1 Power Power has been the name of the game, from beginning to end—from 1788 until the present. Power was exerted through two different language families, later subdividing into different facets of power itself: power gained by physical force, then power by policy. The Power of Koorie Languages Language (its use, omission or prohibition) was the key element in historical and contemporary functions to direct, re-channel, record and fashion the destinies of my people throughout the nation. The power of Koorie languages* was religious and social and therefore dominant in each Koorie's everyday life, as well as dictating the social patterns which communities were to follow. Prior to the British invasion, linguists estimated that there were approximately 230 languages, with between 500 and 600 dialects** being spoke throughout the continent. These were classified into twenty-six groups by Wurm (who arrived at the estimate via a hundred-word test — the languages which had a commonality of 70% were classified as di.ilects and those with fewer were regarded as separate huitfuages). Those comprising the Pama-Nyungan (the words for man at Cape York, "pama"; and Perth, "nyunga") are -poken over approximately ninety per cent of Australia; and * 1 \v f *re known as the Australian family of languages. ■ A ill ill i1 .3 a variation within a language; for example, Australian English and American English are dialects of English. twenty-nve others (.Known as "non-Fama-JNyungan'') are spo-> ken in, or within the vicinity of, Arnhem Land (Northern Territory) and the Kimberleys (north-west of Western Australia). Further research has indicated that Australian languages j (including those of Tasmania), belong to one genetic family. ^ All the languages are descended from a parent or ancestor \ language spoken thousands of years earlier. Dixon (1980,19) r has attempted a reconstruction of the proto-Australian language which he estimates was spoken before Indo-European; \ that is, prior to 3,000 B.C. However, over time, just as most of y the languages of Europe (which are descended from Indo-l European) have altered, the Australian languages have undergone considerable change. There are a number of commonalities within Australian languages but there are also significant variations which can make some languages mutually unintelligible to members of different speech communities.* A number of attempts have been made to link these languages with languages outside the continent; for example, Papua New Guinean, Mon-Khmer, Inuit, Dravidian, African, American Indian, the languages of Oceania, and Indo-Euro- ■ pean (Dixon 1980). All such attempts so far have proved fruitless — the Australian family remains intact in itself. Wurm (1972, 9) says that this freedom from outside influence over thousands of years constituted a linguistic situation v - that is unique in the world. He adds that the only evidence of non-Australian influence, probably from the Papua New Guinea area, is in some languages spoken in the north-eastern part of Australia. Figure 4 shows the approximate distribution of the lan- | guages of Australia; a heavy line divides the two major sub-groups. In most groups there are secret, taboo and special languages which are known to and may only be spoken by those !' * For a detailed discussion of linguistic differences see Dixon (1980) and ;' Dixon and Blake (1979). 10' RA RAINBARNGIC DJ DJAUANIC NGA NGALAGANTIC MAR MARIC AL ALAWIC YAN YANGMANIC DJI DJINGILIC WA WANYIC K KALIBAMIC KU KUKATYIC? KAR KARANTYIC? WAK WAKAYA- WARLUWARIC KALKATUNGIC YALARNNGIC YANDIC MBABARAMIC Mu Mullukmulluk Wg Wagaty Br Brinken Da Daly Warn Wageman Wr Wardaman Yan Yangman Djinang Wandaran Mara Wurangung Gulf Pama Iwaidji War Warluwara Mau Maung Nyungar Great Australian B/g| AUSTRALIAN LANGUA Main Wiradjuric GUM Gumbainggar 30° Kuric, (moilic) 200 400 600 110« Kilometres Daly Phylio Family (under 15% cognates) Group (16%-25% cognates) , Subgroup Group orl ----Group of i,MjrJJ ' Komi j NARRINYERIC , (26%-50% cognates) ——— Doubtfuil Drual 140° Gulyan Kulin I ^_ KUUNI0 YOT MA MARAWARIC A ANIWANIC GUM GUMBAINGGARIC YAI YAITHMATHANGIC YOT YOTAYOTIC- BANYGARANYIC 150° Figure 4 Australian languages (from Wurm, 1972) involved in special ceremonies, for example religious ceremonies (which are often gender, age or knowledge specific). Unlike in European society, both males and females are religious leaders and conduct ceremonies for members of their own gender as well as individually or together for the community as a whole. Within the gender specific ceremonies, however, special sacred secret languages are used both as part of the ceremonies and as part of initiation ceremonies for those old and knowledgeable enough to undergo them. Within the religious sphere, therefore, restricted access to language highlights the fact that both men and women have religious autonomy. As with other communities throughout the world, speech and song styles differ for topic and narrative; for example, a sad story or song about the death of a friend will have a different tone, speed of narrative and style to one about an exciting race. Within some Koorie communities there are special styles for secret and taboo topics which include in a number, but not all groups, a form of language or style of communication which is the only one which may be used with a relative in a taboo relationship. Although in non-Koorie Australian society people may have a less familiar style of communication with some relatives