The moral lexicon of the Warlpiri people of central Australia.
1. Introduction
2. Words that match 'Good' and 'Bad'
3. Examples of 'Good' and 'Bad'
behaviour
Good
Bad
4. Analysis
Proper/Improper
Sexual relationships.
Affinal reserve.
Cannibalism.
Generous/Selfish
Unaggressive/Aggressive
Importunate.
Jealous.
Pusillanimous.
Brave.
Homicide.
Cooperative/Uncooperative
Compassionate.
Protecting the weak.
Helping relatives.
Hard-hearted.
Maltreating the weak.
Helping relatives.
Neglecting, hurting, and exploiting
relatives.
Honest/Deceitful
Speaking true or telling lies.
Saving self or harming others.
Stealing.
Accidental misappropriation.
5. Morality and law
6. Egalitarianism and dominance
7. Comparison with Gidjingarli (Burarra)
Proper/Improper
Generous/Selfish
Unaggressive/Aggressive
Cooperative/Uncooperative
Honest/Deceitful
8. Conclusion
Acknowledgments
References
1. Introduction
Moral considerations enter into practically every type of human social relationship we know about. Yet morality is not specified in any of the main reference works on the Indigenous peoples of Australia. The topic does not appear in the index of the Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia (Horton 1994), the 'Australian Aborigines' section of The Australian Encyclopaedia (Appleton 1988), John Greenway's Bibliography of the Australian Aborigines (1963), or The Recognition of Aboriginal Customary Laws (ALRC 1986). Typing in 'morality' or 'moral' or 'morals' in the AIATSIS Mura Catalogue produces 314 titles, most of which are concerned with moral issues arising from British colonisation. (1) A large subclass deals with the subject of professional ethics in Aboriginal studies. Several articles discuss the relationship between Indigenous moral values and Indigenous religion or mythology (R Berndt 1970, 1979; C Berndt 1988); one paper analyses the effects of modernisation on Indigenous morality (Peterson and Taylor 2003); and two essays approach the material from the perspective of human evolution (Priest 1986; ter Weer 1973). For the most part, however, the relevance of the listed works to Indigenous morality would appear to be diffuse or non-existent. (2)
For the purposes of a recent conference session on the history of anthropology, I revisited Edward Westermarck's long-buried magnum opus, The Origin and Development of the Moral Ideas (1906) (Hiatt 2004). This gave me the opportunity to present the moral ideas of the Gidjingarli people of Arnhem Land on the basis of my field obser-vations beginning in 1958 (Hiatt 1965), and Katherine Glasgow's Burarra-Gunnartpa Dictionary (Glasgow 1994). (3) Later I began to think about amplifying the investigation to take in other parts of Indigenous Australia. By good fortune, in 2003 David Nash drew my attention to an electronic Warlpiri-English dictionary called Kirrkirr (meaning 'click'). As yet unpublished, it contains some 10 000 entries in the Warlpiri-to-English section and is notable for definitions provided by native-speakers, multiple exemplifications in the vernacular, and extensive cross-referencing. (4) The unprecedented sophistication and richness of the lexical material more than compensated for my lack of first-hand knowledge and made Warlpiri the obvious choice for a complementary analysis.
My primary objective in this paper is to establish from the data the types of behaviour regarded by the Warlpiri as morally good and bad. By this expression I mean ways of acting towards others that are conventionally approved or disapproved. (5) Kirrkirr provides an appropriate starting point in as much as it articulates a large degree of consensus. Later in the paper the results of my lexical analysis will be augmented by a review of relevant ethnography. In the final sections I compare Warlpiri moral values with those of the Gidjingarli and sign off with some not particularly original conclusions about the purpose of morality.
2. Words that match 'Good' and 'Bad'
How would a person without a knowledge of English proceed if they wanted to determine the sorts of behaviour regarded by the English as morally good and bad, and the only source of information available was a bilingual dictionary? One way would be to look up terms of moral approbation and disapprobation in their own language in the hope of finding not only equivalents in English but empirical examples as well. That is how I began my own investigation of the Warlpiri moral lexicon.
When asked to find words that match 'good' and 'bad', Kirrkirr produces lists of fourteen and six terms respectively. Examination of the entries for each list indicates that the most commonly used counterpart for 'good' is ngurrju; and that three terms maju, ngawu, and punku are used more or less interchangeably as the most common counterparts for 'bad'. It is also evident that, like their English counterparts, many of the terms may be used in non-moral as well as moral senses e.g. 'good news', 'good health', 'bad country', 'bad smell'.
ngurrju good, nice, OK, alright, right, well, happy, content, quiet, tame, well-behaved, perfect maju(-maju) bad, useless, worthless, ruined, poor, ill, non-functional, no good, wrong, nasty ngawu(-ngawu) bad, worthless, immoral, wrong, badly-behaved, rotten, no good, useless punku bad, undesirable, horrible, revolting, evil, rotten
We may regard these four terms (6) provisionally as the main lexical signifiers of moral evaluation among the Warlpiri. As labels of endorsement or condemnation, however, they contain no indication in themselves of the sorts of thing they are likely to be attached to. For example, the moral definition of ngurrju says merely that it means a person who is not badly behaved or evil, but really good. The next step, therefore, is to find examples in which the terms are applied to particular actions, traits, dispositions, or states of affairs.
I set about doing this by selecting some 150 English terms from the 'English-to-Warlpiri' section of Kirrkirr that seemed likely to be associated with moral judgments. I then examined their Warlpiri counterparts for examples in which behaviour was qualified by one or more of the above four terms. As the corpus of relevant Warlpiri terms developed, I followed up 'see also' references and onscreen semantic networks. The examples below represent more or less the total haul. I am not saying no others are likely to be found.
3. Examples of 'Good' and 'Bad' behaviour
The items below are presented in alphabetical order. Each item is extracted from a Kirrkirr entry for a Warlpiri word, which is shown in bold italics at the top e.g. jama. This is followed by the assigned English counterparts, e.g. generous, giving, kind. Examples are presented first in Warlpiri and then in English, with the terms for 'good' or 'bad' underlined in the former and their English translations in the latter.
The number of examples presented in each entry in Kirrkirr differs considerably, from none to a dozen or more. I have not included examples under 'Good' and 'Bad', even when they fairly obviously have a moral content, unless references to behaviour are qualified by ngurrju, maju(maju), ngawu (-ngawu), or punku. This is the best guarantee I can find that the English gloss is not importing moral judgments into a Warlpiri text that does not contain them. For instance, linjarrpa (sense 2) is glossed as 'killer, murderer, fighter', but the definition provided is 'a person who severely injures or kills another person'. Homicide is murder only if it is judged to be unlawful, and one would need to be confident that a comparable judgement was being made in Warlpiri before using it as a translation. (7)
In a few cases I have not included examples even though they contain behaviour described as 'bad', in order to discuss them separately below (section 4, 'Unaggressive/Aggressive' : 'Pusillanimous'). I have not included examples containing Warlpiri terms for 'good' and 'bad' in what would be considered non-moral senses in English. (8)
Good
jama generous, giving, kind Jama, ngulaji yangka yapa yinjapanu kajikangku yinyi miyi manu kuyu manu maniyirlangu. Ngulanya jamaji. Jama is good person who gives freely. He can give you bread or meat or money even. That is what jama is. jami well-behaved, good-natured, of good character, quiet tame, mild
1. See jami, 'unaggressive/aggressive', section 4 below.
2. Yapa yalumpu jami, kuluwangu, ngurrju. That person is good natured, not belligerent, good.
namu-namu very good, excellent, of good character, good disposition, proper, clever, expert Watijilpa ngurrju-yijala nyinaja, kuluwangu, namunamu. The man was very good too, not aggressive and making trouble, a good type. ngampa-ngampa responsible, helpful, active, willing to work, feel sorry for, kindly disposed towards, sympathetic, kind, concerned for Ngampa-ngampa karla miirn-nyina kurdungurlu kirdaku, ngulaju yingkilpawangu, ngurrju. The kurdungurlu works willingly for the kirda. (9) He is not lazy, but good and helpful. pukurl-pukurlpa loving, kind, proud of, happy for, contented, friendly, peaceful, pleased Pukurl-pukurlpa, ngulaji yangka kujaka nyinami yapa ngurrju miyi-yinjapanu manu kuyu-yinjapanu--yapa ngurrju-nyayirni kuluwangu manu yapa ngurrju-nyayirni jama-nyayirni. Pukurl-pukurlpa is how are a person is who is very good and always gives one food and meat--a very good peaceful person or a very good person who is very generous. yalya compliant, acquiescent, easy, easygoing, obedient, willing, kind Yalumpu kurdu-pardu ngurrju. Yalya ka nyinami. Kajilparna jinyijinyi-mantarla ngapaku, kajikangku yalyangku mani ngapaji. That child is good. He does what you ask. If I ask him to get water then he gets the water for you willingly. yulkangi good (morally), clean-living, moral Yulkangi, ngulaji yangka kujaka nyinami kirlka--yapa ngawu-ngawu-wangu manu maju-maju-wangu, yapa yangka warrura-wangu karnta-wangu manu yapa maju-wangu, yangka kirlkaju, manu yulkangi. Yulkangi is when a person is clean, someone who is not bad, (10) a person who doesn't go with the wrong woman, (11) a person who doesn't do the wrong thing, one who is clean.
Bad
jatu-jatu spoiling for fight, trouble-maker, bothersome, nuisance Jatujatu, ngulaji yangka kujaka nyinami yapa marrpaju-marrpaju. Yapa kuluku-kuluku-maninjawitawangu manu yapa jiliwirri-maninjawitawangu, yapa winkirrpa, manu maju-maju yaarr-pari. Jatujatu is when a person in bothersome. It is a person who tries to start fights all the time and teases people, a badly behaved person, one who is no good and badly behaved. kurlpu-kurlpu mean, stingy, ungenerous Kurlpukurlpu, ngulaji yangka kujaka nyinami yapa maju-maju manu wingki yapa maniyi yinjawangu wiriwangu, ngawu-ngawu wita kurntilypa-yinja-panu yapa, wati marda, karnta marda. Yangka ngawu-ngawu purlurnkurl-yirrarninja-panu. Kurlpukurlpu is a bad wrong-doing person who doesn't give anyone much money, who only gives away very little--either a man or a woman. It is a bad person who hides all their things away and only gives away very little. liinpa selfish, greedy, mean Liinpa ngulaji yangka kujaka nyinami yapa punku wingki yinjawangu nyiyawangu manu jamawangu yapa kujaka nyinami nyiyakantikanti yinjawangu yapakari yinjawangu. Liinpa is a badly behaved person who doesn't give anything away and who is not generous, a person who doesn't give anything to anyone. maju bad, useless, worthless, ruined, poor, ill, non-functional, no good, unwell, wrong, nasty
1. Yimi-ngarrurnu-nyanu yangkaju wurlkumanu-pardurlu. 'Karingantarna maju-jarrija waja. Ngajulujukuja!' 'Makurnta-puraji mayingki kuja rdipija?' 'Yuwayi. Ngula'.
That old woman said about herself, 'I did the wrong thing. I did.' 'Did your son-in-law meet up with you?' 'Yes, that's it.' (12)
2. Nyuntu-malimali-kila nyanunguju punku-nyayirni, nyuntu, Japaljarri. Kulalu yapakari majuju. Nyuntu-kulanpa nyanunguju maniyi wiji-maninjarla kangu, manu yapa kuluku-kuluku-maninja-witawangu kujakanpa-jana yapa maniyi-ngirli kuluku-kuluku-mani majungku.
It you who is the bad one, you, Japaljarri. It's not the others who are bad hut it is you who stole that money and took it away and it's you who is always making trouble with people over money; starting fights with people over money.
minjinpa bully, aggressive, picking a fight, trouble-maker, quarrelsome, bothersome, bad-tempered. Minjinpa, ngulaji yangka kujaka nyinami yapa wati manu karnta kulu-kuluku-maninjawitawangu, yangka kujakajana yapa kuluku-kuluku-mani yangka yapa waparlkukurra nyinanjakurra, yangka yapangku maju-majurlu, punkungku. Minjinpa is a man or a woman who always makes trouble, that is, who goes picking a fight with people who are sitting quietly and not involved in a dispute. Such a person is bad. ngawu bad, worthless, immoral, wrong, badly-behaved, rotten, no good, useless
1. Ngawu, ngulaji yangka kujaka ngunami kuyu ngurrju-wangu manu wurduju wangu, pukulyu. Yangka punku, miyalu nyurnumaninja-panu. Yangka ngawuju. Manu yaparlangu yangka kujaka nyinami warrura karnta panukurlu yangka Jungarrayi jungarniwangu Napangardikirli, Napaljarrikirli, Nampijinpakurlu, Nakamarrakurlu--waninjawarnukurlu--ngawuju.
