A Sample Ngen'giwumirri story
The following Ngen’giwumirri story is told by Patrick Tyabada. Recorded and translated by Nick Reid at Peppimenarti in September 1988. Immediately below you can find an edited and translated version, and further below you can find a glossed version of the original unedited story. The original recording is archived at AIATSIS (Tape 10 REID 1988).
Fannie Bay nimbi diny fel
Tyamirri, mipurr wunggume Fannie Bay nimbi diny fel, yeniny pap perrik exercise yard nide. Yedi lali tye, yerrnyin dinyirri perrik. ‘Ep’ meny, ‘ngana felfil’. Dagum felfil nyinnimbi diny fel wakay! Peyendi wamumu wunnine fifili tye werrminy tip. Wuddum miwul court nide. Judge nyin dam tyerrpu ‘Ityi yiminy pefi yiriny fel?’menyne. ‘Tyepe nganam felfil ngiriny fel perrik nyinnin’. ‘Minbe wurru gintyi fel!’ menyne. ‘Nginifiny ngumumbi!’. ‘Ngudinyi miwul pe wunendi Fannie Bay, yangirr du pe dede nyin ngani kide yiriny fel’. Warrgantyi-tye Fannie Bay exercise yard nide. ‘Kide pefi yiriny fel?’wirrminyne. ‘Kinyi pefi’. ‘Ityi yumu gumu?’wirrminyne. Dagum felfil, diny fel madiyeninggi nyin wakay! Mumba tyamennapa darany filirr! Minbe nyine tye wanna garri pat!
Escape from Fanny Bay Gaol
Well, this Aboriginal man once escaped from Fannie Bay Gaol, by climbing the fence in the exercise yard. He’d been wandering around, sizing up that fence. ‘Maybe’ he thought ‘I could run it’. He raced up, and just jumped right out of there! The police searched around that place for him, and re-arrested him. They brought him back to the court. The judge questioned him ‘So how did you escape?’ he said. ‘Oh I just ran up and jumped the fence’. ‘You couldn’t possibly have jumped it!’ he said. ‘I’m telling you the truth!’. ‘Well I’m taking you back to Fannie Bay Gaol, and you can show us there just how you escaped!’. So they took him back to the exercise yard at Fannie Bay Gaol. ‘Where’d you jump out?’ they asked him. ‘Over here’. ‘Show us what you did’ they told him. So he ran up and jumped straight over to the other side again! And (as they’d neglected to post a guard on the outside) he hit the road for good! They never caught up with him!
Fannie Bay nimbi diny fel 'Escape from Fanny Bay Gaol'
tyamirri, mipurr wunggume Fannie Bay nimbi diny fel,
well man one from 3sgSSit jump
Well, this certain bloke escaped from Fannie Bay Gaol.
yeniny pap perrik exercise yard nide,
3sgSGo climb fence in
by climbing the fence in the exercise yard!
yedi lali tye, yerr nyin dinyirri perrik, ep, meny, ngana felfil,
3sgSGo around Past Thing that 3sgSSee fence maybe 3sgSSay 1sgSFeet jump
He’d been wandering around, sizing up that fence, thinking ‘maybe I could run it’.
dagum felfil nyin nimbi diny fel wakay,
3sgSFeet jump that from 3sgSSit jump finished
He raced up, and just jumped right out of there!
peyendi wamumu wunnine fifili tye werrminy tip,
inplace-same police 3plSSlash3sgMG search Past 3plHands grab
The police searched around that place for him, and re-arrested him,
wuddum miwul court nide, judge nyin menyne,
3plSMove return in that 3sgSSay3sgMG
and brought him back to the court. He said to the judge…
ba …. dam tyerrpu judge ninggi,
oops! 3sgPoke mouthask AGENT
Oops… (I mean it was) the judge (who) asked him,
ityi yiminy pefi yiriny fel, menyne,
what 2sSgDo thatway 2sgSSit bounce 3sgSSay3sgMG
‘How did you escape?’.
tyepe nganam felfil ngiriny fel perrik nyinnin,
just 1sgSFeet bounce 1sgSit jump fence that
‘I just ran up and jumped the fence’.
minbe wurru gintyi fel, menyne, nginifiny ngumumbi,
Neg UNSATIS 3sgSSit jump 3sgSSay3sgMG true 1sgSSay2sgG
‘You couldn’t possibly have jumped it !’he told him. ‘I’m telling you the truth’.
ngudinyi miwul pe wunendi Fannie Bay,
1sgSMove2sgO return Fut there-same
‘Well I’m taking you back to the same spot at Fannie Bay Gaol,
yangirr du pe dede nyin nganikide yiriny fel,
2sgSPoke1plexO show Fut place that kind-how 2sgSSit jump
and you can show us there just how you escaped!’.
warrgantyi tye Fannie Bay exercise yard nide, kide pefi yiriny fel,
2plSTake Past in where thatway 2sgSSit jump
So they took him back to the exercise yard at Fannie bay Gaol. ‘Where’d you jump over?’,
wirrminyne, kinyi pefi, ityi yumu gumu, wirrminyne,
3plSSay3sgMG here thatway what 2sgSDo try 3plSay3sgMG
they asked him. ‘Over here’. ‘Show us what you did?’ they told him.
dagum felfil, diny fel madiyeninggi nyin wakay,
3sgSFeet jump 3sgSSit jump otherside that finished
So he ran up and jumped straight over to the other side again,
mumba tyamennapa darany filirr,
track just-like-that 3sgSPokeSelf disappear
and (as they’d neglected to post a guard on the outside) he just disappeared.
Minbe nyine tye wanna garripat,
Neg then Past 3plSFeet legcatch
They never caught up with him!
