iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

Hello,

i am searching an important dreamtime Story. Allways i find this words "Minyma Kutjarra Tjukurrpa". The english name of this story is "the two sisters". This is all what i have found:

"Minyma Kutjarra Tjukurrpa. Two women travelled all the way from Irrunytu through to Kaltjukatjara. They were collecting kampurarrpa all the way and camping rockhole to rockhole. They met some Tingari men. This is a big, big story, nothing more can be said."

Is there one who knows more? Waht are Tingari Men? And what is kampurarrpa? Is it a secret story?

Thanks a lot.

And best regards from Northern Germany

Torsten

This is one of the Tingari creation cycles from the Central Desert region, where they did not historically use the didjeridu. A quick google search will lead you in the right direction. Here's a brief description of the Tingari:

The mysterious “Tingari Cycle Dreaming” is a creation myth that refers to a group of ancestral
elders who embarked upon periodic epic journeys through vast tracts of the Gibson/Western
Deserts. As they traveled, they performed sacred and mystical rituals which opened up new
land. The adventures of these Tingari groups are enshrined in numerous song and painting
cycles which still inform the Pintupi people today.

Hi Torsten, Nyuntu palya nyinanyi (basically, how are you, but literally; "Are you sitting well ?"

once upon a time, long, long ago I was a Pitjantjatjara speaker - this is a language widespread across central Oz, from Uluru in the north to Adelaide in the south (it wasn't always like this) - once mooted as a language all aussies should learn - it was taught at Adelaide Uni, as was music..... I recognise these words and know a little about this story. If you have no further luck finding info via the internet I may have some that I can forward.

Minyma is the word for women, kutjarra is the number two and Tjukurrpa is the ancestral past - "the Dreaming" if you prefer. So this is a special story about two ancestral women in the distant past. Yes, the Tingari series of songs and ceremonies are secret and contain sacred texts and performance (song and dance with percussion - no didj) so what is available is only the public aspects of the cycle. It is a long performance that involves ground sculptures and painting and also body painting and elaborate headress etc. if I recall correctly. Kampurarrpa is a native bush tomato growing across the arid parts of Oz. It's botanical name is Solanum centrale - tastes fantastic and can be eaten raw, usually dry straight off the bush. Sometimes it can be purchased commercially here in Oz. The plant grows only about 0.5 m high and yields a fruit about 1 cm in diameter- tastes like the best sun-dried tomatoes you've ever eaten. The plants are high yielding and the yield can be manipulated by traditional burning practices.

Pronunciation - meen-ma, koo-jar-ra, Jook-oorr-pa, Kump-oo-rarr-pa. Stress always on first syllable with the exception of one or two words - kutjarra being one of those words - stress on -jarr-.

Here's a photo of mine of Solanum centrale - taken many years ago in central Australia;






all the best, or should I say, nyanganyi - "seeing you..."

But not any more, Peter? What happened? It sounds like a pretty good idea to me!

Are indiginous languages in Australia viewed as 'official languages', like English is?

Thanks,


Dan

Hi Torsten,

I'm curious why you are interested in these stories. Is it because you have a painting with this subject matter?

Bita, you're a gem mate and a wealth of info!

Dan, none of the Indigenous languages of Australia are 'official', the only national language of Australia is English.

Guan

Hi Guan,

i am interested in this story, because i had read, that this story is knowing by every clan. From the North to South and from East to West. And if so, what is the content?

And yes, i saw a picture with "two sisters".

@Peter
Thanks for that information.
Can you forward a little bit more to me about this story?

Another question:
is it true, that all the aboriginal people are knowing the same sign language?

I hope you will understand my german school english

Best regards

Torsten

As you can imagine Dan, people are very proud of their language - it's a big part of their identity, so while it sounds like a great idea to have a single language designated as THE official language it means many speakers of other langaugaes are offended as their language is not being recognised. Pitj is spoken over a huge area and there are other central Australian languages that have similar roots such as Yankunytjatjara, Pintubi, Walpiri etc, but then other central languages such as Arrernte are really quite different and all of these are very different to any of the languages in the Top End (several thousand kilometres away to the north).

Having a single language may be good for non-Aboriginal people to learn but I think it's destructive to all the other languages in the longer term as they'll fall into disuse. We're lucky to still have so much - we gotta try to keep it all !!

And Torsten, as far as I know there is no common sign language or spoken language across this wide brown land and it's also a fallacy that there is a common mythology. There may be some minor similarities at a superficial level - a story in common, a similar sounding word, some superficial kinship structures, but there is no pan-Aboriginality. This is a big country and people have often been widely separated by distance and time so there are many cultures rather than just one,

Hi Peter!

Thanks for your answer.

More cultures than one, hm. Okay, i understand. (oh i wish to speak a better english)

I will compare it with Germany: in the North of we have another culture as the South. And Germany is a few times smaller than Australia. I think that is logical.
Many clans, many cultures.

Have a nice time.

Take care

Torsten