Ngawu is like meat which is no good, which is rotten. That is bad meat which makes you sick in the stomach. That is ngawu. Also a person who is badly behaved with many women, like a Jungarrayi who is not right, who is with a Napangardi, Napaljarri, Nampijinpa or Nakamarra as a lover. (13) That is what ngawu is.
2. Punku-pajirni kalunyanu. Yika yangka warlka wangkami. Ngula kalunyanu yapakarirliji ngarrirni 'Punku kanpa nyuntu nyina. Nawu-pajirni kangkulu yapangku panungku nyuntuju'.
They call each other bad ones, like when someone talks lies, then people say to each other, "You are bad. Everyone calls you a bad one".
ngayarrka greedy, voracious Definition: wanting large quantity of something, especially food Ngayarrka ngulaji yangka kujaka nyinami yapa punku miyi-muku-ngarninjawitawangu manu kuyu-muku-ngarninjawitawangu, yangka punku purlulpa. Kurdu marda, wati marda, karnta marda, yangka nyiyakantikanti ngarninja-wita-wangu ngayarrkaji. Ngayarrka is a bad person who eats up all the food, one who is greedy. Either a child or a man or a woman who eats a lot of everything. nyanungu-nyanungu really bad, worst Nyampuju Nakamarra warru ka parnkami watikari-watikari-kirra Japaljarrikari-Japaljarrikari-kirra manu Jupurrulakari-Jupurrulakari-kirra manu Japangardikari-Japangardikari-kirra nyanungu-nyanungu nyampuju punku. This Nakamarra runs around from man to man from one Japaljarri to another and from Jupurrurla to Jupurrurla and from Japangardi to Japangardi. She is the worst one, really bad. (14) pardurra bad-tempered, aggressive, hot-tempered, belligerent Pardurra, ngulaji yangka kujaka nyinami yapa ngawu, minjinpa manu kulukukuluku-maninjawitawangu--yapa, wati. Yangka kujakajana yapa warru luwarni, ngari nyanungurlu kujakalu yapangku nyinanjarlarlu rdunjurdunju-mani--yapa jurru ngawu-ngawu kulu-jukurrpa. Pardurra is a bad person who is aggressive and who picks fights all the time--typically a man. One who goes around hitting other people by throwing boomerangs at them when those people, just sitting down, make the hot-headed belligerent (15) person angry. punku bad, undesirable, horrible, revolting, evil, rotten Punku, ngulaji yangka kujaka nyinami yapa maju-maju, manu yurnilyka, manu ngawu-ngawu, yapa warlurr-warlurr-yirrarnin-japanu, manu yapa maju-maninjapanu, karnta marda, ngarrka marda. Punku is when a person is bad, a nuisance, and who always makes trouble and who upsets people. It can be a woman or a man. puurr-pari selfish, self-centred, egotistical Puurr-pari, ngulaji yangka kujaka nyinami yapa ngawu manu maju yapa, jinta-ngawurrpa. Puurrpari is a bad person, an unkind person who only thinks of himself. waji-waji wrong way, immoral, morally bad, badly behaved, wrong marriage partners Wajiwaji, ngulaji yangka kujaka nyinami yapa ngawu-ngawu karnta yangka kujaka nyinami wingki kujaka parnkami watikari-watikarikirra warrurakurra, jungarniwangukurra watikirra, karntaju. Wajiwaji is like a person, for example a woman who is no good and who is badly behaved who runs to other men who are the wrong ones for her; not to the right categories of men. wararrji wrong skin, wrong-way marriage partner Punku. Wingki-jarrija. Wararrji-jarrija, maju. He's bad. He did the wrong thing. He married the wrong way. He's no good. warrura wrong skin, wrong-way marriage partner Definition: marriage partner or lover not in the correct kin relation Majunpa, warrurakurlu. You are wrong, you have a wrong skin wife. wiinkiyikiyi rude, persistent, insistent, stubborn, demanding Wiinkiyikiyi, ngulaji yangka kujaka yapa wilji-jarri maniyiki yinjaku yangka yapakariki linpawangu--wilji wingki-nyayirni. Yalyawangu manu kurnta-jarrinjawangu, punku wiyawiyalpa--yapa. Wiinkiyikiyi is like a person who insists on another giving him money in an impolite way--one who is very persistent and bad-mannered. One who is not easy-going or who shows no shame, one who is badly behaved. wilji persistent (in fights or arguments), stubborn, determined, obstinate, persevering, insistent Wangkajalurla nyanungu watiki, 'Yampiya karnta yaliji! Lirra wiri manu punku! Kulu-witawangu!' Wiljingki-jiki kangu yaliji karnta watingkiji ngurrakari-kirra. They said to that man, 'Leave that woman! She's a big mouth. She's no good. She's a big trouble-maker.' But the man still persisted and took that woman to another place to live. wiyal-wiyalpa hard (of person), stubborn, tough, person whose mind can't be changed, non-compliant Yalumpuju punku wiyalwiyalpa. Putarna wayil-yirrarnu punku--liyikurlu ka nyinami. That fellow is bad and inflexible. I tried to get him to change his mind but he's bad. He's got no feelings at all. yapa-ngarnu cannibal, man-eater Literally: human-eater Punku yalarnili yapa-ngarnu Waringarri-patuju? Are those Waringarris really bad cannibals? yirlarinji obstinate, stubborn, one who refuses to listen to advice, heedless, pig-headed Yirlarinji, ngulaji yangka kujaka nyinami yapa punku wilji-nyayirni, wingk-inyayirni, yangka karntakari-karntakari wajili-pinja-panu yangka kujaka-jana yapangku wiljingki karntapatu jurnta-jurnta kanyi watikariki, yangka yapa-warnurlu luwarninja-warnurlu pakarninja-warnurlu--yapa-jangkarlu wurrangkujuku wiljingki, punkungku, warungka-warungkarlu, langangku jirlarirli, jilykingki. Yirlarinji is a bad person who is very stubborn and very badly behaved, one who chases after other women and who keeps committing adultery with other men's wives, even though he has been hit by people with boomerangs and clubs--the person still insists on behaving badly and is deaf to any advice, his ears are closed to what other people tell him. yupunjayi thieving, stealing Yupunjayi, ngulaji yangka kujaka yapa ngawu winkirrpa purunjunju nyinami, yangka kujaka wifingki wuruly-manirra kuyu marda, miyi marda, ngatinyanukur-langu, yangka payirninjawangurlu, wijingki yarnunjukurlu. Yupunjayi is when a person is bad and naughty and a thief, like when he secretly takes some meat or bread belonging to his mother without asking her for it, stealing it because he is hungry.
4. Analysis
For the purposes of examining and amplifying the above material, I have provisionally sorted the commended and censured behaviours into five pairs of contrasting categories: proper/improper, generous/selfish, unaggressive/aggressive, cooperative/uncooperative, honest/deceitful. For the time being, the 'honest' category is empty. The locations of the relevant examples are indicated by terms from the above lists.
Proper/Improper
I am using 'proper' and 'improper' primarily, though not exclusively, in a sexual sense. Although the descending order of categories in Table 1 is more or less arbitrary, I have placed 'proper/ improper' at the top because the dictionary gives yulkangi and waji-waji as the sole terms matching 'good morally' and 'bad morally' respectively. Both focus upon the regulation of sexuality. Examples at ngawu (ex.1), nyanungu-nyanungu, wararrji, and warrura condemn incestuous promiscuity, while the old woman in maju (ex.1) confesses to a breach of the taboo on physical proximity between mother-in-law and son-in-law. Acts designated as 'improper' are more likely to be regarded as 'disgusting' or 'shameful' than the bad behaviour in other categories. For that reason the inclusion of yapa-ngarnu (cannibals) is not as anomalous as it may seem.
Sexual relationships. As is well known, incest prohibitions among traditional Aboriginal people are extensive and thus, in terms of proper marriage, highly restrictive. From the viewpoint of any Warlpiri individual, the population is divi-ded into eight named kin-categories known in English as 'skins', only one of which contains appropriate marriage partners. Marriage or sexual relationships with any member of the other seven 'skins' (including his or her own) are regarded as improper. A correct marriage is described as jukarurru (also jungarni, parumarra), an incorrect marriage as wingki (see also terms in the previous paragraph). The entry for jukarurru brings out the moral contrast very clearly. It also suggests an analogy between 'physically straight' (straight spear, direct route) and 'morally correct', the point of which may be to assert that morality is the best way to achieve desired social ends.
jukarurru
Sense 1: straight, direct Katirninjarlu karnalu kurlarda parumarramani, kujakarnalu majarnikila. Ngurrju yangka yika nguna wirlki-wirlki-wangu. Ngurrju ka nguna jukarurru tarnngajuku. Parumarra. Jungarni.
By applying pressure with our feet we make spears straight, as when we straighten them. So that they will be good and not crooked. It stays good and straight for a long time. Straight and true.
jukarurru
Sense 2: true, correct, right, lawful, exact
1. Japangardi, Nampijinpa. Ngula kapala nyina--jukurrparla jukarurru. Yangka kujakapala nyina jukarurru--jukurrpa. Jakamarra, manu Napaljarri, ngula kapala nyina jukarurruyijala. Jukarurru yangka jungarni yikapala nyina. Karnta yika mardarni jungarni.
[Marriages between] Japangardi and Nampijinpa ['skin' names] are correct, according to law (Dreaming). They are right--as given by the Dreaming. Jakamarra and Napaljarri ['skin' names] those two are also correct. They are both right and correct. As he has the right woman.
2. Wingkiki kanpala nyina nyumpalaju. Kulanpa manu karnta yalumpu jukarurru jungarni, yalumpunpa manu wingki.
You two are wrong way. You married that woman who is not right for you, not 'straight for you. You married that one who is wrong (for you).
Moral attitudes to non-incestuous relationships outside marriage (e.g. adultery with someone of the same skin as the wife or the husband) are not so clear-cut. I can find no examples that distinguish such relationships from incest in order to judge them separately. However, we can infer from the following statements that adultery when discovered is likely to arouse the ire of the injured spouse regardless whether the relationship between the lovers in skin terms is correct or incorrect.
kalykuru trouble-maker, playing up, lover girl, lover boy, larrikin Definition: person engaging in amorous relations with person other than spouse, thus causing social disharmony jarrarda-palka unfaithful lover, unfaithful spouse Bush-wana kala pakarnu, panturnu, luwarnu kala--karlingki. Ngayi kala kutu pakarnu--kalinyanurluju. Jarrarda-palka, jarrarda-palka kala-pala panturnu kirdarlangurlu. Jinta-juku-jala--yali ngatinyanu kala panturnu--ngamardi-nyanu, kali-nyanu kala panturnu--jarrarda-panu. Kurriji-nyanurlangu kala kutu panturnu mardukuja-ngurlu. Out in the bush he would hit her, or spear her or pelt her with a boomerang. A woman who went off with another man, both her husband and her child would just beat her up regardless if she was playing around with another man. That same woman would be speared by both her child and her husband for going with another man. He would spear his mother-in-law as well because of her daughter's behaviour. yuru (1) (16) swearing, verbal abuse Yuru, ngulaji yangka kujaka ngarrirni karntangku wati karntakaripanu, yangka kujaka jajaly-pinyi yurungku, kujarlu, 'Punku-nyayirninpa! Parnkami kanpa karntakari-karntakarikirra. Juju jirrinypa malikipiya parntiparnt-parnka karntakari-karntakarikirra. Jarntu-nyayirninpa!' Yuru is like when a woman tells off a man who is a womaniser and attacks him with abuse like this, 'Rotten thing that you are! You run from woman to woman. Evil thing. You are like a dog that sniffs out all the females and runs after them. You are a real dog!' yalypirrpa Sense 2: womb, uterus (used as an obscenity) (17) Yalypirrpa, ngulaji yangka kujaka watingki karnta kujarlu ngarrirni, 'Warlka kanpa wangkami. Ngari kanpaji yimirr-yinyi makarrarlu. Yanunpala yinyaji watikari palkanpala yanu yinya parlakurra. Nyuntukungku waninjawarnu. Warlkangku ngari kanpaji lawa-lawarluju yimirr-yinyi yalypirrparlu.' Yalypirrpa is like when a man tells off a woman like this, 'You are telling lies. You are just tricking me, you slut. You two, the other man and you went off there into the bush. He's your lover. You are just tricking me with lies making out nothing went on, you lying whore.'
