Welcome in language from Barkindji/Malyangapa artist David Doyle

The following is a transcript of ngaratya artist David Doyle speaking as part of our group’s inclusion in a series of webinars by the Power Institute. It is a useful way for us to introduce you to some aspects of Barkindji/Barkandji language; 

David Doyle shares; 

“The words ‘koorie or murri’ are pretty synonymous throughout Australia as being words that Aboriginal people use to describe themselves. Over our way, we use the word ‘wiimpatja’, which pre-colonisation just meant ‘a person’. Post-colonisation we now use it as a word for a person of Aboriginal descent from our Country, and we use that when we are speaking to each other and about each other. So, wiimpatja is a word we use as opposed to ‘koorie’ and ‘murri’. The other one we talked about is the word ‘Barkindji’ which is pretty much directly translated as ‘Darling river people’. So, Barka, meaning Darling River, and we always refer to the river as the Baaka, and ‘indji’ as people of, or coming from. So with that, I wanted to just do a quick acknowledgement as well; 

ngayi wiimpatja, it-do. kira kira. In-a-na
your-a-pin-a wiimpatja, woomba-chookoo
wiirtoo, koom-ba-colla
gandinya. gil-poo. karringi
iki-mundi

Hello Aboriginal people
This is our land
We remember the people
The old man, the old woman
Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow. 
Of this land.”

You can watch the whole video that features Nici, Zena, David and Raymond speaking here.