the footprints in the flour at Lillimooloora. Word spread like wildfire, Pigeon was back. Joe was right.
JINI: For the next three years we were running free. They never stopped hunting us. But it was the best time for me. I had my boy back.
MAYANNIE: [running on to join JINI] Mostly we were just living in the old way, hunting, moving camp all the time.
JINI: It was like the days before the malngarri came.
MARY: I often used to think about Jini. Trying to imagine what her life might be like: on the run, hiding, hungry.
JINI: [laughing] Hungry! In our own country!
MAYANNIE: And we had fresh beef whenever we felt like it.
JINI: I wanted it to go on forever.
MAYANNIE: We could’ve killed plenty more whitefellers.
JINI: But Jandamarra wouldn’t let us.
MAYANNIE: He’d go down and leave his tracks, or send some men down to start fires, or let themselves be seen with a gun.
JINI: But he knew if we kept killing they’d bring Lawrence back, and there would be slaughter, like it was after Bandilngan.
MAYANNIE: ‘Nguja linguwurra, ngayi milu.u.’ That’s what he used to say. Keep them worrying, but don’t make them wild.
JINI: He didn’t know how to make that Unggud come home, how to clear the path for the snake. But he reckoned the best way was to make the country quiet.
MAYANNIE: And every night we sang to Yilimbirri Unggud.
MARY: By the second year me and a woman on Quanbun were the only white women left on the stations. No-one talked about anything but Pigeon. Where was he? When would they catch him? Pigeon fever, I called it.
Projected animation #16: Clouds passing quickly.
SCENE THIRTY-NINE
During the previous speeches JOE has entered. He pulls a canvas bedroll over a body-shaped mound of brush. He picks up his rifle, retreats into the darkness, and watches.
A mopoke’s call breaks the silence. JOE starts at a flicker of movement behind him. But before he can react, JANDAMARRA has an arm around his neck and a revolver held to his temple. JANDAMARRA takes his rifle and stands over him.
JANDAMARRA: I know that trick, Joe Bligh. We’ve been watching you, riding up and down the country all on your own.
JOE is kneeling. There is silence, except for his raspy breath.
I’m sick of fighting. Fighting and running. Us mob, we can only run round in circles, cos we can’t leave. This is our country… You can go back, though. Where you came from. To your country.
JOE: I’ve got no ‘country’, Pigeon, none bar this.
JANDAMARRA: Stay on your side of the range, and leave us free on this side. Leave us half our country, an’ maybe we can stop this war.
JOE laughs, bitterly, and gets to his feet.
JOE: We’re not leaving. Us whitefellers. Grass! Pasture. That’s what it’s about. To feed our bullocks. I need more. We all need more. But we can’t do it while you’re on the loose. Even if I did pack up and leave, someone’d come behind me. Not just one man either. Hundreds. Thousands. So the cards are just gonna have to fall.
JANDAMARRA points at JOE’s breast, the string of bones.
JANDAMARRA: Did you kill the man you took this from?
JOE: I rode in after Lawrence and his boys had broken up the camp. The feller was already dead. Something was telling me to take it.
JANDAMARRA forces JOE back down to his knees and takes the string.
JANDAMARRA: That belonged to one of my uncles. I’ll give it to his son, Ilaji.
JOE: I dream about you, Pigeon.
JANDAMARRA: My name is Jandamarra.
JOE: They say you’re a magic man, hey… It was you witchdoctors and your magic killed Lindsay. I know it in my bones.
JANDAMARRA: What do you know about magic?
JOE: It’s all about fear, I reckon. Tracker or tribesman, they’re all terrified of you, aren’t they, Pigeon?
JANDAMARRA: You know what magic is really?… It’s power that you don’t understand. I used to think guns were magic. Bang! A roo falls down dead. Or a man. But I know now… I can’t make a gun. But I can make bullets. Lead from tea chests. Melt it down, shape it. Bit of gunpowder. I’ve got one like that in this rifle now.
JOE looks dubious.
They work alright.
JOE: I’ll take your word for it.
JANDAMARRA: My power comes from a place you’ve never been—inside my country. Not just on top, like your house. I’m talking about deep inside the land. I can go there now. I know that place. But you know what? One part of the country, he’s empty. That power’s gone. And that means everything is sick. No rain, you know about that, don’t you, Joe Bligh? There’s a reason. Ever since Lindsay went into Yilimbirri Unggud’s place.