Although the vilification of an adulterer by an outraged spouse does not necessarily articulate the attitude of the community at large, we can infer from the lexical material that marital infidelity is (a) conventionally disapproved, and (b) regarded as additionally reprehensible when compounded by incest.
The immorality of incest is graduated in some degree according to the genealogical proximity or distance between the offending parties. Among the most serious offences is sexual intercourse between a man and his mother-in-law:
wingki-panu Sense 1: immoral, badly behaved Definition: person who has sexual relations with person(s) in wrong kinship category, breaking especially strong social taboos. [cf. wingki above; -panu means 'really'] Ngukalyki-jangka kawalilpalurla puyupinjarla yirrarnu, kunarlangu malikikirlangu --wingki-panukuja. Wingki-panukulurlayirrarnu--karntapaturlu-jala. After crushing it up they put in a mixture of hair from the armpits and some dog excrement for the very immoral one. It was the women who put it in for that one who had slept with his mother-in-law [i.e. to kill him by sorcery].
Affinal reserve. Propriety requires reserved behaviour between men and their affines. The requirements (entailing physical and social distance) and associated sentiments (embarrassment, shame) are conspicuous if not exaggerated in the case of the mother-in-law.
minyirri respectful behaviour to in-laws, appropriate behaviour to in-laws, avoidance, shame, circumspection, inhibited, embarrassed Definition: behaviour appropriate to interaction with one's spouse and one's spouse's close kin Kajikanparla makurntanyanuku--wajamirnirlanguku --minyirri-jarrimi. You would be circumspect and respectful with regard to your wife's mother or uncle. wurdujurra correct, right way, proper exchange, reciprocal gifts Ngakalpa wurdu/urrarlu kirdanyanu-kurra, ngatinyanu-kurra yilyaja. Later he correctly sent it (meat) to her [his wife's] father and to her mother. wurduiurra-mani Sense 1 : fulfil mutual obligation, give to one's in-laws Wurdujurra-mani, jurdalia-wana karla warlaljaku wurdujurrarlu yilyamirra. 'Wurdujurrarlu waja-pala kuja-rlangurlupala yungu. Kalyakalya-nyanuku. Kalyakalya-kurra-pala tarda-pungka.' Wurdujurra-mani is to send one's daughter to be with her promised husband and to send things to one's wife's parents. 'Do the right thing and send your daughter to your son-in-law who has done the right thing by you. Send her to her husband that you promised her to.' parlparu (1) unrestrained, unreserved, regardless of others, take without asking, bad mannered, brazen, shamelessly Parlparu waja ka yanirni malirdi-nyanukurra-rlangu, jampartiyi-kirra-rlangu--kurnta-jarrinja-wangu. He shamelessly comes up to his mother-in-law or circumciser without any hint of constraint or respect.
Cannibalism. The Warlpiri regard cannibalism, in the sense of killing humans in order to eat them, as repugnant. They attribute the practice to monsters, devils, and on occasion alien tribes (like the Waringarri in the example for yapa-ngarnu above in Section 3, 'bad' list).
yapa-ngarnu cannibal, man-eater Literally: human-eater
1. Yapa-ngarnu karlipa ngarrirni yapa kujaka-jana pakarninjarla ngarni. Yapa-ngarnu is what we call one who kills and eats people.
2. Ngarilpa nyinaja wiri--yapa-ngarnu yangka. Yilpa yapaku-purda-jarrija-mipa kuyuju yilpa ngarnu yapa-mipa. Kulalpa ngarnu yangka nyiya-rlangu nyanungurlu, kala yapa-mipa yilpa ngarnu kuyuju.
It was big, that cannibal was. It went after humans only as it only ate human flesh. It didn't eat just any sort of thing, but rather only ate human flesh.
3. Yapa-wangu, yalumpuju punku. Kartirdi rapurapu, kinki yalumpuju yapa-ngarnu. That's not a (real) person, that is evil. It has blackened teeth (from eating people). That monster is a man-eater.
Generous/Selfish
While the dictionary gives jama as the standard term for 'generous' and exemplifies it as a moral good (ngurrju), the entry for the related word yulkinji portrays a degree of magnanimity and self-abnegation in keeping with the notion of an 'ideal type'.
yulkinji unselfish, generous Definition: person who is not interested in having a lot of food for self or things for self. Yulkinji, ngulaji yangka kujaka nyinami yapa jama--nyiya-rlangu yinja-panu, manu jangku-pinja-panu, manu miyi, kuyu jamulu-nyanja-panu, yangka kajika-jana yapa jawirri-nyanyi, manu yinyi-puka miyi, kuyu manu yangka nyiyakantikanti. Yulkinji is like a generous person who gives away anything and who promises things to other people, or one who sees food or meat and doesn't take it for himself but who leaves it for other people or just gives away food, meat and anything.
The reverse side of the picture is presented in the course of exemplifying the verbalised form of kurlpu-kurlpu ('mean, stingy, ungenerous'--'bad' list, Section 3).
kurlpu-kurlpu-jarri-mi behave in manner so as to avoid sharing with others, not share, be stingy, be mean, avoiding, spurning
1. 'Nyiyarla kankulu-jana yapaku jurnta kurlpu-kurlpu-jarri waja?' 'Ngayirnalu yalumpu-juku payi parajarni--warijarri waja.' Wirlinyi-jangka-rlangu marda kalu yani--kuyu-kurlu-rlangu--yungulu-nyanu nyanungurrarlu purranjarla ngarni.
'Why are you keeping away from all the other people?' 'No reason, we just followed after that blustery wind--that westerly.' Maybe they are returning from hunting with meat that they want to cook and eat by themselves.
2. Nyiyarla kanpa-nganpa yapaku jurnta kurlpu-kurlpu-jarri? Yapa-kurra kutu yaninja-wangu? Marlpa nyinanjaku. Yapakujaku.
Why are you keeping away from us ? Not coming close to people? To sit with them? You're avoiding people.
While a tension between generous and selfish tendencies may have always existed in Warlpiri society, some people believe the latter are a product of modernisation:
purdujurru tightfisted, stingy, mean Yarlalpalu-nyanu yungu. Ngula-jukulpalu-nyanu warntarriji yungu yajarri. Junga, kalalu-nyanu yungu. Jalanguju karlipa nyina purdujurrulku--jalangu-warnu-patuju. They gave each other yams. They would give them to each other as gifts, exchange them with each other. Truly, they would give them to each other. These days we have become stingy--the modern-day people.
It is interesting that Warlpiri shares with English two body metaphors for selfishness--'tight fisted' and 'tight arsed'.
purdujurru-purdujurru [cf. purdujurru above] clenched fist, fist Purdujurru-purdujurru, ngula ka purdujurru-purdujurru wangka--yangka rdakangku --kajika pakarni. Kajika purdujurru-purdujurrurlu--rdakangku rdapu-pinyi. Rdukurduku. A clenched fist, what is said to be a clenched fist is as one can hit with the hand. As one can punch someone with one's clenched fist --in the chest. kuna-jilyirr-pari thoughtless, inconsiderate, selfish Literally: anus tight Warlungku karla jurnta yingkirni kuna-jilyirrparirli. That thoughtless so-and-so is making a fire with the other's wood.
Unaggressive/Aggressive
While five of the six examples of aggressive behaviour identified in Table 1 (viz. jatu-jatu, minjinpa, pardurra, punku, wilji) highlight pugnacity and trouble-making, the behaviour exemplifying wiinkiyikiyi is more accurately described as 'importunate'. Together with the additional examples below it represents a sub-class, with aspects of greed as well as aggression. The implicit moral position is that generosity is a virtue, but people should not exploit the goodwill of others by persistent begging or aggressive demands.
Importunate.
wiinkiyikiyi rude, persistent, insistent, stubborn, demanding [full entry in 'bad' list] pilji-pilji insatiable, demanding, repeating
1. Pilfipilji, ngulaji yangka kujaka yapangku yapakari warrarda payirninja-parnka maniyiki, yangka kujarla nyurruwiyi yungu. Ngula-warnunya kujakarla jamaku yapaku yapakariji warrarda-yani manu warrarda payirninja-parnka maniyiki. Yangka piljipiljirliji.
Piljipilji is when a person is always running to another to ask him for money, like to one who has already given some to him. After that he keeps on going to that generous person and always runs to ask him for money. That is being insatiable.
2. Piljipilji, ngulaji yangka yapa kujaka nyinami, kajikangku waarn-pinyi nyiyakantikanti-yunpu: miyi-yunpu manu kuyuyunpu manu jurnarrpa-yunpa. Ngulanya yapa yangka kajilpa yantarlarni warrarda manu warrarda japirninja-parnkayarla nyiyakantikantiki.
Piljipilji that is like a person who would ask for everything: for vegetable food, for meat and for other belongings. That is a person who would always come and repeatedly ask for everything.
nyinparna greedy, shameless Maniyiki ka warrarda payirni kurntawangurlu --nyinparnarlu.
He begs for money all the time shamelessly--greedily.
walpiri attention-seeking, demanding Jurnta yani kalu-jana walpiri-patuku. People move away from people who are always asking for things.
janjanypa pestering, insistent, demanding Janjanypa, ngulaji yangka kujakarla kurdurlangu janjanypa-jarri kurdukariki miyiki, manu kujakarla janjanypa-jarrimi wati watikarikirlanguku tirakiki. Ngulanya janjanypanu.
Janjanypa is when a child, for example, pesters another child for food, or when a man pesters another man for his car.
Another morally anomalous form of behaviour is jealousy. Kirrkirr contains seven different words for 'jealous', along with sixteen examples of sexual jealousy. The latter are largely descriptive, and in none is jealousy described as either 'good' or 'bad'. An attitude of neutrality is evinced, which may be interpreted in two senses: first, moral neutrality reflecting a judgment that jealous behaviour, though aggressive and mean-spirited, is driven by understandable and often legitimate motives; second, political neutrality expressing a diplomatic preference for keeping out of the domestic affairs of others.
Jealous.
yirrngirrngi Sense 2 : jealous, possessive, mean, touchy about one's possessions
Yirrngirrngi, ngulaji yangka kujaka nyinami karnta ngurraku nyanungu-nyanguku manu watiki nyanungu-nyanguku, yangka kujakajana karntakari yakayaka-mani manu jaarl-jaarl-wangkami ngurraku manu watiki nyanungu-nyanguku, yangka kujaka kuja wangkami, 'Kajikankulu nyampukurra wapami, ngulaji kapurna-nyarra wapirdijiilypirurru-mani warungkaji manu parlparuju.'
Yirrngirrngi is like when a woman is very possessive of her home and her husband, and she prevents other women (from approaching) and stops them from seeing her husband like when she says, 'If you walk this way then I'll spit on your heads, you mad things who don't care about what other people think.'
yunnganji
Sense 1: possessive, jealous Yunnganji, ngulaji yangka kujakarla karnta puru-yani kulanganta junga. Kalakarla ngari yunnganji-jarri ngula warru-yani karntaji ngularla yaninjarla jurnta-kijirni yunnganjirli watikiji nyanunguparntakuju. Karntakarikijaku kanyanu kujarluju warlamardarni manu kanyanurla jaarl-wangkami kujaji karntakarikijaku. Ngula karla yangka karntangkuju kalinyanurluju jurnarrparlangu nyiyakantikanti jurnta-kijirni yunnganjirliji manu mulumulujarlu karntakarikijaku--yakayakarlu--watikiji. Yangka kujaka karntangku kalinyanurlu mardarni kurturdurrurlu manu miyalurlu, yangka kujakanyanurla wajampa-jarri-nyayirni.
Yunnganji is like when a woman makes out she's going away from her husband. She might just get difficult for him and go all around and then come and make out she will throw away her husband's things. She won't let him go away from her because she is afraid of another woman and she blocks him by talking. Like the woman throws away her husband's things out of jealousy and fear of other women--she prevents her husband from going anywhere. It is like when the woman is madly in love with her husband and gets really upset over him.
Although non-intervention in domestic quarrels is the preferred position, disapproval may be publicly expressed in cases where jealousy seems excessive:
yinkirriya jealous, possessive Jangkardu-wangkajalurla yinkirriya-panuku --mimayi-wita-wanguku. They spoke against that very possessive over-jealous (man).