than with others, in Koorie society there are strictly enforced rules which indicate those kin with whom relatives may joke and those who must be addressed in a formal manner. The degree of taboo differs among groups, from a total ban on verbal communication at one extreme, to a ban only on words or topics at the other. One clan on my maternal side permits an adult brother and sister to be present in the same conversation group, but they must speak to each other through a third person. Topics centering around body functions and sexual matters are taboo in such company and if referred to will create hurt and embarrassment. Linguistic restrictions may entail only a taboo on certain words or topics, or a total prohibition on verbal communication, or a limitation to a special restricted form of language. Avoidance styles of speech, which must be used with kin in avoidance relationships, may differ according to the type ^ speech community. On the other hand, secret styles are restricted to special categories of persons. I A taboo form common to most Koorie groups is that which I is known as "the mother-in-law language". Within Koorie f culture the mother-son-in-law relationship can be one of total I avoidance or restricted interaction. In most cases, persons [ who are potentially, as well as those who are actually in this I relationship, must also conform to avoidance and/or special I linguistic rules. If . In a number of communities there may be languages used by people in specific situations; for example, Anitji, the lan- r guage used by Pitjantjatjara mothers of adolescent sons. I t will not reveal this language, because of its special in-family I nature, although I have been criticised by one Anglo-Austra- S lian for not breaking a promise of confidentiality to a Pit- l jantjatjara sister. He wrote that I had a duty to reveal all I I know to the linguistic world. Apparently promises made to I Koories don't count as far as he is concerned. I Most Koorie groups have a taboo on speaking a person's i name after bis or her death. The taboo usually lasts several ■ years, and even then the name may only be used by someone s closely associated with the deceased. In a few communities [ the name may never be used again. In both cases this results ( in changes in the language. To overcome the problem of the t word loss, most speech communities borrow a word from a neighbouring language; others fill the gap in the vocabulary \ by replacing it with a word with a similar meaning which was I less frequently used prior to the death. An example of how [ such a loss was overcome comes from a Western Desert k language (Dixon 1980,29) concerning the first person singu- L lar pronoun, "P. In this language the word was "Ngayu", I meaning "F, but in the Warburton Ranges a man named | Ngayuna died about 1950 so that in this dialect "Ngayu" was proscribed and replaced by "Nganku", a form borrowed from si the special mother-in-law speech style. However, ten years later, "Nganku" was itself proscribed on the death of someone f* with a name similar to it, and was replaced either by "Ngayu" I (.borrowed dsck rrom oimecus wubie xv uau uccu i,auuu«-w or by "Mi", a borrowing from English. Semantic distinctions in Australian languages can be significantly different from those in European languages. This is undoubtedly due to differences in lifestyle and the emphases on what is important to the culture. Among others, Dixon (1980,104) cites the following example: Tribes living among the well-watered mountains of the dividing range can have grammatical specification for whether some object referred to is uphill, upriver, downhill or downriver, and how far up or down it is. There is often a series of verbs for different kinds of "spearing", depending on whether the spear is held on to or let go, whether the object can be seen or not, and whether the activity takes place by day or at night, using artificial light. It is common to encounter specialised verbs of "giving", referring to the satisfaction of social obligation that depends on specific kinship ties. Bandjalang, spoken on the north coast of New South Wales, has special noun markers (small words placed in front of the names of people or things) for invisibility. One form indicates that a person is invisible because he or she has not yet arrived, and another indicates that the person is invisible because he/she has been and gone. These in turn are related to distance and number. (See table 1 for examples.) Gugu Ngantyara, which is spoken in north Queensland, has special marking on words for "giving", to indicate whether the item being given has left the hand of the giver, is in the process of being passed from the hand of the giver to the hand of the receiver, or has just reached the hand of the receiver. Kinship names carry socially significant meanings in all Koorie groups. These include clan, section, kin, personal and place names. Some clan names carry a word of the language in their title; for example Gubbi Gubbi (my maternal language, spoken in southern Queensland) means "the people who say 'gubbi' for 'no'"; similarly Yota Yota (spoken in northern Victoria) means "the people who say 'yota' for 'no'". Dialects of Gugu Ngantyara include the verb "go* in their clan Near s peaker Near hearer Far from both singular plural singular plural singular plural gala ga:u mala ma:r) gila ga:m Invisible series Near s peaker Near hearer Far from both singular plural singular plural singular plural gayu gar|i: mayu