NGURRUWARRA / DERNDERNYIN: Stone Fish Traps of the Wellesley Islands

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be aware that the following pages may contain images and/or names of persons who have since passed away.

NGURRUWARRA / DERNDERNYIN: Stone Fish Traps of the Wellesley Islands is a collaboration by established and emerging artists from Mirndiyan Gununa Aboriginal Corporation, Mornington Island Art (MIArt).

Credit

• Images of Amy Loogatha and Elsie Gabori: MIArt
• Remaining artist images: Cristina Bevilacqua

Dugal Goongarra: Crane, Seagull and Rock Cod (English Translation)

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be aware that the following pages may contain images and/or names of persons who have since passed away.

This story was recorded by Nicholas Evans in the Kayardilt language of the South Wellesley Islands from the late Dugal Goongarra in September 1982. It was then transcribed and translated by Nicholas with the help of the late Darwin Moodoonuthi. The present version has been re-checked and re-transcribed for maximum accuracy.

The following is the English translation of the recording that can be heard within the exhibition.

1 “My brother has been going along southward through the bush for a long time. Far out at sea. After travelling through the bush, my brother is far out at sea, and will come up on Sweers Island, on Sweers Island he’ll come ashore. After travelling through the bush for a long time, my brother is far out to sea. He will land eastwards on Sweers Island (across the sea to the southeast). He will land on Sweers Island, will land on Sweers Island. My brother has been travelling along for a long time. He’s far off, way out at sea. He’s been heading eastwards far out at sea, my brother, for a long time”.

2 She (Seagull) went along travelling, carrying a coolamon under her arm. She held up her coolamon towards the east, his (Crane’s) sister carried it under her arm. Crane looked from the north (for his sister), from the east he cast his eye: “My sister has sat down far in the east at Burririy. At Burririya my sister has sat down”.

3 His sister came from the north, went walking around from Burririya in the north. She saw him “Hey, he’s sitting down on Sweers Island”. Her brother was staying on Sweers Island.

4 He went south. He built up the fish trap, carried stones. Built the corner coming from the east. First, he built up the corner of the fish trap coming from the east and a corner in the west. Built up a bulge towards the south, went along building up the fish trap. Finished the corner, finished it with a high corner. Going south he moved it along to the east, building on another corner, made it go further, (until) it came to rest high, near the beach, yeah.

5 He went eastward, then came to rest in the south, went down to the south, and found another (place for a) fish trap, (a place where) turtles get trapped, where trevally get trapped. Queenfish get trapped in that fish trap. Purple rock cod and coral trout, coral trout get trapped in that fish trap. Spangled perch, white school bream, nail fish get caught there in the fish trap. Turtles and dugongs go up onto the beach.

6 (Black Crane) sat with his legs crossed and looked at the land in the east, looked east and (then) travelled eastward. He sat cross-legged in the shadow of a casuarina tree, in the shade of a casuarina tree he sat cross-legged.

7 (He) went down to the south and built another fish trap. To the south, he took (stones), piled (them) up, went back northward, went back northward. In the west, at the corner, (he) piled the stones up high, made it high. Turtles get caught (there) but not dugongs, dugongs don’t get caught in that fish trap. Turtles get caught there, turtles get caught in that fish trap. (He) went back west, at the corner, he built it high. Fish got caught in that one, rock cod, groper. Rock cod, groper, and greasy cod. Greasy cod got caught in that one, small rock cod, long-tailed rock cod. Bonefish, herrings of different kinds got trapped there in the fish trap.

8 He stood up and looked to the south, yeah, went to the south. and stuck stones in the back of it. Another fish trap, he stuck one fish trap behind another. There to the south he took it. Built it up southward, south at the corner, he built it high at the corner. Raised the stones high. Went up eastward, went up north. Moved all around heading back west, piled them up, carried the stones, put them on his head, made the corner high, made the corner of the fish trap high. (He) went north, to the north. A small corner, a small, low, really small one. Made it high in the south, the stones are really high (there). Put another corner on, and in the west built up a corner, and another corner. The corner lagoon, he looked at the lagoon (i.e. the enclosed body of water in the fish trap), and said: “Fish will get caught there (now). Giant herrings and bonefish will get caught there in the fish trap”.