Jealousy between co-wives typically takes the form of allegations of favouritism:
ngurru-nya-nyi be jealous of, be covetous of Ngurru-nyanyi, ngulaji yangka kujakapala-nyanu ngarrirni karnta-jarrarlu jintangkarlu ngumparna-nyanurlarlu watingkarlu kujarlu, 'Nyuntumipaku kangku yinyi maniyiji. Kala ngajuju karna nyinami kujajuku maniyi-wangu, kulanganta kalinyanukari manu kulanganta kurdu-kari-kirli. Kulanganta kirdanyanukari-kirlangu-kurlu kurdukurlu. Kalakangku nyuntuku-juku jinta yapaku yinyi.' 'Nyinamirli ngurru-nyanjawangu. Yinyi kangali jarnku tarnnga mayi. Ngarirlipa nyinami waparlku.' Ngurru-nyanyi is like when two women who have the same husband tell each other off like this, 'He only gives the money to you. Whereas I never have any money, as though I were someone else's wife and had someone else's children. It's as though my children were from some other father. He can only give it exclusively to you all the time.' 'Don't let's be jealous. Doesn't he always give it to both of us? Let's just be quiet.'
In preparing the 'good' and 'bad' lists in section 3, I found two examples that seemed to run counter to the representation of 'unaggressive' as good and 'aggressive' as bad. One occurs under the term jami, the other under jantukurla. To avoid confusion, I omitted them from the lists and will deal with them now.
Pusillanimous.
jami well-behaved, good-natured, of good character, quiet tame, mild
1. Jami, ngulaji yangka kujaka nyinami yapa kulinypawangu manu yapakari kuluku-kuluku-maninjawangu. Yangka yapa rdirringkawangu--yapa ngawu-ngawu jantukurla.
Jami is a person who doesn't fight or go around stirring up trouble with other people. It is a person who is not a big fighter, a person who is weak and doesn't fight.
2. See jami, 'good' list in section 3 above.
jantukurla non-combative, minds own business, keeps to self, keeps own counsel, mild-mannered, unproductive, useless
Jantukurla, ngulaji kujaka nyinami yapa kuluwangu manu nyiyakantikanti-wangu ngawu-ngawu manu linjarrpawangu. Ngulanya jantukurlaju
Jantukurla is a person who doesn't fight or do anything who is not combative.
Whereas as an unaggressive person is said to be 'good' (ngurrju) in three examples in the 'good' list, including one from jami itself, the example from jami shown here describes such a person as 'weak' (ngawu-ngawu). Although the duplication of ngawu ('bad') has a softening effect, the moral judgment is still adverse. Likewise in jantukurla, ngawu-ngawu is used to describe a person who is unaggressive (kulu-wangu) and not a killer, murderer, or fighter (linjarrpa-wangu). As this would normally be among the attributes of a 'good type', it is puzzling to find that a jantukurla person nevertheless deserves a 'sniff of disapproval'. (18)
The difficulty would be largely resolved if it were the case that Warlpiri moral attitudes to aggressiveness and unaggressiveness depend in some degree on the circumstances in which they are exhibited. It is noteworthy that in all the examples of aggressive behaviour presented above in section 3, condemnation is aimed at gratuitous aggression: picking a fight, provocative teasing, upsetting people without justification, persistent begging. What is resented is an unwarranted and unwelcome intrusion into the psychological space of peaceable, autonomous persons. But readiness or reluctance to fight when the need arises is another matter. Non-aggression may then be judged as weakness, if not cowardice, as articulated by the use of ngawu-ngawu in the jami and jantukurla examples. A stalwart performance in battle, on the other hand, receives commendation of the sort conveyed in the following examples of fearlessness. Indeed, as the final example suggests, bravery is admired even when those displaying it are defending themselves against justifiable retribution.
Brave.
kapati-kapati fearless, unafraid Kapati-kapati, ngulaji yangka kujaka nyinami yapa yapakariki kapati-kapati manu laniwangu, manu ngarrurda-jarrinjawangu yangka kulu wiringkaku manu wita kulungkaku. Ngari yapa wati puyarrayarra, ngarrurdawangu. Kapati-kapati is a person who is unafraid of another person, one who doesn't get scared of a big fight or a small fight. It is a person who is brave, who doesn't get frightened. puyarrayarra fierce fighter, fearless fighter Puyarrayarra, ngulaji yangka kujaka yapa nyinami wati kulu-parnta-nyayirni, manu lani-wangu-nyayirni, yapa-panu pinja-panu manu kulujangka-kulujangka yapa pinangkalpa manu kulinypa. Puyarrayarra is used of a man who is a great fighter and who is fearless, who can fight anyone and who has known many fights--a person who is not afraid to fight. yarntu-pi-nyi Sense 2: face up to, confront fearlessly 'Ngajarrarlu wajarlujarrarla yarntu-pungu nyurruwiyi warrmarlaku wita-wanguku.' Katurnulpapala-nyanu warrmarlakari-kirra. Warrmarlakari-kirralpa-pala-nyanu katurnu parnka-parntarlu. Kulalpa-pala walya nyanjayanu kaninjarrakarirli, walku. Ngayilpa-pala yanu ngalya kankarlarrajarra-juku lani-wita-ngunanja-wangu. 'A long time ago we two faced up to a big revenge party.' The two men had fronted up to the other armed men. Those two who were the murderers fronted up to the armed men intent on revenge. They didn't look down at the ground as they came out to meet them but held their heads up high without showing any fear.
The last example revives a question raised earlier, on what basis for the purpose of translation would we differentiate the specific term 'murder' from the generic term 'homicide'? If the Warlpiri make moral discriminations between different kinds of homicide, they are not evident in the dictionary.
Homicide.
parnka-parnta (see previous example) murderer, killer Definition: person responsible for another's death Nyanyi kalu yulyurdu. Karl yulyurdu rduyu-karri, kankarlarrakari, ngulaju wati parnka-parnta ka wurnturu ngarrirni. Karl yulyurdurlu yapa junga-mani, ngulaju parnka-parnta. They look at the smoke. If it rises upwards, then it means that the murderer is far away in another country; if it moves towards someone then that person is the murderer. pukarl-ya-ni kill, fatally wound, murder, mortally injure
1. Junmangku, kurlardarlu kalu-nyanu pukarl-yani.
They mortally wound each other with both knives or spears.
2. 'Pukarl-yani kapurnangku waja.' Warrinji-manulpa. 'Nyuntu-nyangu waninja-warnu kapurnangku karl pukarlyani--junmangku yartirirli'.
'I will kill you.' He threatened her. 'As for your lover, I will kill him on you--with (my) stone knife'.
Cooperative/Uncooperative
The main contrast brought out by the examples under these two headings is between sensitivity and insensitivity to the interests of others, and a willingness or unwillingness to accommodate them. Helpful and compliant behaviour is endorsed as good (ngampa-ngampa, yalya), unhelpful and intractable behaviour is rejected as bad (wiyal-wiyalpa, yirlarinji).
The example from ngampa-ngampa presented in section 3 endorses willingness to work for others as good behaviour. The term also connotes compassion, which forms part of a cluster of behaviours and sentiments encompassed by the English word 'caring' (cf. Aboriginal English 'look after'). The fact that they are not specifically qualified in the dictionary examples as 'good' may signify nothing more than that their desirable character is regarded as self-evident. I have sorted the examples into three closely related groups:
Compassionate.
ngampa-ngampa responsible, helpful, active, willing to work, feel sorry for, kindly disposed towards, sympathetic, kind, concerned for Ngampa-ngampa, ngulaji yangka kujaka nyinami yapa wajampa-wajampa-nyayirni. Yangka kujakajana yapaku miyi manu kuyu yinyi kutu yapaku yarnunjukuku, yangka kajili payirni yapangku yapakari-yapakarirli. Manu yangka kajili yapangku payirni nyiyarlanguku, ngulajijana kutu yinyi nyiyarlanguju yapangkuju wajampawajamparluju manu ngampangamparluju. Ngampangampa is when a person is very sorry for someone. And he just gives away food to people who are hungry like when other people, who are not related to him, ask him. Like when people ask him for anything he simply gives something to them as he feels sorry for them and is kindly disposed towards them. karnuru dear, piteous, unfortunate, poor fellow, poor thing, dear one Definition: expression of sympathy and affection towards some being Yarnunjuku kalu nyina karnuru. They are hungry, poor things. luurr-jirri-rni make to feel sorry for, make cry, made sad for, sadden, attract pity, arouse pity
1. Luurr-jurrurnunpaju ngaju nyuntulurlu. You made me cry in sympathy with you.
2. Kujalpa wita kurdu yirraru-yirraru yulaja, ngulajuju ngajulku luurr-jurrurnu nyanungurluju.
When the little child started crying sorrowfully, then he made me cry too in sympathy.
Protecting the weak.
jina-marda-rni look after, take care of, guard, supervise, keep watch over Kalalu wita-witarlangu jina-mardarnu--wurlkumanu-wurlkumanurlu. The old women would take care of the little ones, for example. jaarl-karri-mi block the way of, stand in way of, block passage of, obstruct passage of, stop from, intervene, reserve for, protect from, defend from Jaarl-karrimi, ngulaji kujakarlipajana yapakariki pata-pinyi manu kurntangarrirni, "Yampiya wiyarrpa yarnma, ngawu-ngawu, pakarninjawangurlu kulunypawangurlu--ngawu-ngawu, kuluparntawangu manu ngawu-ngawu jami.' Jaarl-karrimi is when we warn other people and tell them off, 'Leave that poor skinny thing alone. Stop hitting her in anger--she cannot fight and does not fight and is no threat.'
Helping relatives.
kunka-jinta mutual support, on same side, back each other Kulakanpaju kulu-rlanguku wangkami. Ngayi karnangku wardu-pinyi waja. Yungulparli karriyarlayi waja yangka, jajinyanu-jinta-rlangu, ngamardi-nyanu-jintarlangulparli kunka-jinta karriyarlayi". You don't have to ask me to fight. I'll just back you anyway. We should stick together because we have the same father and the same mother and so we should stick up for each other. wardu-pi-nyi Sense 1: depend on, trust, give confidence to, have confidence in, support, count on Mangarri-ngirli-rlangu, kuyu-ngurlu-rlangu kapala-nyanu wardu-pinyi--kulu-rlangurlu. "Kulakanpaju wangka kulurlanguku, ngayi karnangku wardu-pinyi yungulparli kunka-jinta karriyarla, kulu-rlanguku--jajinyanu-jinta, ngatinyanu-jinta, wulujinta, pimirdinyanu-finta.' With food or with meat, two people trust and help each other--or in a fight. 'You don't ask me to fight, I just support you so that we should always back each other, like in a fight, as we have the one father, the one mother, the one uncle and the one aunt.' ngamirn-kiji-rni help, assist, support, backup Kulukujaku kalu-jana jurnta ngamirnkijirni ngati-pirdirli, pimirdi-pirdirli, juka-pirdirli. People's mothers, aunts and cousins back them up in fights so they won't get hurt. warla-ngku-pi-nyi trust, rely upon, depend on Ngati manu ngamirni ngaju-nyangu, manu ngajuku-purdangka-wati, warlangku-pinyi karna-jana kuluku, nyiyakantikantiki. My mother and my uncle and my brothers and sisters, I rely on them in fights and for anything.
Examples of uncaring behaviour, though not specifically described as 'bad', form contrasting pairs with the preceding sub-groups of caring behaviour:
Hard-hearted.
jurru marntarla (2) Sense 1: hard, hardhearted, hard-headed, stubborn, obstinate, insensitive [jurru = head, marntarla = tree noted for hard wood]
1. Jurru marntarlaju, ngulaju kujaka yapa nyinami yulanjawangu, ngulakajana nyanyimipa.
Jurru marntarla is a person who doesn't cry, one who just sits and looks.
2. Yangka ngulaka nyinami yulanjawangu jurru marntarla-nyayirni.
One who doesn't cry is really a very hardhearted person.
