Occurs in yaay-baa (sun-baa) meaning 'summer' and dhandarr-aa (frost-aa) meaning 'winter'.

Occurs in walaay-baa (camp-place of) meaning 'a person's country or home place'.

Related to baada-li (comb hair). Originally a nit comb, made from a piece of bone or wood.

Used to be used for 'mother's mother', now a general word for any grandmother.

Used with this meaning in the Walgett area.

Ian Sim said this is the word for any cloud.

A parasitic plant which grows on trees and has small, gluey, very tasty fruit. Known as 'snotty gobbles' because of the sticky fruit. The leaves are used to treat sores: they are boiled in water and the liquid is drunk or applied to wounds. The berries contain a moderate amount of energy and water, some protein and fat, and are a good source of vitamin C.

This is a rare word, the common word is gulguwi.

A large property between Lightning Ridge and Goodooga, where Langloh-Parker lived; it is named after the native hens there.

Greg Fields used to say baanda-la! about things around the camp.

Also called march fly.

May be related to baan (mistletoe) which was thought to hide spirit children.

Ted Fields said it was used in the instance of a person who works for months on their own in the bush; also called a 'bush rat'.

Bawa has also been recorded and used recently; baawaa is the recommended word for 'sister'. Baawaadhi (my sister) is sometimes pronounced 'boyandi'.

Ridley recorded the meaning as 'great, wide, awful (River)'.

Also called Ulcardo melon and cucumber. This was an important food; the rind is bitter so the contents are squeezed out.

Arthur Dodd said 'Baaya-lda-nha - that's when you're cracking a peanut in your mouth'.

Ted Fields said that this is what you do to an emu egg before cooking it. You spin it and toss it up in the air, then lay it on the ashes or coals. When it is cooked the egg will stand up on the rounder point.

From Baayami (the creator or supreme being); see the Black Swans story in Langloh-Parker.

The recommended word is maliyaa.

According to Langloh-Parker, women and uninitiated men were not allowed to use the word Baayami, instead they used buwadjarr (father) to talk about the Creator or Supreme Being. Ian Sim said that bubaa (father) was used instead of Baayami.

Locality on the Tamworth-Gunnedah road.

Seems to be used in the same way as yilaa (soon, directly) and at this stage may be regarded as a synonym, with perhaps more of an implication of a causal relationship (because of this...), rather than the sequential meaning of yilaa.

Ted Fields said this is the natural order of things, 'this is how things work'.

Arthur Dodd used baaybal as a general word for any frog. Possibly also refers to the salmon-striped frog Limnodynastes salmini.

An expression of surprise.

Probably related to baaya-li (chop).

The recommended word for 'father' is bubaa.

For a man, these two relations would belong to the same social section.

A game played by jumping into water with splashes.

Ted Fields has told the story of when the two babarra fought and their boomerangs cut the top off a hill, leaving a flat ridge that is now known as Cumborah knob.

A ridge on the Walgett-Cumborah road where the two babarra fought with boomerangs.

babarra may be another word for the gidgee tree

Also called toad bug, it was thought to predict floods by moving to high ground. Possibly the slater.

Name may be from, or the origin of, the common name 'bobby'.

Rarely used in GR and YR.

Ted Fields said that the leaves are used for smoking people and places, including children who have misbehaved, the houses of the dead, and as a mosquito repellant. They are also boiled in water to make a medicine with many uses, often used for bathing sores. If a woman cannot conceive they made a long fire, put badha over it, and the woman slept on the hot badha. The wood is used for bundi (club, waddy).

It was said that spirits live there. Based on walaay (camp).

Sources also give this as 'mother's mother's brother', but it is unlikely that one word means both 'mother's mother' and 'mother's mother's brother'. This is a rare word, the common word is baagii.

This word probably refers to a woman's relations, since in that case both people are of the same section; so for a Buudhaa both are Gabii.

Ted Fields said it is a fence made of branches built across a gully to catch fish as a flood goes down.

Mathews said 'older sister, before puberty'. According to Austin, adult males must avoid their elder sisters and not talk to them. Tindale recorded this meaning for Upper Barwon dialect.

The recommended word is baawaa (sister).

Possibly based on bagan (stripe); the name therefore means something like 'striped'.

Used to refer to any round object.