JOE: What?!
JANDAMARRA: That’s what killed him. Not me, not witchdoctors. The country. The power in this country… I tried to stop Lindsay going there. I was his friend… I was too late.
JOE opens his mouth, but no words come. JANDAMARRA picks up the guns. JOE flinches as he approaches.
Like I said, I’m sick of fighting. But I’ve got to bring that power back. Bring that Yilimbirri Unggud back home.
JOE: How?
Now JANDAMARRA is behind him again, pistol in his back.
JANDAMARRA: I don’t know yet.
JOE: [with a strangled laugh] Look at us, Pigeon. Both riding solo, both at our wits’ end. I figured it was down to me to sort things out. So I come out into the wilderness like this to face the demon down.
JANDAMARRA: Face the demon down.
JOE: And look where it’s got me. Staring down the barrel of a gun.
JANDAMARRA slips silently away, leaving JOE expecting death. When he realises no shot is coming, JOE almost collapses with relief. He gathers up his swag and scurries off.
SCENE FORTY
Bush. ILAJI stalks on, brandishing his rifle, pushing MARRALAM away. They are followed on by DIBINARRA and a YOUNG MAN.
ILAJI: [angrily] Gandayi gilima. Ngalanybinggirragi yathawunggurragi milu ngayi, gima yarrangi. [I’m sick of it. He’s always telling us to sing, he won’t let us fight.] Blayi ngawungu dangaj’gawuwunu-ngarragi. Ngayini-ingga dangaj’gawulunu. [Bligh killed my father. And now he’s running around our country. I want to kill him.] Jandamarra-ingga wiliga. [Jandamarra is shielding him.]
DIBINARRA: Ngayi wilig.gaya. Nhi.ingga malngarri yani thatharrawurranigi. [He’s not shielding anybody. He’s holding the whitefellers back.]
A furious ILAJI fires his rifle out over the audience, not noticing JANDAMARRA enter. He turns and sees JANDAMARRA.
ILAJI: [nervously] Ngayi milay-nya— [I didn’t know you were—]
JANDAMARRA holds out a fist to ILAJI. He uncurls his hand and there is the necklace of bones.
Nginyjaga? Ngadigaya? [What the hell? Where did you find it?]
JANDAMARRA puts a finger to his lips.
JANDAMARRA: Ngayi birrganyguwina. [Don’t even ask.]
He puts the necklace into ILAJI’s hand.
Wadgingira Iminyji-yawu. [I’m going to Iminyji.]
MARRALAM and ILAJI exchange an apprehensive look. DIBINARRA smiles.
Yilimbirri Unggud wabiyalhaa-ngarri. Digalarri ngarragi-ingga guda. Mantha wadbingay-nhi. Mulngunyu wabaumi ngarragi, winyiwayi ngarragi junba. [Yillimbirri Unggud is sniffing the air. I can feel it in my guts. I’m going to face him. He can smell my sweat, and hear my song.] Marralam.way, Wangamarra, wadbirra ma? [Marralam, Wangamarra, will you come with me?] [To DIBINARRA] Muwayi yarrangi gurrijbinggirragi. [To ILAJI] Milu ngay. [Look after our country. [To ILAJI] And no fighting.]
ILAJI: Yuwai.
DIBINARRA blesses JANDAMARRA, MARRALAM and WANGAMARRA the singer in turn, with a look, a hand on the shoulder, and a quiet word. The three depart. ILAJI and DIBINARRA exit stage right.
SCENE FORTY-ONE
Lights up on MINGO MICK at Lillimooloora. JOE and FORREST enter, arguing, followed by a TROOPER.
JOE: It’s arse about, that’s what I’m telling you. I should’ve been asked.
FORREST: How could we, with you out scouring the wilderness for weeks on end? They’re on their way. Fifteen hundred head of prime beef cattle.
JOE: Pigeon’s still out there.
FORREST: There’s been no sightings for months. He could be dead for all we know. A spear in his belly from some jealous buck. It’s now or never, Joe. They’re saying in Perth that if the Kimberley doesn’t turn round soon, they’ll give up on us, and I’m not going to let that happen.
JOE: What would they know?
FORREST strolls over to MINGO MICK.