ma:T|i maya ga:n Invisible, formerly present series Near s peaker Near hearer Far from both singular plural singular plural singular plural guna: gunaimir muna: munarmir gaiba gabamir Table 1 Noun markers in Bandjalang names; for example, Gugu Uwanh means "the language which says 'uwanh' for 'go'". (Gugu means "language".) Section names are related to lineage. In Koorie society both the patriline (descent through males) and the matriline (descent through females) designate special roles and rights of inheritance. For instance, I may inherit custodianship of land through my mother and the right to paint certain pictures through my father. Children belong to different sections from their parents and must marry out of their own section. Groups may differ in the number of sections within their clan — most have four sections but others can have six or eight. The section, sub-section or moiety system operating within I rules of that community. This knowledge is important, not only when addressing people, but also in discussions about speech community members, or participation in the social life of the community. In fact, a person's section name (sometimes called "skin" name), tells the rest of the community: —how that person must behave towards others, both within and outside the section and how they may respond; — what land is under the person's custodianship; —what food is taboo and what is not; —the group into which the person may marry, and the group into which a person may not marry; — the clan inherited rights (for example, to paint certain pictures, sing and dance specific repertoires); —which group the person must support in conflicts. Figure 5 is an example of an eight sub-section system. Out of each permitted marriage combination differently named sets (or sections) of children are produced (the language is Gupapuyngu spoken in north-east Arnhem Land) (Williams 1981). The importance of sections and their significance to language is also illustrated in an example from Alyawarra (Central Australia) of pronouns (words such as I, you, we, and so on), discussed by Dixon (1980, 2-3): ...there are three ways of saying "you two" — mpula has to be used for two people in the same section (in addressing two sisters, for instance); mpulaka refers to two people in different sections who are in a father-child relationship (it is used in talking to father and daughter); and mpulantha is employed where the two addressees belong to different sections for which this relationship does not hold (for example mother and daughter). As kinship is the pivot of Koorie society, it is not surprising that kin names also play an extremely important role in dictating lifestyles and language usage. It is essential to know the kin relationship and sections of all community members to speak the language accurately. If an outsider lives in a Koorie community, unless he or she is "adopted" by someone and is given a kinship name in relation to the symbols, toj. vicAyiaimug an ciguiroccuun ayawui. oei, out are lour The solid symbols stand for Dhuwa and the other symbols for Yirritja. o o A Because the children in each family get their identity from their fathers, this is called a patrimoiety system. A matrimoiety system is superimposed on the patrimoiety system, lb do this,some new rules are needed: 1 Children get their identity from their mother. 2 Two new symbols will be needed for matrimoieties. These will be: Here is what happens when the new rules are applied: If you examine the diagrams carefully, you will discover that there are only four combinations of symbols. Each symbol represents a set of rules, inheritances, rights and obligations. Figure S Eight sub-section system 9 aUUpbUl VCULXVX 1/J.At-J. V- VY V1J V VllVA w-u-u-uvuuv^ -~---x 7----- person remains a nonentity in the community. English kinship terminology, in lay terms, is unable to cater for the needs of Koories living in communities where the lifestyle is dictated by Koorie mores. The examples in figure 6 show how (among other things), if a male Ego were to be given English kinship terms only, he would not know who the women in the category of potential spouse were, and just as crucial to his future, who the women in the taboo relationship were (these women are his potential mothers-in-law). Multi-naming according to each social situation exists in most communities, and it is also usual practice for Koories to have several personal names by which they are addressed as well as names others use to refer to them. These may include: —the kinship name; —the section name; — a name describing a personal characteristic or habit; and — a sacred name given at birth which is known only to a few close relatives. In contrast to European places which are frequently named after people, place names in Australian languages usually embody a description of the surroundings or events which have occurred or occur there. For example Brewarrina, a town in mid-west New South Wales, has retained the Koorie name, which means "the place where acacias grow"; Giribiri (now Kerribree Greek, also in New South Wales) means "dancing place" (where many Koorie ceremonies were held). Both of these names are from the Muruwari language. The naming of people and places for Creation Beings in Koorie religious stories has not only sacred but also secular significance. Names bind people to their land which bestows upon them their identity and relationship to other clan groups.