A medium-sized tree with spotted or mottled bark. Fred Reece said that it was good for toothache. People would scrape the sappy part off the root bark and put it in hollow teeth. Ted Fields said 'to cure toothache, bake the root till it is hot then bite on it'.

Name of a place.

Location between Barradine and Coonabarabran.

Longitudinal (up and down) stripe.

The western quoll. Fred Reece saw them. Now extinct in the area but still found in Western Australia.

Place near Angledool; once called Buggy Ridge, now known as Boggy Ridge.

A short old man with a bald head and a fat stomach; he comes to the camps and eats all the meat without cooking it.

Spiny shrub to one metre. Recorded as a woman's name.

Probably the squirrel glider Petaurus norfolcensis which occurs further west than other possibilities, the greater glider Petauroides volans or the sugar glider Petaurus breviceps.

A fern with leaves like four-leaf clovers that grows on low-lying ground; the spores, produced in woody containers the size of a wheat grain, can be gathered for food. Arthur Dodd said 'we put it on a big flat stone, crush it with a little flat stone, pour water with it, mix it up like dough, cook it in the ashes'.

It appears that the meaning has been extended from 'white' to include 'clear alcohol'.

Also anything with a serrated jagged edge. Probably from bal (nardoo plant) because of the jagged edge of the plant's leaves.

Possibly also 'clean'.

In milk thistle. Probably based on balaa (white).

Fred Reece said that balamba leaves can be eaten when young, but are no good when old. Also called prickly lettuce, it is a thistle-like weed with yellow flower heads. Probably based on balaa (white) because of the white fluid it exudes.

ero

This is a rare word, the common word is dhaygal.

A charcoal cooler - water dripped through the charcoal walls. Possibly based on nhii (shortened form of nhigii - coals).

It was said that spirits lived there.

The bearded dragon is commonly known as the frilled lizard in NSW, the real frill-necked is in Queensland and the Northern Territory. There are two types of bearded dragon (both large) and a river lizard which has a smaller 'beard'.

A specific spot in the sky world. Gunagala is more like the English 'heaven'.

This is a euphemism for 'as far from human affairs as possible'.

Related to balu-gi (die). Also used in relation to fires.

Probably based on balu (dead). Fred Reece doubts whether this is a general word, he uses it of a weak wind.

Rare word, possibly including -gal (many).

A small tree with large white flowers, and fruit that is yellowish when ripe. This tree is important in the Boobera Lagoon story. Locally known as 'bumble'; it is thought to be a 'woman's tree', used to cure 'woman's itch' and other women's illnesses. The leaves are boiled in water and drunk to cure venereal disease. The fruit offers only moderate energy, water, and carbohydrate compared with other fruits, but is a good source of vitamin C and thiamine.

An old source records bana as 'body' in contrast to dhuwi (soul).

Waterholes near Goodooga and Wee Waa.

Banbandhuluwi sounds like the bird's five-note call.

This is the eastern-grey kangaroo; it was eaten but the red kangaroo was preferred. Also the name of an unidentified star. Now the common word for 'kangaroo'.

This is a shrubby plant with golden cup-shaped flowers, and long many-seeded pods. They are used as a purgative to treat constipation. The English word 'punty' may not be from Yuwaalayaay since there are similar words in other Aboriginal languages.

Also called thorny saltbush; a variable shrub, upright or spreading with some branches ending in spines; silver-grey leaves. Probably Rhagodia spinescens.

Probably a Gunggari [a nearby language] word.

This is a rare word, the common word is buluuy.

This is the form found in compound words, e.g. birribangga (little pied cormorant); the common word for 'white' is banggabaa.

Possibly from banggaa (white) and -baa (place of, time of).

Used in some GR, YR areas. Recommended usage is banggul (money) and yarral (coins).

Also occurs in bangu badi meaning the 'wing' leading into a sheepyard or fishtrap. This is a rare word the common word is bungun (wing, arm).

Name for any fly.

Gaala is now used for 'mug'.

In the west of the area the distinction between the black and red soil is important, with differences in vegetation, animals and other features, e.g. the black soil is hard to dig, so burials are on red soil which is often sandy.