FORREST: Picked up any sign?
MINGO MICK: Nothing fresh.
FORREST: You’re closing in though, aren’t you?
MINGO MICK: Might be.
FORREST: You’ll do it, Micky, I know you will… They tell me that boy of yours is putting on weight. He’s being looked after well, I hear.
FORREST exits with the TROOPER. MINGO MICK glares at JOE as he paces past.
JOE: What?
JOE looks away, then hurries off.
JACKY limps on, looking around to make sure all the whitefellers are gone. He is nervous, but excited.
JACKY: Yoo garn gidim Bijin. Ee Jalgangurru. Mee noa jubee yor wird blu thuddun. Liegu midijin man. [You can’t catch Pigeon. He’s Jalgangurru. I don’t know what you call it. Like a medicine man.]
MINGO MICK stays silent, knowing, powerful.
Yoo joodim guddu boolid—nujing—ee gorn. Ee jainjim lungu bird or eneejing. Ee blai uwai. [You shoot him with a bullet—nothing—he’ll be gone. He can change into a bird, or anything. He’ll fly away.]
MINGO MICK: Mudbee Jagee. [Maybe, Jacky.]
He reaches under his shirt and pulls out an amulet similar to Jandamarra’s, on a thong around his neck. He blows gently on it.
JACKY drops his head. He stands frozen for a moment gathering his wits, before scurrying off as fast as his bad leg will let him. But before he makes it off:
Hey, Jacky.
JACKY turns.
Thurrun Mayannie weye Jandamarra gudim, ee dordu blungu yoo indid? [Jandamarra’s woman, Mayannie, she’s your daughter, isn’t she?]
JACKY: [panicky] Yoo leebim loan! [You leave her alone!]
A light on MARRALAM.
MARRALAM: It took us ten days hard walking to get to Iminyji Unggud’s place. I didn’t go in with him. I waited nearby.
Projected animation #17: Snake, dim and thin.
JANDAMARRA and WANGAMARRA climb up onto a ledge. JANDAMARRA does the gesture of a hand to each armpit and the tossing of a pebble.
JANDAMARRA: Iminyji, ngayini ngindaji Jandamarra. [Iminyji, it is me, JANDAMARRA.]
WANGAMARRA begins to sing. JANDAMARRA sits and joins him.
MINGO MICK becomes alert, prowling the floor, sniffing the air.
JANDAMARRA and WANGAMARRA are still singing. There is a faint tremor: Yilimbirri Unggud’s noise, low but distinct. JANDAMARRA gets to his feet, raises a hand high.
Projected animation #17 continues, but now the snake is bright and thin.
The noise seems to almost take on the rhythm of words, deep and indistinct.
YILIMBIRRI UNGGUD: Ngalanyba, guju wudgawudagi. Bilirri-nhir ban.gawayali. [Keep singing. The bones are long gone, but the spirit can return.]
The noise passes. JANDAMARRA and WANGAMARRA join MARRALAM at his spot on the range.
JANDAMARRA: Wulaami. [He spoke.]
JANDAMARRA and WANGAMARRA exit.
MARRALAM: Yilimbirri Unggud spoke to him again. I was dying to know what had been said, but I didn’t dare to ask, and he hardly spoke a word to me all the way back to Yilimbirri’s spring.
Transition.
SCENE FORTY-TWO
The BUNUBA gather. JANDAMARRA is surprised to see JACKY with the others.
JANDAMARRA: Nginyjaga-nhi-ma? [What’s wrong?]
DIBINARRA: Mingo Mick.
JANDAMARRA: Ban.garay-ma limba-yawu? [Is he back with the police?]
JACKY: Limalurruyuwa yathari. Jalgangurru nginyji-jangi. [He’s there at Limalurru. He’s a magic man, like you.]
JANDAMARRA: Ngayi ngayini jangi nyirraji gurama. Limba.u bulba dayga. [No, he’s not like me. He’s wearing a uniform.]
DIBINARRA: Nginyjaga mi Iminyji yuwa? [So what happened at Iminyji?]
JANDAMARRA: Wulaami… [He spoke…]
A pregnant silence.