* Important cultural characteristics of Koorie people are reflected in their languages; Dixon (1980) has researched the "wide spectrum" of adjectives which refer to degrees and types For a detailed discussion .on the intricacies of land and naming see Williams (1986, chapter 2). AtÓ AtO A aunt uncle aunt father Ó AtÓ AtO mother uncle aunt uncle AoAbSAAAbAb cousin cousin cousin cousin sisler brother cousin cousin cousin cousin Kinship terms in Gupapuyngu Close Relationship (Female Father) AtO AtO A (waku) bapa bapa mukul (ngáj20 bápa Very Close Relationship Tah™ PoliticallyAligned fíe£?0™hlp Ó AtÓ Wi (ngaaS (baps) (ngáfioj) ngapipi (mukul rumaru') Abó A AAo Ad dhuway dhuway wáwayapajapa wáwa wawa yapa gatay galay MAY NOT MARRY dhuway or yapa MAY MARRY Galay A A male A female =: Marriage Figure 6 Kinship terms in Gupapuyngu and English (after Williams 1981,41-42) of reactions — pity, human psychological feelings, sorrow, being offended (through being socially neglected), justifiable anger, shyness and melancholy due to a longing for friends, family or homeland, as well as many for feelings of well-being. is most often interpreted as "shame". It is in fact used to describe someone's feelings if he is seen to do something that is poor etiquette, ill-mannered or wrong — the timidity felt by young men at a public occasion that is likely to prevent them speaking out in front of older men; the shyness felt by children which makes them shelter behind a parent in the presence of strangers; the awkwardness felt in the presence of strangers or people who are only distant kin which inhibits one from asking them for food or favours; the obligatory respect towards tabooed kin which necessitates avoidance of direct contact with them; the embarrassment felt at the use of crude language in inappropriate contexts, or at being observed making love, or at overt discussion of the role of copulation in procreation; and so on. The word "shame" is used in Koorie English to mean all of these things. Because of the constraints placed upon language use within a Koorie community, no one person knows all the language of the group. If a language is to be totally known, that is, alive and functioning, the linguistic group must consist of persons whose life stages have placed them in the categories of speakers of all the special linguistic styles. In such a case, an older man and an older woman could, between them, hold all the knowledge. So that any language can remain viable, however, a speech community needs a number of younger people of both genders in various life stages to whom the knowledge can be passed. Where marriage rules dictate that a person must marry outside his or her clan, Koorie children grow up speaking two languages — their mother's and their father's. Due to the Koories' own interest in language and their interaction with differing linguistic groups, multilingualism is, therefore, quite common. (My circle of friends and relations include Koories who speak Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Japanese and Malay as well as Koorie languages.) Koprie attitudes to other languages indicate that a type of imperialism existed in the past when "naming" other Australian languages. According to Matthews (1907), the Ganai of fmoutn), and that of the Bidawal, "Kwaidhang" (rough mouth) (Matthews' spelling). Dixon found that in some areas of his research, language speakers considered their way of speaking to be the ideal and the others inferior. He quotes two languages in the Cape York I Peninsula, "Gugu-Mini" ("good language" to its speakers), and "Gugu-Warra" ("bad language" to the speakers of Gugu-Mini) | (Dixon 1980,41). I This type of reaction seems to have been the extent of the jj imperialism, however. Yallop (1982,29), in surveying Australian languages, concluded that Koories are not generally Is linguistically "chauvinistic", that they "borrow" freely from neighbouring groups and are often not concerned about "nam-! ing". This observation appears accurate, is Contact with the Macassans may have created, initially, a form of Australian-Macassan pidgin. In the Northern Territory Koories learned Macassarese prior to the British settles' ment. That they attempted to use it as a lingua franca with & the British after their arrival, is noted by Urry and Walsh (1981,92), who cite the difficulty encountered by the resident linguist at Port Essington in collecting vocabularies of Australian languages. "After having collected many words, I found that I was making a vocabulary of a horrid patois of | Macassar dialect: in fact, nearly all the words the natives use { when speaking with us are Macassarese." Many Macassan words were adopted into those linguistic I groups who had considerable contact with them. Walker and I Zorc (1981, 117-33) list two hundred words from what they I term "Austronesian", which indicates that contact between I\, the groups was long and intimate. This is also substantiated I in a paper by Urry and Walsh (1981, 95-96) who stress that r the degree of contact between Macassans and Koories varied I from seasonal visits by the Macassans to north Australia to 1 extended visits by Koories to Indonesia, where they stayed I with the families of the captains of the praus, sometimes for I up to two years. I That Koories were quick to learn English words also, is I evidenced in records reported by Reynolds (1981, 14), who previous contact witn Europeans, dux usea me wrm wmie- * fellow" when speaking of them. The first reports of this | linguistic ability came from the explorer