This suffix is attached to nouns, meanings include accompaniment (e.g. with mum), property (e.g. with hair\hairy) and weak instrumental (e.g. walked with a stick). The variant also occurs in the language name Kamilaroi, Gamil-araay (no-having); so 'the language that has gamil (for no)'. The ending is often used to form new words, particularly placenames such as Boggabri, Bagay-baraay (creeks-having).

The word barambang is used in Walgett, perhaps from the Wangaaybuwan language

The recommended word for 'ankle' is ngawurr.

Good eating; now rare in the area. There is a story about the bustard and emu (see Arthur Dodd and Langloh-Parker).

This is the recommended word for the black swan.

This word is commonly used in Walgett, possibly originally barrigan. See guwiibirr for more information.

Mathews wrote 'after puberty', Tindale and Wurm recorded this form for the upper Barwon River dialect. The recommended word is baawaa (sister).

This suffix is used to refer to the inhabitants of a place, e.g. Nhungga-barra (belonging to the country of the kurrajong tree), and Garrii-barra (belonging to the country of the orchid). The Nhunggabarra were the people who lived around Narran Lake and Narran River.

Anything very thin or fine.

Related to barra-li (sharpen).

The word for 'fly' was previously listed in GR as barra-gi, which is now thought to be more closely related to baragi-y (fly around). There is conflicting evidence as to whether this verb is y class or gi class, compare Wiradjuri barra-y.

According to Ted Fields, people say this when they or someone else makes a mistake or drops something. It's not making fun, more like saying 'bad luck'. Also used when you change your mind.

Possibly a nickname, from barran (boomerang) because of its many legs shaped like boomerangs.

There is no word recorded for the common red-rumped parrot Psephotus haematonotus, nor any bird in this area commonly known as a ground parrot. In these circumstances it is appropriate to use this word, recorded as 'ground parrot', for the red-rumped parrot which is common and spends a lot of time on the ground.

Probably Isodon auratus. Once widespread, Langloh-Parker said it was extinct on the Narran before 1900. Possibly from barra (thread) because of the unusual 'guard hairs' over the fur.

Probably a species of Lepidosperma or Schoenus. Sedges are rush or grass-like plants that grow in wet areas.

Also called maned duck.

A stiff shrub with large white flowers. Fred Reece said that nectar can be sucked from the flowers.

Older than bagabaga, and when the chick's stripes have gone. Fred Reece said an emu chick is 'barrgay when half grown till full grown'.

The red pieces of baked earth which are made in ground ovens. These are used, when hot, to put inside kangaroos and emus to help them cook.

This is now commonly used for 'sister'.

In some Australian Aboriginal languages, there is a link between body parts and the sign language for kin relations, compare bawa (older sister).

On the Walgett-Lightning Ridge road.

This was a favourite food. Now common in the western part of Gamilaraay territory. 'Blue flyer' is another name for the female red kangaroo.

Ridley wrote 'fur' or 'cloth'.

The verb bayama-li includes the meaning 'catch with hands', while yinabi-li (catch) is used more generally.

A young bird or animal.

Such as ripples made by fish.

Known as 'man's friend'; to hurt it was thought of as 'picking a fight' with the other sex.

Also called woodpecker. One of the bird's calls is 'bi-bi-bi ... ' Known as 'woman's friend'; to hurt it was thought of as 'picking a fight' with the other sex.

English 'bimble' is probably from bibil. Large-sized tree, also called poplar gum.

As with many introduced animals a number of similar words exist for pig e.g. bigurr, biguun.

Also called wild grape, it is a spreading shrub with fruit which is purple or red when ripe.

Usually adds the meaning 'big' to a person or thing, e.g. dhayn-bidi (man-big). Commonly occurs in burrul-bidi (big-big) with the meaning 'very big, great big'; wamu-bidi (fat-big) meaning 'big fat' and malaa-bidi (tree-big) meaning 'tree'. Adds the meaning 'really' to a quality, e.g. yiiliyan-bidi (really savage).

Refers to ochre and other earth materials used as body paint.

This is a rare word, the common word is wirrigaal.

A popular food. Arthur Dodd said that porcupine was his meat and his mother's meat, and they did eat it. It was killed by hitting it just in front of the quills, then put on the fire until hot, so that the quills came out easily. He said it tastes just like a pig: good, sweet meat. There is a story about how the porcupine got its quills (see Williams, Langloh-Parker). It is said that porcupine fat was used as hair oil.