Maltreating the weak.
mirla merciless Panturnu kala kurlardarlu kalinyanurlu watikarikijaku mirlangku. Kala mardukuja nyanungu-nyangu kalinyanurla wajampajarrija ngarrkakarikijaku. The husband would mercilessly spear his wife to stop her going to another man. His wife would be almost murdered by him to stop her from going with another man. paka-paka-rni hit mercilessly, go on hitting, beat up badly Paka-pakarni ngulaji yangka kujaka nyanungu-parnta watingki paka-pakarni kulungku watiya-kurlurlu, manu karlingki yangka rdiily-parnkanja-wangurlu manu jintaku pakarninja-wangurlu. Manu yangka kujaka kurdungku paka-pakarni jarntu wijipalkapanu jarntu watiya-kurlurlu rdiily-parnkanjawangurlu. Paka-pakarni is like when a man hits his wife with a stick or a boomerang without stopping, not just hitting her once. Or a child beats up a thieving dog with a stick and doesn't stop. paka-pi-nyi hit mercilessly, go on hitting, beat up badly
1. Paka-pinyi ngulaji yangka kujaka pakarni mari-wangurlu watingki karnta nyanungu-parnta, pakarni murlurdurrpakarda wijini warrukirdikirdi pakarninjawarnuju.
Paka-pinyi is like when a man hits his wife mercilessly hitting her until she is wounded and sore all over from being hit.
2. Nyurru paka-pungu. Wiyarrpa ka nguna murlukurrkurrpalku--nyarrpa nyinanjawangu.
He has finished beating her up. The poor thing is lying wounded all over and can't sit up at all.
murlurdurrpa crippled, unable to walk, lame Murlurdurrpa-karda, kujarlu ka marijarrinja-wangurlu pakarni. Kala karlikirlirli luwarnu kalinyanurlu, kala yantarli-yirrarnu. Kala nyinaja yamangka kaninjarni. Kala luwarnu tarnnga-juku. Kalarla kalinyanurlu maral-maralpa parnkaja kuyu-kurraju, manu miyi-kirra. Karnta kala ngunajayi--karnuru. So that one is unable to move, that is how someone hits a person mercilessly. When a husband would throw a boomerang at his wife and hit her, he would immobilise her. She would just remain inside their shelter. He would hit her so that she was immobilised for a long time. Her husband would then go off without her in search of food. The poor woman would just lie there.
Neglecting, hurting, and exploiting relatives.
warrany-warranypa negligent towards relations, uncaring, not caring properly for relations
1. Karinganta, ngaju-panuju waja ngarrika, ngaju-panu waja. Yirna kuja warranywarranypa-jarrija--pariwanpaku.
Yes I am the one you should scold, I'm the one who did the wrong thing. I failed to look after my old man properly.
2. Nganjaju, nganjaju! Warranywarranymaninja-warnu kujaju pungka!
Hit me, hit me! Hit me as I'm responsible for his not being looked after properly. miyalu yulpu Sense 1: unkind, uncaring
Yii! Ngulangkuju ka miyalu yulpungku warrarda pakarni tarnngangku, nyiyajangka mayi, ngamirni-nyanu-yardanjirli.
Oh! I don't know why that one always hits him as though he doesn't like him, not like an uncle.
Yuwayi. Ngulaju ka tarnngajuku miyalu yulpu nyinami. Kurdunyanu pakarnu. Yes. He is always unkind. He hit his own nephew.
kalakala-nya-nyi bludge off, sponge off, take advantage of, use, rely on, depend on
1. Kalakala-nyanyi, ngulaji yangka kujakarla ngatinyanuku karnta wirijarlu yuntalnyanu miyiki manu kuyuku maninjawangu wala-jarrimi miyi maninjawangu, maniyi panukurlu, yangka kujaka wangkami kuja: "Ngaju karnarla wala-jarrimi miyikiji ngatiki. Kapurna ngarni miyiji ngatikirlangu, maniyi palkakurlurlukula, maninjawangurlu, ngajuju.'
Kalakala-nyanyi is like when a grown-up daughter expects to get her food off her mother and doesn't buy any for herself even though she has plenty of money. She talks to her like this, 'I look to my mother for food. I will eat my mother's food even though I've got money, I won't get any myself.'
2. Yuntalnyanurlu ka ngatinyanu kalaka-lanyanyi miyiki, kuyuku, manu nyiyakantikantiki.
The daughter bludges off her mother for food, meat and everything.
Honest/Deceitful
The inclusion of the opposition 'honest/deceitful' requires justification. 'Honest' does not occur in any of the examples and is not listed in the English-to-Warlpiri section of Kirrkirr.
Speaking true or telling lies. 'True' is given two counterparts, junga and yijardu.
junga true, truly, correct, right, straight, accordingly, sure, surely, sure enough
Junga, ngulaji yangka kujaka wangkarni yijardu-nyayirni, warlkawangu, manu yimirr-yinjawangu, manu yijardu-nyayirni. Warlkawangu manu mularrpa-nyayirni.
Junga is when one speaks very truthfully, without lying, or without tricking--very truthfully--without lying and really seriously. yijardu really, true, truly, actual, right, real, authentic Kulalpanpa yijardu wangkayarla nyampuju jaru, lawangka. Yimirrinyi marda kanpa-ngalpa. You can't be speaking the truth with this story--it's not true. Perhaps you are tricking us.
Other examples follow for both terms but, like those above, none includes explicit moral commendation for truthfulness. Given that lying (warlka) is specifically classed as bad (see ngawu, example 2), this may be an accident of omission. On the other hand, it may reflect some indeterminacy in the moral status of honesty. Disapproval of lying does not necessarily entail approval of telling the truth, since being non-committal may be a permissible and even socially preferred alternative. The potential danger in elevating transparency to the status of a moral imperative is multiplication and escalation of conflicts; and, if evasion and subterfuge are the price of peace and quiet, the community may buy them in preference to moral purity.
Saving self or harming others. Although the following two examples illustrate a difference between lying to conceal guilt and lying to inflict injury, the lexicon does not seem to include a concept of slander.
ngarrpangarrpa-ma-ni tell lie, speak untruthfully about, lie about Ngarrpangarrpa-mani, ngulaji yangka kujaka yapa wangkarni warlka yangka maniyi wijiwarnu maninjawarnu, manu yangka kujaka kuyu manu miyi wijingki ngarni, yangka kujaka payirninjarla warlkalku wangkami, kuja: 'Kularna ngarnu ngajulurlu, ngati. Karija wayili ngalku miyi manu kuyu jarntungku marda.' Ngulanya kujaka wangkami warlka --ngarrpangarrpaji. Ngarrpangarrpa-mani is when a person speaks lies like about stealing money, or about eating other people's food, like when asked he says untruthfully, 'I didn't eat it mother. I don't know anything about it. Perhaps the dogs may have eaten the food.' That is when someone speaks falsely, he is a liar. ngarrpangarrpa untruthful, deceitful, lying, liar Ngarrpangarrparluju yimi-ngarrurnu kurdu ngajunyangu yapakurra. He told lies about my child to someone.
Stealing. Stealing (wiji), in the sense of taking something without permission of the owner, is condemned as bad (maju, ngawu) in examples under maju and yupunjayi ('bad' list). The examples under wiji itself describe a variety of instances without explicit moral judgment:
wiji thieving, stealing
1. Parrakarirlaji yarnkajarra wijikilki papulanjikirlangu-kurra ngurra-kurra. Another day he set out to go to the whitefella's place to steal his things.
2. Wijingki ka ngarni wajirrki, carrot papulanji-kirlangu. Yurapitirli ka kanyi wijingki carrot ngurra-kurra. Yurapitiji ka nguna jardalku wiji-jangkaji.
He steals and eats the vegetables, the whitefella's carrots. The rabbit steals them and carries the carrots back to his camp. The rabbit sleeps after his thieving.
3. Yapangkuju jurnta-kangu wijingki karli. Someone stole my boomerang.
4. Kapirna pina ngarni--yirna yuwalikirralku yirrarni wijikijaku. Kalakajulu puru-ngarni yapakarirli.
I will come back and eat some, so I will put it up high in the tree so it won't be stolen. Other people might steal it and eat it on me, otherwise.
5. Miyijirna nyampu wijingki manu. Karingantarnarla jurnta-manu purlkaku. Ngajuku-palangukuyalurnpukurnarlajurntamanu.
6. I stole this bread. I really stole it from the old man. From my father there I took it. Miyili-jana wurna-kurralku puru-manta! Miyi, janyungurlangu kajika-jana nguna yingalu wifingki manta. Kutakari mungangkarlulku.
7. Steal food off them for the journey! Food, and any tobacco they might have, steal that! At night when it's dark.
Accidental misappropriation. The following example is a case of accidental misappropriation rather than theft. It brings out clearly an acknowledgment of ownership, and also implicitly exemplifies honesty.
wiji-kari another's, someone else's, belonging to another, another person's belongings Wijikari, wijikari yangka--kajilpa kuyurlangu ngunakarla marlu, jankayarla, "Nganakurlangu nyampu kuyu? Nganangku panturnu?' 'Karija nyampuju wiji-kari. Wijikari nyampukurlangu. Nyampurlu panturnu jintakarirli.' 'Ngayi. Kulanganta kajinpa nyuntu panturnu. Nyuntuwangu nyampuju karl karlipa ngarni wijikari. Nyampukurlangu. Wijikari.' Ngari ka ngarrirni yangka yapakarikirlangu yika kuyu yalumpu kalu ngarni jintakarirlangu. Jintakarirli yinga panturnu. Ngula kalu ngarrirni wijikariji. Yika nyampurlu jintakarirli pantirni. Yinga panturnunju. Kalu ngarni wijikari. Kula nyanungunyangu. Yalumpukurlangu jintakarikirlangu kalu ngarni wijikari. Wijikari is (used) like if there were a kangaroo cooking, 'Who does this meat belong to? Who speared it?' 'It's nothing to do with me, it belongs to someone else. It belongs to this one. This other fellow speared it.' 'I see. I thought it was you who had speared it. This is not yours, I see we are eating someone else's. This one's. One belonging to someone else.' It is just what one calls something belonging to another person like that meat that they are eating that belongs to another. As another person speared it. So they refer to it as wijikari. It doesn't belong to that same one (who is talking). They are eating another's, what belongs to that other person.
5. Morality and law
The classic Warlpiri ethnography is M J Meggitt's Desert People: A Study of the Walbiri Aborigines of Central Australia. The field research on which it was based was carried out in 1953-54, mainly at Hooker Creek (Lajamanu), Yuendumu, and Phillip Creek. Meggitt at the time was a postgraduate student working under AP Elkin at Sydney University. The book was published in 1962 as a revised version of his 1955 MA Honours thesis.
Although Meggitt does not deal with morality as a separate topic, the term appears several times in a subsection entitled 'Law' (Chapter 14, 'Government and Law'). The relationship between the two concepts, however, is left unclear. Sometimes morality is spoken of as distinct from law (e.g. 'tribal law and morality', p.261), sometimes as an integral part of it (e.g. 'Warlpiri law, then, is a body of jural rules and moral evaluations', p.251). Bearing in mind that the conceptual relationship between law and morality is far from clearcut in English, the first step towards clarification is to determine whether comparable discriminations occur in Warlpiri.
The Warlpiri term for 'law', according to Meggitt (p.251), is djugaruru which he says means the totality of rules of behaviour or, alternatively, 'the straight or true way'. This is the term rendered by Kirrkirr as jukarurru, discussed above under 'Proper/Improper' in section 3 ('Analysis'). It will be recalled that one example conjoins jukarurru ('right', 'correct') with jukurrpa ('Dreaming', 'law') to indicate that marriage rules were established in the ancestral past. (19) This assertion, we may presume, constitutes the authority for their 'rightness'.
Meggitt does not offer a Warlpiri counterpart for 'morality'. The English-Warlpiri section of Kirrkirr matches 'moral' with yulkangi, defined as a 'clean' person who doesn't do the wrong thing, like transgressing incest prohibitions (see 'good' list, section 3). Jukarurru, as we have seen, is 'straight' behaviour, likewise exemplified by reference to conformity with incest prohibitions. The dictionary also informs us that jukarurru is synonymous with jungarni, which is among the cognate terms listed for yulkangi. The similarity in meaning between jukarurru and yulkangi, therefore, is substantial. Whether the figurative difference between 'straight' and 'clean' is sufficient to bear the weight of a hypothetical Indigenous distinction between 'law' and 'morality' is doubtful.
The totality of rules signified by jukarurru is very large. Meggitt's lengthy treatment of kinship and marriage is replete with statements specifying how fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, and so on, should behave towards each other, what their rights and duties are, and what sanctions are available in the event of disconformity. The rules are said to be timeless, immutable, and sanctified by mystical origin and traditional usage. As they are not codified, and as there are no judicial institutions to enforce them, it is hard to see on what grounds they could be designated as jural rules rather than moral rules. Is an infringement of incest regulations or the mother-in-law taboo a breach of law, a breach of morals, or both?