‘Ngalanyba. Guju wudgawudagi, bilirri-nhir ban.gawayali.’ [‘Keep singing. The bones are long gone, but the spirit can return.’] Nginyjaga-ma wilalari. Nhir-ma bilirri? Ngarragu-ma bilirri? [Touching his arm] Ngarragi guju burrudi gurrijgila. [I don’t know what he means. His spirit? My spirit? I still have my bones.]
DIBINARRA looks towards YILIMBIRRI, then back at JANDAMARRA.
DIBINARRA: Ngayi-yarra miluwayini nganggu. Malngarri-yarra buga. [Maybe he was wasn’t wild with you. Maybe it was the white boy.]
JANDAMARRA: Nginyjaga wilalanggira? [What are you talking about?]
DIBINARRA: Duluggawuwaninyi malngarri buga, nginyji gudama? [When that white boy died, were you there next to him?]
JANDAMARRA: Garuwa yuwa warayay. Ngayini ngindaji warangay. [He was at the spring. I only came this far.]
He realises what DIBINARRA is driving at, and looks at him, shocked.
Ngayi! Linji.u bilirri? Linji.u guju? [No! Lindsay’s spirit? Lindsay’s bones?]
WANGAMARRA: [sung] Unggud bila wila, Unggud bila wila
Balara ma nginyji Balara ma nginyji
The song continues softly beneath the next scene.
SCENE FORTY-THREE
MARY and JOE enter. He is organising weapons, readying to leave.
JOE: [tormented, defiant] Of course he’s still alive.
MARY: You’ve seen him, haven’t you?
JOE’s silence is all the answer she needs. She starts shaking him.
You bastard! You cruel bastard! Tell me. Tell me!
JOE: He said he wanted to stop the fighting.
MARY: Did you talk about Lindsay?
JOE: He reckons one of them snakes Lindsay talked about lived in that spring, where he died. He says it was the country—the power of that snake—that killed Lindsay.
MARY: He told you this himself?
JOE: With his gun at me head. Reckoned that snake ran away cos Lindsay buggered up its place. The land is crying, and everything is sick, he said, since Lindsay went there.
MARY: And then he just let you go?
JOE looks at her, but cannot summon an answer.
He lets you live, yet still you… you…
JOE: I’ve no choice. We’re bound, him and me. I’ve got to see it through.
A silence, then:
MARY: Lord have mercy on us.
JOE picks up a bedroll and rifle. MARY stands stiffly as he gently kisses her cheek, then leaves. She watches him go, lost in her thoughts, and does not see JANDAMARRA enter.
JANDAMARRA: Missus Bligh, I need to talk to you.
MARY: [whirling around] Pigeon?… Is it you?
JANDAMARRA: It’s me. Jandamarra.
MARY: [hesitantly] Jandamarra… You talked to Joe?
JANDAMARRA: Yes.
MARY: You told him that everything is sick since Lindsay died? That the land is crying out?
JANDAMARRA: That’s right.
MARY: Crying. That’s what I’ve been hearing. I can never tell if it’s Lindsay, or the land, or just me. But that’s what I’ve felt, since the day Joe dug up Lindsay’s bones.
JANDAMARRA: [struggling for the words] J— Joe took his bones away?
She nods nervously.
MARY: After the fight at Windjana. He took them away.
JANDAMARRA: Bilirri nganggi urugawuwila! Guju nganggi udgalha! [I will take your spirit! Your bones will be lost!] It was Lindsay!
MARY: What?! What are you talking about?
JANDAMARRA: That day. When Lindsay died. The rainbow snake spoke, ‘I will take your spirit’, he said. ‘Your bones will be lost.’ I thought it was me he was angry at, but it was Lindsay, not me.
MARY: Oh… my… God!
He takes MARY’s hands in his.
JANDAMARRA: Mary… I will ask Yilimbirri Unggud to send Lindsay’s spirit home.
JANDAMARRA leaves her, climbing the range.
MARY: That was the last time I saw him.
SCENE FORTY-FOUR
The singing continues.
As MARRALAM talks: we see JACKY running to the singers, and some leaving with him; JANDAMARRA taking position up high, rubbing a pebble under his armpits and tossing it; MINGO MICK, MARY and JOE each taking up separate positions on stage. JOE has a cross.
MARRALAM: We kept singing, like Yilimbirri Unggud told us to. But then Jacky got word to us about the mob of cattle coming into Limalurru. He said they were going to push them through the Oscar Gap. To our side of the range. For three years we’d held them up. Jandamarra had given his word that he wouldn’t let them set up any sort of station on our side of the range. Now they were coming. He said he’d keep that promise, but first he had to sing Yilimbirri Unggud home.