From 'piccaninny' (little one, child).

As in a letter that you write to someone.

Medium-sized shrub with yellow flowers. Today, branches are cut and dried for use in brush fences.

Feared and avoided because of its calling out at night; believed to be a 'bad spirit'. Hearing its call is supposed to cause a type of wasting sickness, and children's ears were stopped at night to prevent this.

Familiar or fond name as in English 'dad' or 'daddy'. The recommended word for 'dad' is bubaa.

Name for anything used to sweep. Related to biimba-li (sweep).

The standard form is biyarr; the recommended word is milan (one).

Fred Reece said 'the bony bream is no good, he's got lots of bones'.

Probably the fork-tailed swift Apus pacificus or white-throated needletail Hirundapus caudacutus. Fred Reece said it 'comes before a storm'.

Probably from bii (chest) and -wan (prominent feature).

According to Ian Simbiiwanma-li means 'to inflate or puff out the chest' and possibly also means 'to spread out the arms'.

These men are all of the same social section This is a rare word, the common word is bubaa.

As in Boggabilla, Bagaay-bil-a (creeks-having a lot of-at); so, place full of creeks.

Garriya was usually referred to by a bilaan; three were recorded: Dhuyuburrul (big snake), Gungandhi (water meat); and Greg Fields used Galigurraynaa or Galigurraynwaa (affinity with water, water seeker). The Garriya was said to be 'full of water'. When the Garriya brothers were slain at Buman.garriya, the water gushing out created the Narran Lake. Some of the names recorded for supernatural creatures may be bilaan.

The English verb 'spear' is translated as 'pierce with a spear', bilaa-yu dhu-rri in YR and YY.

Probably based on a word bilaa (meaning unknown); compare also bilaarr (spear).

Based on bilaarr (swamp oak, belah tree) and ga (an abbreviation of gawugaa 'head'); said to mean 'head of swamp oak'.

A waterhole south-east of Cumborah, mentioned in the Cumborah Knob story. Said to be Plumbolar in English.

Fred Reece said they were common in the Yuwaalayaay area in the early 1900s. Possible source of English 'bilby'.

This is a rare word, the common word is buyabuya.

Also called sandpiper and black-fronted dotterel; used as a nickname for a kid with skinny legs.

Has a big part in the story of how the animals got fire and the birds got their colours.

Ted Fields said it is a little melon (2-3 cm diameter) with a black stripe on it.

This refers to a waterhole in a river.

This shrub is associated with fire and water. The roots are a water source; a water carrier is called bin.guwi. In a story, the first fire was hidden in its seed capsules; traces of the fire are a red and white down on the flower and leaf. Nectar can be eaten from the flowers.

Any canoe-shaped wooden vessel.

In most Aboriginal societies the ear is seen as the instrument or seat of intelligence and perception. Therefore, there are many words and expressions based on ear: binaal (well behaved); winanga-y (think, from bina-nga-y); and bina muurr gi-gi (forget). This is a rare word in YY where the common word is wudha.

For example, a child hanging on the breast, a flying fox roosting, and something, such as fruit or meat, hanging from a tree.

Used for 'roly-poly' or 'tumbleweed'.

One source mentions mythological 'roly-poly' men who spear people to death.

Name for anything small and sharp, including the barbs on a spear. Also occurs in binggi barra-biyaay (needle and\with thread).

These two relations would be in the same social section, e.g. for a Marrii man, they are both Gambuu.

Species uncertain.

Town, 40 km south of Gunnedah.

A small tree with smooth pale bark. Ted Fields said it has edible dhani (gum) and the leaves can be chewed.

A station (property) south of Angledool.

Probably the grub found in birraa (whitewood tree) roots.

Arthur Dodd said that it's 'just like a tomahawk with a handle on it, made of stone'.

One of the two wives of Baayami, the other being Ganhanbili. Birrangulu is said to have had a long thin face. In the Guwamu language Birrangula is a name of the Creator. From birra (axe handle) and ngulu (forehead), so 'face like an axe handle'.

Use with this meaning may be a recent development. Often occurs in birray-djuul (boy-little, one); meaning 'little boy' or 'boy'. The common meaning today is 'boy' but the word was previously used for 'uninitiated boy'.

