Title: Reference to message stick communication in a recorded interview with Malviyin Claver Dumoo
Description: I'm going to tell you a story, to you standing there this thing you see here two people could send messages to each other with this thing (arrangements) for a fight yes the spear... at the fighting ground here at the fighting place here, they would have spear fights he would send this thing to the boss to someone who was far away we'd stay at faraway places, at Tjindi for example, there at Tjindi with the tall mangroves well this thing would go a long way, from here to here one man would carry it one man from here would carry it to someone else, he would travel with it well he would go with this little stick, they use to carry this they understood (the message) from this thing the marks would be here they could see the marks here, here and here they understood them and on the other side they saw it, ah, now we have to go to the fighting ground!" the fighting ground there like at the mission, they used to have spear fights well the men knew what was happening someone might be out hunting, going out for meat he would come back, and the women would let them know too this thing here (indicated) spears a spear a spear fight or if there was a dance like here for example (at Port Keats) here where we're sitting from faraway places people came foot-walking, coming here for the dancing ceremony they would dance they came because of this thing this thing, this little thing this little thing... people came from a long way away because of this thing this thing his spear fight would be on this little thing for the dance... they called people to come it called people, "you've got to come here and dance" all of you have to come this little thing lying here would compel them, people from far away from over here from there maybe the stick this little thing they used to send it they came from there they came from there people took this message we came from this way because of this little thing the end!" Additional notes: Claver notes that this was often due to stealing wives peli is any fighting place mali is mangrove Claver knows some of the marking conventions, but not all. He told me that they used longer lines to enumerate grown men, and shorter ones for children, perhaps with another line next to a man signifying his wife. He said there were also marks indicating which fighting ground (my place or yours), but he doesn't know what these were. Claver likens this to modern practice when the Wadeye gangs meet to fight mamurrk any kind of dancing ceremony purrpurr-nu = for dancing it was like advertising for an event Murriny ngampanu kardu tjirrim pangathu-yu thamul kuy-nu pumarntartal mampurntida
Message: This is a generic example of message stick communication rather than a speciric historical instance
Date Created: 2017
Notes on date created: approximate
Item type: positive text reference
Subtype: story
State/Territory: NT
Linguistic area 1: Chirila: no code Austlang: N161 - Marri Tjevin Glottolog: mari1421
Notes on linguistic areas: This recording is in the Marri Tjevin language, but unusually this is not indicated in Chirila. From Austlang here is the Location Information for Marri Tjevin, which is not on CB's map: Swamplands at mouth of Moyle River and coastal country near Cape Dombey (Tindale 1974). Marri Tjevin and Marri Ammu are two closely related dialects whose country lies along the coast north of the mouth of the Moyle River, extending up towards the Dashwood Plains. Marri Tjevin occupies the southern part of this area, with Magati Ke and Marri Ngarr to the south. Marri Ammu then has Menthe and Merranunggu to its north and north-east respectively. Their sister dialect Marrithiyel lies to their east. There are a number of active outstations on Marri Tjevin and Marri Ammu country proper, with Marri Tjevin and Marri Ammu communities also resident at Wadeye (Green & Nordlinger viewd November 2020)." Note that Marrithiyel is given as a synonym for Marri Ammu, and this is indicated on CB's map. Therefore I would place it south of CB's Mattithiyel but north of her her Magati Ke and Marringarr. This is in fact where it is placed on Joe Blythe's map on page 30 of Blythe, Joe. 2009. Doing referring in Murriny Patha conversation. Sydney: University of Sydney PhD thesis. PK has asked JM for names of Marri Tjevin outstations on 17 September 2021.
Cultural region: TopEnd
Notes: Recorded at: Wadeye NT Speaker: Malviyin Claver Dumoo Recorder: Jeff Hardwick Transcription and translation: Malviyin Claver Dumoo and John Mansfield The full transcript is in PK's Endnote under Malviyin Claver Dumoo. The .eaf file will eventually be deposited at PARADISEC here: https://catalog.paradisec.org.au/collections/JM5
Data Entry: Piers Kelly