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Birriny (The Seven Sisters)
Told by: Nancy Isaac
Recorded by: Gedda Aklif
Tape Number: 5
Noorroo ingarralabanan maloorroonjoon nyoonoo gid ingarranana.
They had fire from this iina-stick (firestick), from the thing for making fire.
Arra ngamoonggoon ninga booroo. Iinalangoon booroo ingarranan baawagid birrigooloo jirrirr bard arr ingirrin aarlingan.
I don’t know where the place was. They were staying in one island, and the children’s parents went down fishing.
Irrgoordoomarr aalga bardabarr ingirrinan aarlingan. Ingarrangarrgananagidirr baawa arralalambirr noorroo boorda ingirrinanajirr.
Every time they used to go fishing, they used to ask these kids to look after this fire.
Irrgoordoomarr moorrooloo injoonana ginyinggi noorroo. Ingarramananagidjin ara niiminnyarr noorroo.
Every time, the fire was smaller. They put more firewood on, to keep it going.
Barda gid yoorryoorr ingarramana ambooriny aarlingan. Baawa minyjin ingarranan nyoonoo baaloon, ngaanka gid ingoorromoogarnirr baawanim.
So all these people went down fishing, and only kids were up in the camp area. The kids planned to do something.
“Anggarralganirr noorroo jiiba jirrarda ngirrigool ingirrinijirr.” Ingarralan gid ginyinggi noorroo ingarramalgin.
“Oh, we have to hide this firewood from our parents.” So they went and hid this firestick.
Nyalab gid jagoord jagoord ingirrin jirrirr birrigool gala. Namardamb ingorronyining jarrmoordoo aarli. Bardagid darr ingarrarna baalingan, arraninga jirra aarlimay. Gard ingarralanana aarl agal goorlil ngoonyjoon. Agal biindaninjoon aarlimay nyalab darrb ingarrarn.
The parents came back from fishing, they had lots of fish, and they came home because they didn’t have any food, they only lived by fish and turtle and bush food.
Ingarraybinirrgidirr baawa, “Jana goongarramgal noorroo?” “Arra arrmoonggoon,” ingirrinijirr baawanim. “Inyjiibigal,” ingirrinijirr.
So they said, “you shouldn’t have let the fire go out.
Birrigoolnim gid barn ingirrinijirr, “anggi birrar goongirringgalnga noorroo inyjiibigal noorroo,” ingirrinijirr.
They asked the children, “Where’s the fire?” “We don’t know” the children said. “It went out.”
“Goolarralanana gorna. Bilamb anggoorromoogara biil ara noorroo anggoorroloorroonginyj noorroo.”
“You should have looked after it, but now we have to do it again and get the fire going.”
Arra irrmoonggoon baawanim ingarramalginibalirr boogoon ginyinggi noorroo. Roowil gid ingirrinyan gala biligij iinangan mamoogarn noorroo biligij. Ajimorrony gid min gala ingirrminana noorroongan.
But little did they know that their kids had gone and hidden the fire sticks away. They were walking around, looking around for them to make some fire.
Baawanim gid barn ingirrinijirr, “angarralgigal joogard noorroo,” ingirrinijirr.
But after a good while the kids went and said that they had hidden the fire.
Alig gid ingirrini liyan alig injoonoojirr jirrirr birrigool. Joornkoo gid ingirrinyana oolangan gaarrangan. Baawa ingarrjalarran bayibirrony, “jiiba arralaban noorroo,” ingirrinijirr.
The parents got mad. They went into the water. The kids ran and said, “Oh, here is the fire.”
Gala ajimarr gala ingarrjarralan barda. Joornkoo gid ingirrinyana joobool gid ingirrin gaarragoon boogoon. Nyoonoo gid dambal ingirrini irrmarla ingirrin gaarra. “Arra alarrarli garnka,” ingirrinijirr.
But then it was too late, the parents went into the water and splashed around. They said we are not going to eat raw food.
Nyoonoo gid gala ingirrin oola, gaarra joobooljoobool ingirrin barda irrmarlang irrmarlang. Ginyinggon wirrgid ingarrjarrmin birrinyjamb ingirrin. Aarligid ginyinggi.
So they splashed in the water and then they turned into the seven sisters. That’s where we have lots and lots of fish.
Gala barnkarda.
That’s the end.