Arthur Dodd said: 'Birrga - you dig them out of the ground, I seen people eating them, just pull them out of the hole with a hook or tie wire, kill them and chuck them in the fire, they cook in no time, get them out and down they go.' To locate the grub, the hunter smells the hole to see whether the grub is still in the ground.

This is a rare word, the common word is barriindjiin.

Also called black and white shag; in a story, he painted himself white on the front. Based on biri (chest, GR) and banggabaa (white).

The stick used by wiringin (clever men) to project power and 'throw the light'. Said to be 'like a walking stick', it is one of three sticks, the others being the smaller dance stick and the bigger funeral stick.

May have the same range of meanings as biyuu (hole, cave, grave).

Said to come from the bird's cackling call.

Possibly from biyarr (one) and -dhuul (little, one).

This suffix is added to various words for trees to indicate the flower or fruit of the tree, e.g. yarraanbiin (river gum flowers). The endings which convey the meaning 'flower of' have a number of similar, but slightly different forms; -(b)iyan is the hypothesised original form.

The recommended word is milan (one).

The tubers on gaagulu (native banana vine).

Probably related to buwadjarr (father); the recommended word for 'dad' is bubaa. Used in some GR, YR areas.

Often occurs as bubaay-djuul (small-little, one) with the same meaning.

In a story, the giant yellow and brown snakes (babarra) threw a fighting boomerang which cut off the top of a hill and created a flat ridge (Babarra).

The big bunch of feathers at the back of an emu.

Also called little seagull.

Used of horse and cart.

Specifically a camp where someone has died.

This is the form of the word now commonly used.

Ian Sim said 'a knob-headed club'.

This is a rare word, the common word is baladi.

From bulaarr (two).

Possibly from bulaarr (two).

Probably 'ground cherries' Physalis, the fruits of some species can be used for jam.

Probably Angophora floribunda; similar to a eucalyptus tree.

At breeding times emus are often seen in pairs. From bulaarr (two).

An older word, from bulaarr (two). The recommended word is buligaa (four).

Also called holy cross toad or Catholic frog. It has a series of dots in a cross shape on its back.

Possibly related to buligaa Jack, a man who had lost a finger. This is the recommended word.

Possibly 'pondweeds' Potamogeton).Ian Sim said it is a massive floating waterweed with no flower.

Fred Reece said 'it is like afternoon ... but not dark'.

Yellow berries eaten raw, cooked or dried.

In most historical records bulunbulun is defined as 'green parrot' which does not identify the species. Ian Sim identified it as the mulga parrot, and Fred Reece said 'people use bulunbulun for the ringneck, but the ringneck's real name is nhan.garra '.

This is a currently used meaning but is not recommended.

Called 'the two sisters'; they lead the Southern Cross in a traditional story.

An owl-like bird. Arthur Dodd said the bird's call sounded like 'they're all asleep tonight, Jim, they're all asleep tonight, Jim'. Fred Reece said 'the frogmouth sits like a dry spout, buluurr is the noise he makes'.

Name for anything that is used for hitting something.

As in binggi bumal-iyaay (nails and\with hammer).

Every type of living thing, every species, every totem, is divided into two types: Magula and Bumbira. This may be based on a distinction between 'large' and 'small' in all animals. It has been said that Magula people are thought of as more important than Bumbira people. People inherit this from their mother.

Name for any fly. Used in some GR, YR areas.

This is a small tree with blue-grey to silver-green leaves; also called bullock bush because it has been used for stockfeed. However it can be poisonous to stock and is also called poison tree.

Also the name of this particular type of meeting which involves men of a certain status discussing 'private business'. It is strictly off limits to everyone else. One source calls it the 'little bora ring'.

Name for any grasshopper; also a nickname for a very active child. Ted Fields said that 'holy bunbun' (an expression of surprise) was brought to Walgett around 50 years ago by Jack Ryan (buligaa Jack), a stockman from Cunnamulla, who died in Carinda.

Possibly banded lapwing plover Vanellus tricolor.

Fred Reece said it was 'made out of ground up bones from dead bodies, if you had a set on someone you would sneak it into their food'. Possibly related to bundaa-gi (fall).

Long handled club or waddy with round knob on the end. Used now as a general word for 'club'.