MARRALAM exits. JANDAMARRA spreads his arms wide as he looks to the heavens.
JANDAMARRA: Nginyji ban.gawirali muwayi.yawu. Garrgawu nyirraji ganday muwayi. [Come back home. Leave that bad place.] Malngarri buga bilirri banggawayali. [You must let go of that white boy’s spirit.] Ngarranyi-way nganggawila. Bilirri ban.gawayali, nginyji-ingga jimi. [Give him to his mother. Return it, like you said to me.] Ban.gawirali muwayi yawu. [Come back home.]
Projected animation #18: Snake, bright and fat, returns and breathes.
A sound begins to build—the snake sound. JANDAMARRA gets to his feet, raises an arm, then another.
The others are also on their feet, wondering, alert, sensing something.
MARY: Lindsay?… Lindsay!
The sound peaks. Then subsides with a whistling, sucking tone.
MARY exits, smiling broadly.
JANDAMARRA, back turned, slowly, slowly lowers his arms.
JOE looks all around, wonderingly. MINGO MICK looks knowingly, then turns his gaze on JOE.
MINGO MICK: You’ve got him inside your head now, haven’t you?
JOE turns, startled, holding the cross behind his back, as if to hide it.
JOE: Who?
MINGO MICK: Jandamarra.
JOE looks away, unwilling to admit it, as MINGO MICK moves closer.
You rode with Lawrence, hey?
JOE nods.
Was it hell?
JOE: I didn’t think so at the time.
MINGO MICK: He’s holding me nephew in Roebourne Jail. Forrest’s orders. If I don’t get the job done up here, they reckon he’ll be sent to Rottnest Island… Not many come back from there.
JOE: No choice.
MINGO MICK: No choice.
The sounds of cattle can be heard.
He’ll be in there, living inside you till the day you die.
JOE: Jandamarra.
MINGO MICK: The herd’s on the move. Time to earn our keep.
MINGO MICK puts on his hat and strolls off.
JOE stares after him. He moves over to the Lillimooloora grave and kneels. He forces the cross into place. It stands there, slightly askew.
JOE: Lindsay… I’m sorry.
He gets to his feet again and makes his way off.
SCENE FORTY-FIVE
DIBINARRA joins JANDAMARRA at Yilimbirri, where Lindsay died. He cups his hands and takes a sip of water, testing it.
DIBINARRA: Jalangurru… Ban.garay! [It’s good…. He’s back!]
He places a hand on JANDAMARRA’s shoulder.
Nginyji.ingga, manyjayima jalangurru. Muwayi gigawuni yarrangi. [You have done it, you’ve made it good! The land will thrive again.] Junba bagaway-nhir. [There will be songs for this.]
WANGAMARRA: [sung] Yalunggani jawulja birrirri nginba ngani
Yalunggani jawulja birrirri nginba ngani
JANDAMARRA gives a nod of acknowledgement, then:
JANDAMARRA: Ngurru wadbingay. Ngalabani milawingay. [I’m going. I’ve got to join the others at the gap.]
He runs off, followed more slowly by DIBINARRA.
The sound of cattle on the move, stockmen calling and cracking whips can be heard.
SCENE FORTY-SIX
Lights up on MARRALAM and BUNUBA MEN taking up positions on the range, as JOE, MINGO MICK and TROOPERS creep in to take up positions below.
MARRALAM: We waited there at the Oscar Gap.
The WARRIORS see the approaching cattle. They manoeuvre, ready for battle.
Our hearts sank when we saw the dust of this huge mob of cattle coming. There were half a dozen stockmen, a mob of troopers and trackers, and Mingo Mick. And no sign of Jandamarra.
Chaos. Shouts and gunshots.
ILAJI steps forward, crouches, fires.
ILAJI: Yuwana! Wadbalima! [I got him! I killed one!]
But as he shouts, he takes a bullet himself. Another WARRIOR darts out and drags him back, but even as he disappears, ILAJI is triumphant.
[Gasping] Yuwana wadbalima ngawungu! [I got one, Dad!]
The battle continues, with MARRALAM shooting and ducking as he talks.