A more fruitful line of inquiry in my view is to explore a distinction not between law and morality but between rules and values. In setting out to determine the types of behaviour traditionally approved and disapproved by the Warlpiri, I gave primacy to words translated as 'good' and 'bad'. Used as indicators of moral and immoral behaviour, ngurrju ('good'), maju, ngawu, and punku ('bad') led to the value oppositions of proper/improper, generous/selfish, unaggressive/aggressive, cooperative/uncooperative, and (arguably) honest/deceitful. By contrast, jukarurru ('correct') as an indicator of lawful behaviour led to rules and conformity.
Before proceeding further in this direction we need ask to whether it is possible to express values as rules, in which case a distinction between them may be illusory. For instance, Meggitt says: 'It is a basic Walbiri rule that people with food should share it with those who have none' (p.52). He exemplifies the rule by describing how during a drought members of a stricken community may enter the territory of a neighbouring community and seek permission to stay until food and water are available again in their own country. Hospitality is regularly extended in such circumstances, even though it entails hardship for the hosts; and the guests make symbolic gifts of hair string and red ochre, not only to express their gratitude but to lighten their feelings of shame and embarrassment. To designate the hosts' response as conformity with the law implies compulsion; to describe it as an act of generosity assumes choice. The fact that Meggitt describes the visitors as 'suppliants' suggests that the latter description is the more appropriate.
Similar considerations may apply in the case of 'unaggressiveness', 'cooperativeness', and 'honesty', all of which might be represented simply as conformity with rules requiring unaggressive, cooperative, and honest behaviour. It is worth noting, however, that in all the examples listed above in section 3 the words for 'good' or 'bad' qualify an actor rather than an action. People are said to be 'good' or 'bad' by virtue of behaving in certain ways e.g. 'Jama is a good person who gives freely'; 'The man was very good too, not aggressive and making trouble, a good type'; 'Ngayarrka is a bad person who eats up all the food, one who is greedy"; 'Pardurra is a bad person who is aggressive and who picks fights all the time'. The manner of formulation thus suggests that moral evaluation is strongly oriented to character traits rather than rules.
Meggitt notes that 'adherence to the law is itself a basic value' (p.251), and this is confirmed by the ascription of 'good' to behaviour I have designated as 'proper'. But, as we have seen, lexical analysis suggests that 'generosity', 'unaggressiveness', 'cooperativeness', and 'honesty' are also basic values. In the final section of the paper I shall consider whether all five share a common property or function.
6. Egalitarianism and dominance
Francoise Dussart (2000: Chapter 3) devotes a chapter of her recent book on Warlpiri ritual to 'On becoming a "big" businesswoman: trajectories of egalitarian leadership'. In con-temporary Aboriginal English, ceremonial 'business' normally refers to the separate ritual concerns of men and women ('women's business', 'men's business'). A 'businesswoman' is a person who devotes a good deal of time and effort to ceremonial activity. A 'big businesswoman' is one who achieves recognition as a leader in a context of inter-group rivalry, where performances and performers are judged to have won or lost. Dussart's paradoxical designation of such leadership as 'egalitarian' foreshadows her analysis of a clash of values generated by dominance strivings in an anti-authoritarian milieu.
It is now a commonplace that hunter-and-gathering peoples were traditionally egalitarian (e.g. Lee and DeVore 1968; Woodburn 1982:431-51). Meggitt described Warlpiri society as 'intensely egalitarian'.2[degrees] Dussart speaks of the 'egalitarian tendencies' (2000:36) and 'egalitarian ethos' (p.95) of ceremonial life, the 'egalitarian tenor' of kinship obligations (p.36), and so on. Given that egalitarianism is an abstract principle, it is not surprising that neither Meggitt, Dussart, nor for that matter Kirrkirr, provides an equivalent Warlpiri term or formulation. The absence of a conceptual vocabulary does not in itself prove the absence of relevant raw materials. Nevertheless, if a settled antipathy to institutionalised dominance exists among the Warlpiri, we would hope to find indications of it in the language.
The problem is compounded by the fact that modern Warlpiri speakers have incorporated the English word 'boss', pronounced pawuju, into their vocabulary as a loan word. A verbalised form, pawuju-jarrimi, means 'to be boss of, to have authority over'; and the phrase nguruku pawuju-jarrimi, meaning 'boss for the country', played a role in Warlpiri land claim hearings (Nash 1982: Note 10). As Dussart (2000) noted, 'boss' is also regularly used to refer to men and women who have authority for the performance of particular rituals. It may be useful then, as a starting point in our search for vernacular expressions of egalitarianism, to see whether 'boss' has Warlpiri counterparts or whether it serves a function in the post-colonial era without precedent in the traditional past.
The Kirrkirr 'English to Warlpiri' section in fact matches 'boss' with five terms (apart from pawuju): jamurungurru, ngardarri-kirlangu, yardurru-kurlangu, wati-rirri-rirri, and watirna.
jamurungurru leader, boss, important person, top dog (slang), best, toughest, strongest
1. Jamurungurru, ngulaji yangka kujaka nyinami yapa wiri-nyayirni yirdingurru yapa panungka. Ngulanya jamurungurruju. Jamurungurru is a very important person who is the boss of all the others.
2. Jamurungurruju kalunyanu ngarrirni yapangku kuluparnta-nyayirnirli kujakajana panu pinyi: 'Yuwa! Nyuntukulanpa jamurungurruju kuluparnta-nyayirni. Ngalijarrarlulku karli-nyanu pinyi ngamardi-jintarlu manu jaji-jintarlu.'
Jamurungurru is what people who are not afraid of anyone and who fight everyone call themselves. 'Hey! So you're the great fighter. Us two who have the same mother and father are going to fight each other.' Same meaning: yirdi-ngurru ngardarri-kirlangu ceremonial leader, head person, boss, person in charge
1. Ngardarrikirlangu ngulaji yangka kujaka nyinami kamparru wiri wati panukariki, yangka kuukurla. Kujakajana panukari kuukukari jinyijinyi-mani yapaku pakarninjaku ngardarrikirlangurluju.
Ngardarrikirlangu is an important man who is the big leader of the others like when on a revenge raid. It is the ngardarrikirlangu who orders the other kurdaitcha men to attack someone.
2. Ngardarrikirlangu, ngulaju wati kirrirdimpayi manu pirrjirdi-nyayirni--wirijarlu. Ngardarrikirlangu is a very big tall man who is very strong--really big.
yardurru-kurlangu ceremonial leader, head person, boss, person in charge Yardurrukurlangu, ngulaji yangka kujakajana nyinami yapa wirijarlu kamparru kuukuku yangka wangarlakurlangu yangka kujakalu yani yapa kirrikarikirra yapaku pakarninjaku kuuku, jarnpa, panujarlu. Ngulanya kujakajana yardurrukurlanguju, ngardarrikirlanguju nyinami jarnpa wirijarlu, kamparrurla, kujakajana kanyi manu jinyijinyi-mani yapaku pakarninjaku, manu kujakajana nyiyakantikantiki jinyijinyi-mani ngardarrikirlangurluju. Yardurrukurlangu is a big important person, a leader for kurdaitchas, like a scout when these kurdaitcha people go to another camp to kill someone. Then the one called yardurrukurlangu or ngardarrikirlangu is the boss of the kurdaitchas and he leads them and orders them to kill someone, and orders them to do everything. Same as: ngardarri-kirlangu wati-rirri-rirri person in authority, person able to commence ceremonies, ceremonial boss, respected person, leader, boss, knowledgeable (especially for ceremonies) person Watirirrirri, ngulaji yangka kujaka nyinami yapa wati kaji-nyayirni, yangka yapa jujungarliya manu yapa jurdalja panu-kurlu, manu yapa jujuku rdirrinypa nyiyakantikantiki jujuku puwarrilypaku. Watirirrirri is a man who is very respected, whom people support, like a person who knows all the ceremonies and who has a lot of in-law relations, a person who knows the rituals right through and the sacred designs and stories. watirna person in authority, person able to commence ceremonies, ceremonial boss, respected person, leader, boss, knowledgeable (especially for ceremonies) person Same as: wati-rirri-rirri
Let us begin with jamurungurru. The word translated as 'boss' in example 1 is yirdingurru. If this is correct, we can see from the following entry that 'boss' in Warlpiri English means something different from 'boss' in Australian English.
yirdi-ngurru well-known person, famous person, popular person, worthy person, person of good reputation Yirdingurru, ngulaji yangka kujaka nyinami yapa kujakalu yapangku panungku milyapinyi yapakari-yapakarirli, yapa kajinyayirni, manu yapa panuku kaji-nyayirni, manu ngurrju-nyayirni. Yirdingurru is a person whom everyone--all the other people--know, a person who is very sought-after and who is very popular with everyone and who is a very good person.
While there may be bosses answering to this description in white Australia, a standard exegesis of the term would be considerably less fulsome and might even be pejorative. It may be noted that yirdi-ngurru is synonymous with jamurungurru. The use of jamurungurru in the phrase 'the great fighter ' in example 2 is consistent with the gloss for yirdi-ngurru ('well-known, famous ...') but such an accolade would not normally be bestowed on a boss in Australian English.
The remaining four terms (ngardarri-kirlangu, yardurru-kurlangu, wati-rirririrri, watirna) obviously have much in common. Examples for the first two suggest they form a synonymous pair referring particularly to commanders of vengeance raids. The last two refer to ritual experts with strong kin and affinal networks who have established themselves as 'big businessmen'.
How can the meanings of these terms be reconciled with the anthropological representation of the Warlpiri polity as 'egalitarian'? Meggitt's view was that responsibility for revenge expeditions and rites of passage (at puberty and death) was a duty imposed by kinship; that leadership did not extend beyond the organisation of such activities themselves; and that the identity of the leaders changed from one occasion to another on the basis of kinship ties with the initiand or deceased. Because individuals were jealous of such kinship rights, no elite was able to impose an over-arching authority on the whole community. Even where long-term leadership of intertribal secret ceremonies was achieved through diplomatic skills and perseverance, it had little bearing on activities unrelated to the internal affairs of the cult. In short, the egalitarian ethos that constrained dominance strivings in everyday secular life coexisted with short-term, widely distributed leadership roles as well as gradations of knowledge and achievement in esoteric religious matters.
Regardless of the validity or otherwise of this argument (Bern 1979; Hiatt 1996), it still leaves unanswered the question in what terms the egalitarian ethos is articulated. Dussart (2000:100) gave an important clue in the course of discussing a fine line between control and domination that 'big businesswomen' must observe in order to retain their following. Overstepping the line by 'bossing around' ('bossy-ness' as distinct from 'busy-ness', one might say) is referred to in Warlpiri as ngamarr-karrimi.
ngamarr-karri-mi boss around, order around, lord it over, bully, intimidate, pick on own family, fight own relations
1. Wati ngulaju karla ngamarr-karrimi wita nyanunguku-purdangkaku.
The man is bossing his young brother around.
2. Kurdukurdu kalurla ngamarr-karrimi kurltija nyanungu-nyanguku. Kulaka-jana kurltijarlu-wiyi pakarni.
The children are getting the upper hand with their teacher. The teacher doesn't hit them first.
3. Yapakariki ngari kalu-nyarra ngamarr-karri wita-witaku.
They only lord it over you others who are small.
Taking into account the glosses given above for jamurungguru (leader, boss, etc)) and yirdingurru (well-known, famous, popular, worthy person, etc), and bearing in mind that the dictionary classifies them as synonyms, we might say that the Warlpiri concept of 'boss' (pawuju) is an idealised form of its Australian English counterpart. A boss is a leader who lasts only as long as he or she is not bossy. As David Nash puts it (pets. com.), 'a "boss" is boss only by being accepted as such, there are only good bosses, a bad boss is an incoherent Warlpiri concept'. In the contemporary arena of inter-group ritual performance, winning (jijami) depends on organisers who are knowledgeable, skilful, and energetic but not overbearing or conceited. The rank and file are touchy about coercion and ready to contest any assertion of authority as presumptuous. Nevertheless there is a tacit acknowledgment that good leadership is necessary for a successful, well-coordinated performance. The best compromise is to accept a meaning of primus inter pares, or first among equals. (21)
7. Comparison with Gidjingarli (Burarra)
My summary account of Gidjingarli moral values referred to above (Hiatt 2004) was shaped mainly by experience as a long-term ethnographer among the Anbarra people, complemented by the resources of the Glasgow Dictionary (GD). For the purposes of the present project, however, I follow the same method as for the Warlpiri and treat the dictionary as the primary source of information.