The origin of this word is not known.

A container, bag, or hole in the ground, in which a wiringin imprisons a spirit when he catches it by magic. In this context it also means 'caught' or 'in the bag'.

Also refers to the part of the emu wing close to the body. This part was eaten.

A small floating plant, possibly both common duckweed Lemna minor and small duckweed Spirodela pusilla; or perhaps a word for any low green plant, as it is in the Guwamu language.

A string tied around a man's arm, a symbol of some status, perhaps temporary as when involved in a ceremony. Based on bungun (arm).

Used in some GR, YR areas.

Used in Walgett.

Small shrub growing to 50 cm, with hairy silvery stems and narrow pale-green leaves. Flattish, red, berry-like fruits are sweet and succulent and can be eaten. It was also used as a green vegetable on Charles Sturt's expedition; it was found to be good for the prevention of scurvy.

Ted Fields said it is used in the expression burra-la yulu-gi (let the festivities begin).

There is a brolga and emu story (see Dodd, Williams and Langloh-Parker). Ridley said the word comes from burrul (big or high) and ga, perhaps a short form of gawugaa (head). Possible source of English 'brolga'.

This word is used in Walgett.

Based on buurra (initiation ceremony).

This is a rare word, the common word is ngadhul.

Water plant with rush-like leaves and spear-like flower spikes. The very new white to green shoots are gathered and eaten raw or cooked. It is said that the rhizomes or roots were ground to make a flour for damper, but also that they contain a toxic substance; leaves have been used for weaving mats and baskets, and the seed heads were once sold as pillow stuffing along the Murray.

Used in Walgett.

Used in some GR, YR areas.

Also called dogwood, an erect shrub with edible yellow fruit.

At big stations (e.g. Bangate) there was a camp or hut for the swagman; they would go to the station to work and collect food.

Anything used as a cover.

Used in Walgett, an expression used when someone makes a mistake or gets caught out (a Charlie Kennedy word).

Also gurrabuu. The guardian of girls at puberty; when a girl first menstruates, women sing 'the magpie song' in a rite for her.

Often occurs as burrul-bidi (big-big) with the same meaning. Evidence for burrul in GR is weak.

Also means 'great' or 'mighty', a name commonly used for the Creator in stories.

This word was previously recorded as burrumba-li, but is more likely to be burrumba-y.

Langloh-Parker described the game: They had a long rope with a man at each end to swing it. The skipper jumps in an ordinary way for a few rounds and then begins variations such as: taking thorns out of his feet, digging as if for larvae of ants, digging yams, grinding grass seed, jumping like a frog, doing a sort of cobbler's dance, striking an attitude as if looking for something in the distance, running out, snatching up a child and skipping with it in his arms, or lying flat down on the ground, rising and letting the rope slip under him.

A common large grey species.

This is a rare word, the common word is barayamal.

Possibly the grub of burrun (type of moth).

Said to be caused by the Creator trying to free his leg from under the earth. If he ever does, the world will end, or go back to the dreamtime, as it was before the great 'turn around'.

Also a loud noise 'like thunder' which is a spirit manifestation and may be heard when someone dies.

Also like English 'chicken' (scared).

Location where the Big Warrambool enters the main river on the Walgett-Brewarrina road.

An abbreviation of buugalaa.

Name for the bottom or base of objects.

Related to buubi-li (blow, smoke tobacco). The recommended word is mugu.

Also called western boobialla, and gii (bitter) after the bitter taste of the blue\purple fruit; the name applies to more than one species.

The 'trumpet' or 'cornet' used to entice emus into an ambush. Possibly related to buubi-li (blow).

Sometimes used in Walgett with meaning 'clever woman'. Marries Marrii, children are Yibaay (male) and Yibadhaa (female), brother is Gambuu.

Meetings where presents are exchanged.

Last possible child of a woman.

Arthur Dodd used this verb in relation to the story about why the crow is black.

Langloh-Parker described the game as follows: all of one dhii (totem), both men and women, are partners. The ball, made of sewn-up kangaroo skin, is thrown in the air; whoever catches it goes with their side into the middle, the other circling round. The ball is again thrown in the air, and if one of the circle outside the centre ring catches it, then all his side goes into the middle, the others circling round, and so on. The totem keeping it longest wins.