MARRALAM: Ilaji finally got his revenge. It was the first whitefeller we killed in three years. But we couldn’t hold them back. Ilaji, Rawali, Dibag—all shot.
He is the last man standing, as MINGO MICK and JOE approach him from behind.
A few got away, but Mingo got me.
MARRALAM is disarmed and led off as JINI and MAYANNIE, heavily pregnant, enter.
JINI: The other women took all the kids and ran for their lives. Mayannie and I had to dodge the patrols, but we managed to find Jandamarra and Dibinarra coming back from Yilimbirri and warn them.
JANDAMARRA and DIBINARRA enter.
MAYANNIE: Bujani. Milu.ngayi. [It’s finished. We can’t fight any more.] [Moving closer to him] Ngindaji nganggi buga. [Your child.]
She takes his hand and places it on her stomach.
Wadbirra winami-yawu rawurriga, ngayi diganbirrarri. [Let’s go to the hill country, they’d never find us.]
JANDAMARRA: Malngarri-ingga, bilagawirrama yarrangi. Dangajgawunburrunugu Jambiyindi-wayi. [They would follow us. They would kill you. And this baby.]
MAYANNIE: [desperately] Ngayi diganbirrarri. [They won’t find us.]
JANDAMARRA: Ngayi ganbanya. Ngayi garrgalu Marralam janga janga ngarri. [I can’t come. I can’t leave Marralam on the chain.]
MAYANNIE: [wailing] Ngayi! [No!]
He holds her gently.
JANDAMARRA: Nginyji wadbira maaninga. Ngarranyi Dibinarra way. Wadbinggirragi birriga balili-yawu. Yathawura nyirraji-yuwa buga wilharrawuni. [You must go tonight. With Mum and Dibinarra. Go to the limestone place. Stay there till the baby is born.]
She shakes her head, sobbing, as he disengages and backs away.
Wadbungay yinggirranggu nyirraywa baljuwa…. Ngay.yarra. [I’ll come to you there later… If I can.]
He turns and runs off.
JINI: That was the last time we saw him.
SCENE FORTY-SEVEN
MARRALAM walks in the plodding CHAIN GANG, surrounded by TROOPERS and MINGO MICK.
MARRALAM: We watched the stockmen push those cattle on through the gap. It felt like everything was over. When we started on the long walk west to Derby I thought I was leaving my country for the last time. I felt that chain cutting into my neck. Bligh didn’t go with his cattle. He stuck as close to Mingo Mick as he could. We were all watching the ranges, thinking about Jandamarrra. It was near sundown on our third day when he came, running hard out of the setting sun.
The CHAIN GANG comes to a halt as JANDAMARRA runs in through the audience and across the stage into the bush.
Jandamarrra had set a trap. But he didn’t quite make it.
JANDAMARRA runs on. Just before he reaches safety he is shot. He collapses, clutching at his guts.
MINGO MICK enters, with rifle, kneels, aims.
JOE runs on. He stops by MINGO MICK, puts a hand on the rifle and pushes the barrel down.
JOE: I should finish what I started.
JOE walks slowly over to JANDAMARRA, who is sprawled on his stomach. He pulls a revolver from his belt, closes his eyes, then kneels. He brings the gun to JANDAMARRA’s temple.
Suddenly JANDAMARRA whirls, bringing his rifle up. The sound of simultaneous shots. JOE staggers backwards, shot in the hand, blood spilling. Shot yet again, JANDAMARRA disappears into the ranges.
MARRALAM: At sun-up they sent one of the trackers out to get the horses. Jandamarra dropped him with a single shot, and then the bullets started flying—from all directions. [Shaking his head] I thought he was going to set us free. But then the firing stopped. I think Mingo must have winged him again.
The PRISONER behind MARRALAM on the chain gang taps him on the shoulder and points. All the MEN on the chain gang look to the sky.
Ngumurru… Winyji. [Clouds… the rain coming.]
JANDAMARRA’S VOICE: Yilimbirri Unggud ban.garay! [Yilimbirri Unggud is back!]
On the chain, the BUNUBA MEN swell with pride and happiness.
MARRALAM: [reverently] Yilimbirri Unggud ban.garay… That was the last time I saw him.
A TROOPER jerks on the chain, and the GANG’s slow progress resumes. MARRALAM speaks as they exit.