Mitchell, in 1831. | Koories in the Lockhart River area became fluent in Japa- I nese as well as conversant with other contact languages. I Chase (1981,15) cites an island-style song known to Koories | as "The Three Language Song". The song includes lines from an Australian language, a Torres Strait language and Japa- ; nese. | The willingness to learn and use other languages also I extended to Papuan loan words which can be found in lan- \ guages spoken on the north-east coast of Queensland. This I; tolerance of linguistic differences may have been aided by the | need for differing linguistic groups to exchange cultural items ,1 as well as songs and stories over long distances. Such items |* of value were passed along trade routes which encircled Australia. Jones and Sutton (1986, 37-38) cite evidence of F songs from Queensland being sung by Koories in Central [| Australia who said they had obtained the knowledge of them f f via the trade routes. r Although the number of words common to linguistic groups t in Australia is small (less than one hundred), the spread of | some may have been due, on the one hand, to the interaction *| which the trade exchange necessitated. On the other, the need [' f to communicate in trade negotiations may have aided the \ survival of some proto-Australian forms. f Ceremonial exchange required groups of Koories to travel considerable distances. This contributed to social interaction, | and also encouraged linguistic tolerance. For instance, the I speakers of Bandjalang, from the northern coastal area of ; New South Wales, walked to the Glass House Mountains in I Queensland (a distance of over two hundred kilometres), to F join the GubbiGubbi peoples for the bunya nut festivals when ' this fruit was ripe. These two groups did not share a linguistic I boundary and, in fact, the languages differed considerably £ from each other. Song styles as well as religious beliefs were > also dissimilar. Gubbi Gubbi songs, however, tell of the prepa- i rations which were made prior to the arrival of the visitors. 1 xiere: "On Dirijan [Bunya Mountain] I beat the bunya nuts and gave some to the visitors." Other differing linguistic groups also often came together for the sharing of special foods and ceremonies. Such an occasion was the gathering of Bogong moths in the Victorian Alps when various peoples from the north and south moved onto the high plains to enjoy the special nutritional food value provided by the moths. The name of the moths is taken from "boogang" which means both dark and night. At times the moths are still so plentiful they darken the sky. Message sticks (see figure 7), which consist of symbols marked on a piece of wood, carried special information from group to group and specifically along the trade routes which once almost encircled Australia. These messages related the commodities which were needed and their availability in areas which could be thousands of kilometres from the source of request. Many Koorie paintings also consist of symbols which contain a history of a clan, a family or an individual; tell the stories of the Creation Beings and religious laws; and in other ways are used to educate the young or transmit information. A painting painted for me by a brother from Milingimbi; is a reminder of the clan territory (mangroves and estuaries) and that the time for special ceremonies is when the turtles' eggs have been laid. Toas are small sculptures made from wood and gypsum; often symbolic natural objects or artefacts are attached to the heads; or the toas themselves may be carved from natural objects or consist of natural objects with painted designs. Toas show, in symbols, the paths taken by the Creation Beings and indicate special places where they paused or * Translation by the writer's mother, Mrs E. Serico, who inherited the right to sing the song from Mr Warden Embry. í! Ii I Ii- Figure 7 Message sticks (from Roth 1984,vol.l, plate xviii) Figure 8 Tbas (small sculptures) (South Australian Museum, Adelaide) participated in a special event. Examples of these symbols are shown in figure 8. For messages of importance, sacred boards were sent from one group to another. Another means of sending a message was to use smoke from fires to signal someone's approach, to warn of danger or to let others know someone had arrived at a particular point and was awaiting permission to enter another group's territory. Thus education and the history of the Koorie people was and is still passed on in symbolic art and more frequently in oral form — in stories of the events as well as in songs to which the new cycles of the events have been added as they occurred. The longevity of history passed on in this form is demonstrated in stories which obviously stem from an inter-glacial period before the last Ice Age. Such stories tell of how the waters rose and cut off what is now an island, Tasmania, from the mainland and relate specifically to the melting of the ice. In addition to verbal language, some Koorie groups have a complete repertoire of non-verbal communicative means — Figure 9 Shark message via hand signs and gestures. (See figure 9.) This is very important when silence is required in times of danger, and when hunting shy animals, as in the bushland voices can be heard over long distances. Being able to send a message is also useful when a person is visible but a voice cannot be heard; for example, when a Koorie wants to send a message to a person on the other side of a noisy river (or street).