The 'English Finder List' in Glasgow's dictionary gives two terms for 'good', viz.--molamola, manymak. The latter is a loan word from eastern neighbours used as an interjection meaning 'good, OK, fine'. The former is glossed as 'good, pretty, beautiful, pleasing, acceptable, in state of well-being'. Two descriptives are given for 'bad', viz.--werra, gora. The former is glossed as 'bad, badness, unhealthy, poorly', the latter as (a) 'bad (either physically or morally), unhealthy, poorly, no good, evil'; and (b) 'nondescript, harmless (as of a dog or other creature that won't bite)'.
A search for examples guided by seventy-six likely terms in the English Finder produced only four in which particular behaviours are explicitly qualified as morally good or bad by the use of one or other of the terms in the previous paragraph.
malapachichiya look after each other, as in marriage
1. Gun-gata minypa an-gumarrbipa rrapa jin-gumarrbipa abirriny-malapachichiya abirriny-yorkiya, gun-narda gun-mola--marr gun-gubalcha.
That way like husband and wife look after each other all the time, that is good--something to be respected.
-gubu murder, murderer
2. Gun-gubu gun-nerra. (22)
Murder is bad.
melela gun-gunegiya showing off
3. Melela gun-negiya gun-nerra.
Showing off is bad.
morla moiety (23)
4. Abirriny-juna gu-bol gu-werra abirrinyuni Jowunga yerrinyjipa minypa.
These two (male and female) were at the wrong campfire because they were both Jowunga [i.e. they were cohabiting incestuously].
This meagre harvest, compared with twenty-nine examples gleaned from Kirrkirr, leaves us with little option but to fall back on cases where moral judgment is embedded in the English terms chosen for translation (e.g. 'faithful', 'thief', 'lying', etc). As this enlarges the possibility for a projection of English (not to say Christian (24)) values, greater caution needs to be exercised in assessing the results. To facilitate comparison with the Warlpiri material, the Gidjingarli examples are assigned to one or other of the ten categories contained in Table 1 (p. 10): proper/improper, generous/selfish, unaggressive/aggressive, cooperative/uncooperative, honest/deceitful.
Proper/Improper
romromja obey cultural mores, keep the rules of the culture according to cultural beliefs
5. Gunabibi jiny-yu, gala a-yinmiya mari gu-jarlapa, wurra a-romromjinga.
When there's a Guna-bibi ceremony, man can't make trouble, but he obeys the cultural mores.
miliba be faithful to, stay close to (as to one's own country), continually desire
6. Ngambul (25) miliba. Garlma, birri-boy.
Be faithful to him. Get up, you two go. [Said in telling a girl to go to her husband.]
-jurrkchurrk lawless, bad-mannered, brash, a person who grabs food, or talks too much without giving anyone else a chance, or takes someone else's wife; having no consideration for the law
7. Mipila a-jirra achila, abirrinboy; gala aborrwa an-gumarrbipa, wurra abirrinyjurrkchurrk minypa.
When his eye is on her, they two can go off together; he doesn't consider her husband, but they are lawless.
mobula borrkpa commit adultery against [lit. 'back-of-neck mock']
8. Gala barra mobula ny-borrkpa.
You mustn't commit adultery against him.
marrambay (a) Green Pygmy Goose (b) Used fig. in expressions referring to adultery and illicit sex [GD speculates about the basis of this trope.]
9. Marrambay awurriny-bona.
They two went off on an affair (had illicit sex).
jurlpa -jirra rrirrja want illicit sex (lit. 'bottom (one)-is itch')
10. Jurlpa ny-jirra n-dirrjinga!
You want illicit sex! [Said by a mother scolding her daughter.]
mararrach na flirt with (lit. 'flirtation lookat-(person)')
11. Mararrach a-nana.
She flirted with him.
Generous/Selfish
gopa keep for self, not sharing
12. Balaja gala mu-gopungarna a-workiyana.
He never was selfish with his food
gopa keep for self, not sharing
13. Gu-gerra wana aburr-negiyana aburrworkiyana rrapa gubu-gopuna aburr-ji.
They made themselves big (26) all the time with material possessions and kept them for themselves.
-ngukpelambila greedy with food
14. Nipa an-ngukpelambila.
He's greedy with food. [nguk is a recurring partial in such words as -ngukula 'pulverised ground, mashed, minced' and ngukarda 'faeces'; -belambila 'broad, spacious'.]
mipila mipila na be stingy toward (lit. 'eye eye look-at')
15. Mipila mipila abi-nana.
They treated him stingily.
Unaggressive/Aggressive
dubuk humbly, quietly, well-behaved
16. Dubuk a-nirra
He behaves quietly -dor humble, quiet, well-behaved, unassuming
17. Rrapa gala barra ngarndarrk ngarndarrk aburr-negiya; wurra jarra aburr-mola aburr-ni barra rrapa aburr-dor burrwa warlaman wurra gama gorlk.
And they must not argue; but instead they are to be friendly and well-behaved towards all kinds of people.
mardakarrich fierce
18. An-gata mardakarrich a-negiya ya?
That man is making himself fierce eh? mari-bama trouble maker (lit. trouble (in)-head
19. Nipa mari ana-bama.
He is a trouble-maker.
golja be 'cheeky', stir up trouble, challenge to fight.
20. Ngayburrpa gala barra ngardapa ngardapa nguburr-borrwiya, jimarn jarrapa ngayburrpa nguburr-molamola, aburrwerranga ngika. Gala barra nguburr-yirda nguburr-golja arrburrwa gu-gapa guguta.
We must not each think about ourselves, supposing instead that we're the only good ones, not others. We must not challenge each other like that back and forth. -gugolja trouble maker
21. Gala yapa an-gugolja a-garlmurda, arr-yopun.
Lest a trouble-maker get up, (and) start talking about us.
bampa helpless, at a disadvantage
22. Minypa aburr-werranga aburr-garl-muna, bampa burrbu-negarra burrbu-buna aburr-workiyana.
Like others got up, (and) persecuted them all the time.
Cooperative/Uncooperative
gunggachichiya help each other
23. Aburr-gunggachichiyana aburr-workiyana.
They always used to help each other.
yagurrma agree, give assent to, obey (lit. 'yes-put')
24. Gubi-yagurrmurra nula.
They obeyed him./They agreed with him.
gerna deaf, unteachable, incorrigible
25. Birripa aburr-ngurrjiyana, jimarna bama aburr-yinanga birripa marn.gi gunjaranga, wurra jarra gerna aburr-ni.
They told about themselves, supposing they were wise, but instead they were unteachable.
Honest/Deceitful
-burral true, real, substance, fruit
26. Gun-burral!
That's true!
27. An-molamola an-gugaliya an-burral.
A good true man.
28. Derta nyi-negiyana ny-bamuna gujanguny gu-barral ngayburrpa ngubi-rrimanga.
You went along making yourself strong with the true story we hold.
jawurrga -gubalcha someone for trusting in, a trustworthy person (lit. head-for-resting-up-high-on), cf. example 31 below.
-guyolkiya deceptive thing or person, a lie.
29. An-guna nipa an-burral; gala gunguyolkiya gu-rrima rrapa an-gugaliya a-yolka a-workiya.
This man is true; he doesn't have a deceptive (story) and trick people all the time.
30. An-jaranga an-gugolkiya an-guyinda an-mujaruk -a-garlmapa barra burr-yolka.
Many lying messengers will get up and trick them.
bama bu ni be suspicious of, mistrust (lit. head hit be/do)
31. Bama nguna-burnda jinyu-nirra.
She doesn't trust me.
gaypa take away from, cheat out of something, not fulfilling obligation to give
32. Minypa gun-nigipa rrawa gu-bama-nacha a-nirra, minypa gun-molamola gujirra nula rrapa gala ananga a-yinmiya gurruma rrapa a-gaypa.
Like he watches over his place, like it is a good one for him and no one can break in and steal from him.
-ngumurda stolen goods, thief, thieving
33. Gala barra jin-ngumurda ny-ma ana-werranga jin-nika.
Don't take another man's wife.
34. Gala barra gu-ngumurda ny-boy.
Don't go thieving.
Although the Glasgow Dictionary is not nearly so rich a source of examples of explicitly approved and disapproved behaviour as Kirrkirr, we can nevertheless see in the material the outlines of a set of moral values similar to that of the Warlpiri. If expressions such as 'adultery', 'greedy', 'stingy', 'trouble maker', 'unteachable', 'lying' and so on are valid translations of moral judgments inherent in the vernacular counterparts, we can infer that Gidjingarli culture (a) promotes sexual propriety, generosity, amity, cooperation, and honesty; and (b) discourages their opposites. Furthermore, the following terms suggest that, like Warlpiri, Gidjingarli articulates reservations and equivocations about generosity and unaggressiveness:
-gujerrmela beggar, someone who is always asking for things.
yerpa share freely, give everything away to everyone, waste
35. Mu-yerpana a-bona mun-nigipa rrupiya.
He went along wasting his money.
-barla docile, quiet, harmless [cf. -dor, under 'Unaggressive' above]
36. Guwa. An-guna gulukula an-barla.
Come (to my camp). This dog is harmless (won't bite you).
(Antonym: -bachirra)
-bachirra angry, savage, dangerous, enemy, swearwords
(Synonym: -jambach)
-jambach good hunter, aggressive
(Antonym: -merdaberper)
-merdaberper coward, one who is afraid to fight or spear game.
37. Ngarripa gala arr-yinmiya arr-merdaberper arr-ni, arr-belabebaga. You and I can't be cowards, cowed and unable to fight.
Finally, as the Warlpiri disapprove of domineering behaviour (ngamarr-karrimi, 'bossiness'), so the Gidjingarli disparage self-aggrandisement (wana negiya, making oneself big, conceited; melela gungunegiya, 'showing off'). From different angles, both cultures uphold an ethic of egalitarianism.
8. Conclusion
Although the ethnographic record for Indigenous Australia is replete with information on the evaluation of conduct, systematic accounts are at best inchoate. I have tried here to show that dictionaries, by virtue of their comprehensiveness, provide a basis for theoretical analysis and ethnographic elaboration. The quality of the foundation will obviously depend on the adequacy of the dictionary. A richer account of English moral values could be given from the Oxford Dictionary of English than from the Pocket Oxford. Given the centrality of morality in any culture, the crucial difference is less likely to lie in the number of lexical items presented than in the nature and range of exemplifications. Even so, an element of luck operates. The most useful examples are those that explicitly evaluate the behaviour they exemplify; and it is in some degree fortuitous which ones do and which ones do not.
If we assemble and peruse the behaviours approved by the Warlpiri and Gidjingarli, a model of a good person emerges: generous and hospitable, ready to share, not greedy, acquisitive, or stingy; unaggressive, not a trouble maker, but ready to defend self or kin when attacked; willing to help others and work for a common cause; modest and not bossy; law-abiding and respectful of the marital rights of others; honest, not a liar or thief. As this might serve as a checklist for a character reference practically anywhere, it is worth asking what it is about such values that would account for their ubiquity and antiquity. Probably the soundest answer, one which combines both Durkheimian and Darwinian principles, is that they represent necessary conditions for the health and survival of a human society. Their presence in a robust form generates internal solidarity and reduces internal conflict, (27) thus conferring a collective advantage over rival or competing groups in which they are poorly developed or non-existent. (28) While in theory we can imagine a moral system where selfishness, belligerence, cuckoldry, and lying are publicly endorsed and where mutual aid, peacableness, fidelity, and honesty are ridiculed, in practice any society adopting and actively pursuing such values would inevitably disintegrate. (29)
In the history of human (not to say vertebrate) reproduction, the most enduring and critical struggles have been for resources in land and females. It is in these two areas that inequalities and monopolisation are most commonly found. Yet a striking feature of the Indigenous social order in Australia was a relatively equitable distribution of both. Throughout the continent, land was parcelled out in a roughly even fashion among descent groups. Annexation through conquest was rare if not non-existent, and no one was landless. Small-scale polygymy was certainly practised but large harems and life-long bachelorhood were both uncommon. In my view too little attention has been paid to the distributive effects of religious ideology in regard to land, and of incest prohibitions in regard to women. Such consequences did not come about by accident. Rather, they were the expressions of a pervasive and powerful ethos in which generosity and sharing were deemed to be good, and greed, aggression, self-importance, and domination regarded as bad.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I thank the Warlpiri Dictionary Group (especially Mary Laughren) for permission to reproduce material from Kirrkirr. Without this, the project would not have been possible. I pay tribute not only to the linguists who compiled the dictionary, but also to their Warlpiri associates who provided the invaluable information it contains. I am grateful to Patrick McConvell for his help, and above all I thank David Nash for introducing me to Kirrkirr and subsequently guiding me in both its electronic and linguistic complexities.
