Two women transgressors

by Betty Long Nungarrayi, Lajamanu, 1984

translated from Warlpiri with Barbara Gibson Nakamarra (1984, 1995) and edited for the CD-ROM Dream trackers (UNESCO, 2000) by Barbara Glowczewski

'At Kalipinpa two women have peeled the mungulypa seeds, they have hulled them...' We are singing for Nampijinpa and Nangala of the Rain Dreaming. They took a stone and ground the seeds against another stone. They added some water and formed a dough which they cooked on the coals to eat. These are not the ngurlu Seed that are piled up by ants for us to make seedcakes. The seeds of the Rain Dreaming are picked straight from the shrubs and have to be peeled.

There is a place where the two Seed Dreamings met. What happened there is a women's secret. One may only say that Nakamarra and Napurrurla brought their big and little grindstones while Nangala and Nampijinpa of the Rain Dreaming brought their pangurnu dish which serves to collect and winnow the seeds. We sometimes call this Dreaming by the name of the dish. 

The two Rain women stopped close to a nut tree. They gathered the sap from the trunk into their dish. They added some water and drank this very sweet liquid. 

2. The mole and the angry old man

Very close by, they saw a pujarrpujarrpa mole disappearing into a hole. That's why we sing,

'Eating the sand, the mole runs away through a tunnel...'

However, the Mole Dreaming belongs to Nakamarra and Napurrurla and not to us, Nangala and Nampijinpa.

At Milpingi, that Nangala and that Nampijinpa bumped into and old man who was making himself a shelter.

'Go away!' He yelled at them, throwing his majardi. 

They ran away and at a safe distance they turned round to look at him.

'He has no shame, that man, he could kill us. We'd better keep going!' said Nampijinpa.

3. Shame in Waputarli

They walked for a long time before stopping for a rest. Leaving again, they found some water. We sing,

'Close to a rock they refreshed themselves...'

They stayed there for a whole day, thinking about how to continue their trip. They chose the way of the acacia country, in the direction of Waputarli, the country of the rocks belonging to Jupurrurla and Jakamarra, custodians of the marrkirdi and ngardanykinyi Fruits Dreaming. There is a waterhole over there but I can't tell any more about it. There is a song about it, but I can't sing it, it is too shameful...

Briefly, a big group of Jupurrurla and Jakamarra came to that waterhole, Kinkimularnu, and made love to that Nampijinpa and that Nangala, their respective potential mothers-in-law. That was really shame as men and women in this relation are not even allowed to come close to each other.

From Waputarli the two women transgressors went across the acacia country. They slept close to Lawanja where an old man was living. They ground some seeds and made damper without offering him any. 

'Why are you coming here with those seeds and don't give me any?' He said to them in anger, and grabbing his stick, he hit them on their heads!