Mingo tracked Jandamarra all that day and the next, back to near Tunnel Creek. He left a blood trail like a wounded roo.
SCENE FORTY-EIGHT
MINGO MICK enters, eyes down, following a trail. He looks up to the range.
MINGO MICK: [calling] Jandamarra!
Silence.
Ie gin loogim wijai yoo bin goa. Yoo garn gidard brom deye. Or mudbee yoo gudim nuthuwun dunool, ai? Mudbee Ie torgin lungu nujing. [I can see which way you’ve gone. You can’t escape from there. Unless you’ve got another tunnel, hey? Maybe I’m talking to a ghost.]
Another silence.
Lijin lungu mee. Bileejman gumin ub. Gilojub nu. Blie guddu orlubud doo… Ie bin fiendim yors bild guddu boolid. Yoo mudbee runard nou. [Listen to me. The police are coming. They’re close now. Bligh’s there too… I found your bullet belt. You must have run out now.]
Another silence… then:
JANDAMARRA: [offstage] Ie guddim wun boolid. Nub blu yoo. [I’ve got one. Enough for you.]
A horse whinnies.
MINGO MICK: [looking off] Thurrun dem nou. [That’s them now.]
A shot, then JANDAMARRA appears and shoots.
A TROOPER runs on with a bandaged JOE and TRACKER.
TROOPER: [as they enter] Come on!
JANDAMARRA fires again, aiming towards them.
TRACKER: Shit!
TROOPER: Take cover!
They dive into shelter stage left. JINI and MAYANNIE enter stage right and sit as witnesses.
JANDAMARRA lays down his rifle and climbs to the top ledge. When he stands tall he and MINGO MICK lock eyes.
JOE steps into view, gun at the ready, but not aimed. MINGO MICK stays eyes locked on JANDAMARRA. With one hand he signals JOE to stop. JOE accepts this, lowering his gun, and retreats.
MINGO MICK: Thurrun jinaig? [The snake?]
JANDAMARRA: Yilimbrri Unggud, ee bin gum bag. [Yilimbirri Unggud. He’s come home.]
JINI and MAYANNIE begin singing a lament softly, beating time with clasped hands pounding their laps, which is sung under the action.
JINI & MAYANNIE: [together, sung] Dirrari wala waray, winyilay, wala waray, minyarri
Dirrari wala waray, winyilay, wala waray, minyarri
JANDAMARRA smiles as he walks to the edge of the ledge.
MINGO MICK: Bujee, lu mie gundree, Ie wurru bin liegu yoo, biedin bor mie gundree. Bud Ie bin bolurin nuthu road. [Back in my country, I could have been like you, fighting for my land. But my track went a different way.]
JANDAMARRA: I know.
JANDAMARRA holds out his right hand. MINGO MICK salutes him, and nods as JANDAMARRA slowly raises the hand.
Slowly, deliberately, MINGO MICK takes aim.
JANDAMARRA’s right arm is flung backwards as the shot takes him in the ball of the thumb. He spins and falls.
Lights low as the women’s song swells louder.
MINGO MICK climbs up. He removes his police jacket, then sits cross-legged at the feet of JANDAMARRA’s body.
He and the women look as JANDAMARRA’s spirit flies away.
Projected animation #19: Jub bird flies up and disappears upwards, centre stage.
The lights fade down on JINI and MAYANNIE for a final verse of the lament.
Blackout as the lament ends.
Projected animation #20: Snake, breathing slowly. Peaceful and powerful.
Lights up.
After applause JINI is helped up to join the BUNUBA on the top level.
JINI holds up a hand to silence the audience.
JINI: Jandamarra died for this country, for making it strong again. We remember by our songs.
She sweeps an arm in a wide circle, to encompass all around them.
All this land, every hill, every creek, has a song. Yilimbirri Unggud’s country, we call ’im Jumbururru. This is a song for that country.
WANGAMARRA begins, and is joined by the FULL CAST:
WANGAMARRA: [sung] Yilimbirri mindi barurru ngarri jarra binma
Yilimbirri mindi barurru ngarri jarra binma
Yilimbirri mindi barurru ngarri jarra binma
Bululuwa mindi barurru ngarri jarra binma
Bululuwa mindi barurru ngarri jarra binma
Bululuwa mindi barurru ngarri jarra binma
THE END