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ALRC 1986 The Recognition of Aboriginal Customary Laws, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra (Report of the Law Reform Commission 31).
Appleton, Richard 1988 The Australian Encyclopaedia (fifth edn), Australian Geographic for the Australian Geographic Society, Terrey Hills, NSW.
Bern, John 1979 'Ideology and domination: towards a reconstruction of Australian Aboriginal social formation', Oceania 50:118-32.
Berndt, Ronald M 1970 'Traditional morality as expressed through the medium of Australian Aboriginal religion', in R Berndt (ed.) Australian Aboriginal Anthropology, AIAS, Canberra pp.216-47.
--1979 'A profile of good and bad in Australian Aboriginal religion', Australian and New Zealand Theology Review 12:17-32.
Berndt, Catherine H 1988 'Oral literature', in R Appleton (ed.) The Australian Encyclopaedia (fifth edn) (vol. I), Australian, Terrey Hills, pp.249-52.
Darwin, Charles 1875 The Descent of Man, and, Selection in Relation to Sex, Murray, London.
Durkheim, Emile 1973 On Morality and Society: Selected writings (ed. RN Bellah), Chicago University Press.
Dussart, Francoise 2000 The Politics of Ritual in an Aboriginal Settlement: Kinship, gender, and the currency of knowledge, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington.
Glasgow, Kathleen 1994 Burarra-Gunnartpa Dictionary, Summer Institute of Linguistics, Darwin.
Greenway, John 1963 Bibliography of the Australian Aborigines and the Native Peoples of Torres Strait to 1959, Angus & Robertson, Sydney.
Hiatt, Lester 1965 Kinship and Conflict: A study of an Aboriginal community in northern Arnhem Land, Australian National University Press, Canberra.
--1996 Arguments about Aborigines: Australia and the evolution of social anthropology. Cambridge University Press (chapter 5 'People without politics').
--2004 'Edward Westermarck and the origin of moral ideas', in A Barnard (ed.), Hunter-Gatherers in History, Archaeology and Anthropology, Berg, Oxford pp.45-56.
Horton, David (general editor) 1994 The Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia : Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, society and culture, Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra.
Howill, Signe 1997 'Introduction' in S Howill (ed.) The Ethnography of Moralities, Routledge, London, pp.1-22.
Hutcheson, Francis 1971 [1725] An Inquiry into the Original of our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue. Georg Olms, Hildesheim.
Lee, Richard and Iven DeVore (eds) 1968 Man the Hunter, Aldine, Chicago.
Manning, Christopher D, Kevin Jansz, and Nitin Indurkhya 2001 'Kirrkirr: Software for browsing and visual exploration of a structured Warlpiri dictionary', Literary and Linguistic Computing 16(2):135-51.
Meggitt, Mervyn J 1962 Desert People: A study of the Walbiri Aborigines of Central Australia, Angus & Robertson, Sydney.
--1964 'Indigenous forms of government among the Australian Aborigines', BijdragenTot de Taal-, Lander Volkenkunde 120(1):163-80.
Nash, David 1982 'An etymological note on Warlpiri kurdungurlu', in Jeffrey Heath, Francesca Merlan, and Alan Rumsey (eds), The Languages of Kinship in Aboriginal Australia, Oceania, University of Sydney (Linguistic Monograph 24).
Parkin, David 1985 'Introduction', in D Parkin (ed.) The Anthropology of Evil, Blackwell, Oxford, pp.1-25.
Peterson, Nicolas and John Taylor 2003 'The modernising of the Indigenous domestic moral economy: kinship, accumulation and household competition', Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology 4(1 & 2):105-22.
Priest, Charles AV 1986 The Origin and Nature of Moral Values and Obligations: A study of historical morality and historical determinism, the author, Benalla, Victoria.
Read, K 1955 'Morality and the concept of the person among the Gahuku-Gama', Oceania 25:233-82.
Rose, Deborah B 1984 'The Saga of Captain Cook: morality in Aboriginal and European law', Australian Aboriginal Studies 1984/2:24-39.
ter Weer, Martinus C 1973 Altruism of the Australian Aborigines, unpublished typescript (extracted and translated by I Davies from Martinus ter Weer's Altruism of Native Peoples of Africa and Australia). Copy held in AIATSIS Library, Canberra.
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Westermarck, Edward 1906 The Origin and Development of the Moral Ideas, Macmillan, London.
NOTES
(1.) Generally speaking, the views expressed in works of this kind reflect western moral ideas or debates. Occasionally authors have sought to present colonisation in terms of Indigenous values as well (especially Rose 1984).
(2.) The neglect of morality as a subject in its own right is by no means confined to the anthropological literature on Aboriginal Australia. Various authors over the last fifty years have seen it as a shortcoming in anthropology generally (e.g. Read 1955:235; Parkin 1985:4; Howill 1997:6).
(3.) Gidjingarli (Gu-jingarliya in Glasgow's rendering) is the name used for Burarra by the Anbarra people of the Blyth River.
(4.) Information about Kirrkirr software for the presentation and use of a bilingual dictionary (first applied to the Warlpiri dictionary database --Manning et al., 2001) is available from <http:// nlp.stanford.edu/kirrkirr/>. The Warlpiri data was provided by the Warlpiri Dictionary Project and was compiled by a team of Warlpiri speakers and linguists coordinated by Mary Laughren (m.laughren@uq.edu.au).
(5.) cf. Hutcheson (1971:101 [1725]): 'Moral goodness denotes our idea of some quality apprehended in actions which procures approbation and love towards the actor from those who receive no advantage by the action. Moral evil denotes our idea of a contrary quality which excites aversion and dislike towards the actor even from persons unconcerned in its natural tendency.' Francis Hutcheson was appointed to the chair of philosophy at Glasgow in 1729. His views on the nature of morality paved the way for David Hume (An Enquiry concerning the Principles of Morals, 1751) and Adam Smith (The Theory of Moral Sentiments, 1759).
(6.) Repetition of maju (maju-maju) and ngawu (ngawu-ngawu) softens the disapproval. [David Nash, pers. comm.]
(7.) I owe to Anna Wierzbicka a consciousness of the danger of projecting discriminations that seem natural in one culture onto another where they are not recognised.
(8.) In my view judgments of the following sort are clearly non-moral: ngurrju good, etc
1. Nantuwu yangka ngurrju-mipa kalarna-jana yungu. Kijirninjapanuju lawajala--kularna-jana yungkarla.
I gave them only the good horses. Not the ones that always buck one off--I couldn't give them (those ones).
2. Ngurrju karnaju purda-nyanyi.
I feel well.
I have also omitted examples in which 'good' and 'bad' are used to describe human ability and performance, though I acknowledge such cases may be more problematic. For example: kawulu-nyina-mi be useless, be incompetent Kawulu-nyinami, ngulaji yangka kujaka yapa ngawu-ngawu wirlirdiwangu manu ngawu rdily-pirrpawangu nginyinginyi, manu nyurrilypawangu yangka karli jarntirninjawangu manu kuturu jarntirnijawangu manu kurdiji jarntirninjawangu, yangka yapa ngawu-ngawu wati, jantukurla.
Kawulu-nyinami is how a person who is not clever or intelligent behaves, one who can't carve boomerangs or clubs or shields, a person who is bad and useless.
(9.) In relation to totemic estates, kirda are related through patrifiliation ('father's country'), kurdungurlu through matrifiliation ('mother's country')--Nash 1982.
(10.) The suffix -wangu means 'without, not having, not', so that ngawu-ngawu-wangu and maju-maju-wangu mean 'not bad' i.e. 'good'. Similarly ngurrju-wangu means 'no good' i.e 'bad'.
(11.) For an explanation of the meaning of 'wrong woman', see below under 'Proper/Improper' ('Sexual relationships').
(12.) For a brief account of conventions concerning a woman and her son-in-law, see below under 'Proper / Improper' ('Affinal reserve').
(13.) Jungarrayi, Napangardi, Napaljarri, Nampijinpa and Nakamarra are subsections ('skins'). See below under 'Proper/Improper' ('Sexual relationships').
(14.) Nakamarra, Japaljarri, Jupurrurla are subsections ('skins'). See below under 'Proper/Improper' ('Sexual relationships').
(15.) The expression jurru ngawu-ngawu literally means 'head bad'.
(16.) Where a word has several apparently unrelated meanings, Kirrkirr numbers them and enters them separately e.g. yuru (1) swearing, verbal abuse; yuru (2) face, countenance. Where distinct meanings are related, they appear as Sense 1, Sense 2, etc. under a single entry.
(17.) Kirrkirr glosses yalypirrpa (Sense 1) as 'womb, uterus', and yalypirrpa (Sense 2) as 'lies, lying, liar'. On the evidence available (esp. example 2: 'Yalypirrpa is what people who are swearing at each other call each other in anger or in jest.'), the term in this second sense is an obscenity (cf. 'you cunt') without the specific meaning given to it in the dictionary.
(18.) David Nash pers. comm.
(19.) Or, as Francoise Dussart (2000:17-18) glosses it, 'the Ancestral Present'.
(20.) According to Meggitt (1964:176), 'Away from the ceremonial ground he [the religious expert] was but another member of an intensely egalitarian society, amenable to the same rules as was everyone else'.
(21.) Dussart uses the term yamparru to mean 'ceremonial leader, boss'. Kirrkirr glosses it as 'first (in order), ahead, before, in front, earlier, in the lead, in advance, prior, older, elder'.
(22.) After a prefix ending with n, -werra becomes -nerra.
(23.) The people of northeast Arnhem Land are divided into two patrilineal, exogamous moieties named Dua and Yirritja. Gidjingarli speakers call them Jowunga and Yirrchinga. Morla is the Gidjingarli generic term for a moiety.
(24.) The Glasgow Dictionary was published by the Summer Institute of Linguistics and is part of a project whose primary objective was to translate the New Testament into Burarra. Numerous examples in the dictionary are drawn from this enterprise, including (I should think) the following examples in my survey: examples 17, 20, 22, 25, 28, 30.
(25.) Ngambul = eyelid, eye, sight.
(26.) This is meant pejoratively: GD glosses wana negiya as 'be conceited, boast, brag', cf. 'showing off', Example 3.
(27.) Durkheim (1973:136) for example: 'the characteristic of moral rules is that they enunciate the fundamental conditions of social solidarity'.
(28.) Darwin (1875:132) for example: 'At all times throughout the world tribes have supplanted other tribes; and as morality is one important element in their success, the standard of morality and the number of well-endowed men will thus everywhere tend to rise and increase.'
(29.) Unimpeded by a professional training in anthropology, Charles Priest reached a similar conclusion after a sojourn among the Tiwi in the 1930s.
Dr Hiatt, a former Chair of the Institute's Council, is currently an Honorary Visiting Fellow at AIATSIS.
<lesterhiatt@mac.com>
Table 1: Types of behaviour approved or disapproved by the Warlpiri
Type ('good') Location Type ('bad')
proper yulkangi improper
(decent, chaste) (indecent, shameful,
disgusting)
generous jama, selfish
(sharing, benevolent) pukurl-pukurlpa (mean, greedy, unkind)
unaggressive jami, namu-namu, aggressive
(conciliatory, pukurl-pukurlpa (quarrelsome,
peaceable) bad-tempered, rude,
importunate)
cooperative ngampa-ngampa, uncooperative
(compliant, obedient) yalya (intractable,
incorrigible)
honest ? deceitful
(truthful, trustworthy) (lying, thieving)
Type ('good') Location
proper waji-waji, maju, ngawu,
(decent, chaste) nyanungu-nyanungu, wararrji,
warrura, yapa-ngarnu
generous kurlpu-kurlpu, liinpa,
(sharing, benevolent) ngayarrka, puurr-pari
unaggressive jatu-jatu, minjinpa, pardurra,
(conciliatory, pukuu, wiinkiyikiyi, wilji
peaceable)
cooperative wiyal-wiyalpa, yirlarinji
(compliant, obedient)
honest maju, ngawu, yupunjayi
(truthful, trustworthy)
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