9 ‘(He) stood and looked at the north lagoon, bathed in the lagoon and cleaned the mud off himself, bathed in the lagoon and cleaned mud off himself, after building, after building and building, he had built fish traps all over the place. Since morning, for a long time he had been building fish traps. He cleaned mud off himself in the lagoon, cleaned mud off himself in the lagoon, bathed in the small lagoon. He went ashore in the north, went back westwards along the beach, and lit a fire, made a fire with (his) fire drill, rubbed fire sticks together, a big fire stick, and took a small one, rubbed them, and smoke came up. He put the flame in some dried grass, burned it, and the flames came up, he was hungry, hungry. A yam (vine) was running up in the north, and he dug, dug up yams. He had dinner, dug up yams, and came back from the north, sat down by the fire, stayed there sitting with his legs crossed.

10 He looked at the country in the east, wanting to go east. He got up and put his pronged spear on his shoulder, and his spears, and took his woomera in his hand, and went down southward to the beach. Yeah, eastward along the beach he travelled, he travelled eastward. From the salt pan in the north, from Jiilki in the north, going down onto the beach. Going eastward along the beach, yeah, (he saw) his sister (coming down) here in the east. Jiilki, his sister was at Jiilki. His sister didn’t stay at Jiilki. She had gone through the bush from the north, his sister, (and was) in the south at the fishing spot. His sister was at the fishing spot, there near him, she had come after him from the north. Her brother was ahead of her, in the south, the one from there, the custodian of Sweers Island.

11 There at fishing spot he was pounding, he pounded the bait, but nothing, from the east no (fish) were running, no barracuda were running from the east, no slender barracuda or pike, no rock cod or long-tailed rock cod were running from the east, or from the south or running from the north, nothing. The fat was thrown to the east (as bait). “Hey, here comes a big rock cod from the east.” It was speared in the head, and didn’t escape, it just stayed there by the bait. It was dead, he dragged it to the west. “Here he comes from the east” (thinks his sister). 

12 The person from there, Seagull, from there, was in the north at Jiilki. Crane was in the northeast, he pounded (bait) at another fishing spot. At a certain fishing spot in the north, Crane was pounding (bait). The fellow from Sweers was in the west. He speared that fellow, speared Groper, ran along dragging him from the north, Crane did. His sister saw him, from high up to the north, as she went along the beach carrying a coolamon. Crane was standing by the rock cod’s tail, by the Groper, as victor in the hunt.

13 ‘[Groper] was born at that place, he was a Sweers Island person. A great big fellow, he speared him with a handle, not with a barbed spear but just with a spear shaft. Its liver was thrown to the north, in the north the liver was thrown. Groper was dragged northward, in the north, and (Crane) bathed in the water by the rocks. ’He dragged (Groper) along as it danced, he made (Groper’s body) dance as he dragged it along through the water. He dragged it along through the water making it dance. Its liver was thrown away to the north, its liver fell in the north. He chopped it up there with an axe, cut it with a shell knife. 

14 Going along through the mangrove scrub, (with) stingray bait. He carried the bait, high up going eastwards, the bait was taken. High up going eastwards the bait was taken, (Rock Cod) had been speared at in the country to the west, (but) (the spear) didn’t find him. (As he swam, Rock Cod) made the little islands, Duurathi, Karndingarrbay, Nathayiiwind. Black Crane had missed killing him earlier and after that Rock Cod had gone around, He had gone eastwards there, (Crane) had carried the bait, Crane had travelled, and his sister said: “My brother is far off, he is travelling a long way”.

Ngurruwarra/Derndernyin: Stone Fish Traps of the Wellesley Islands Catalogue

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be aware that this publication may contain images and/or names of persons who have since passed away.

This catalogue is published by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage in partnership with Mirndiyan Gununa Aboriginal Corporation.

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Be transported to the Wellesley Islands region in the Gulf of Carpentaria through this culturally significant and large-scale commissioned work of art that surveys ancient stories and relationships of Traditional Owner communities throughout the Wellesley Islands region.

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be aware that the virtual tour may contain images and/or names of persons who have since passed away.