Now generally pronounced 'bugala'.

Also called 'rainbird'. Buugudaguda sounds like the bird's call.

Also occurs in buul warra-y (jealousy-stand), meaning 'be jealous, have envy'

A knot or lump in wood or a stick.

Ted Fields said that the whirlwind can hold a malimali (spirit) and may be something to be worried about; sometimes people would break branches and go into the buulii to stop it.

Possibly from buyuma (dog) and dhayaa (brother, GR).

Appears in a story, associated with the original creation of the sky, part of which he owns; children were not to interfere with this lizard, because he could cause the sky to fragment and fall. Possibly Cryptoblepharus Possibly based on buma-li (hit, kill).

Possibly Microtis (ground orchids).

Name for any grass.

Originally made from kurrajong bark, now general word for any string or rope. String used for making nets etc.

Fred Reece said that the boras were secret: 'You don't say what you saw there, I never seen it, but I heard them singing the songs before going away, they go away for a month or two, they are supposed to be a man then, they learn the secrets.'.

It is said that it is a large ring, around 25 m in diameter. Possible source of English word 'bora'. Based on buurr (belts used in ceremony).

Probably based on buurr (string, rope) and -baa (place of, time of). This was an informal name, there were also a series of 'status names' given at each stage of initiation. These are not known.

Austin notes that adult males must avoid their elder sisters, and not talk to them. It is uncertain whether this word was used for an older or younger sister. The recommended word is baawaa (sister).

A rare verb, probably related to buurra-li (pluck, pull out).

They are important in the story about the bigibila getting its quills.

As in a 'water' or 'gas' pipe.

Ian Sim said this is a borrowed word in common use.

The leaves, when dried and boiled, make a kind of tea.

Was used of a swag or belongings.

Used, e.g. of a loose fence post.

According to Langloh-Parker, women and uninitiated men were not allowed to use the word Baayami to talk about the Creator, instead they used Buwadjarr to talk about the Creator Spirit. Sometimes pronounced 'boy-jarr'; bubaa (dad) is a less formal term.

As in 'rattle or shake down fruit from a tree'.

An avoided relation. Reay (1945, p 310) said 'until about 1895 a man wishing to speak to his mother-in-law could go part of the way to her camp and then turn back. He could then address her by shouting in the direction in which he was facing, and had to speak loudly in order that all his wife's relatives could hear what he was saying'.

Commonly used now for the whole leg.

Said to be 'all leg and bark' due to its long legs and 'yelping' call. From buyu (leg) and waalwaal (bark).

Added to the main verb to indicate that the action of the main verb is associated with eating. e.g. buma-dha-y (hit-eating-past) means 'hit after eating'. This is a recently defined GY suffix and needs further work.

Commonly used today as 'grandfather', this word illustrates the different way Aboriginal people saw relationships, grandfather and grandson would be the same class\social section. A Marrii man would have a Gambuu as mother's father and as daughter's son.

Also a slab of bark.

Used in Walgett and Brewarrina.

At Goodooga, was the name of the red backed kingfisher; possibly the sacred kingfisher elsewhere.

Probably based on dhalay (tongue).

Fred Reece said that it was made from kurrajong bark, and some, which were not as good, were made from 'straw'. Possibly from dhaal (jaw bone) and -iyaay (with, having), from the shape of the net.

Occurs in dhidhaan (meat-good at) meaning 'good hunter'.

This word has less evidence, the recommended word is dharrun.

Towards speaker.

Fred Reece said: 'If I was sneaking along (hunting) and you were a kid following me, I'd say "Dhabi-ya!", because the emu might hear you.'.

Ridley said it was worn with pendants around the waist.

Based on dhabi-y (be quiet).

Also called 'pine babbler'.

Of a tree or other non-human things.

Used in some GR, YR areas. Also dhagaarr.

Some sources say 'older brother'. This word is found referring to other relationships where the two people are of the same social section, such as a woman's daughter's daughter, or a woman's sister's daughter's daughter (e.g for a Buudhaa, both these are also Buudhaa).

Also called 'leather head'.

The flower nectar, shoots and base of leaves can be eaten; the tall straight stems of the flower spikes can make light spear shafts.

Fred Reece said they also call it 'honeysuckle' and used to suck the nectar out of the flowers; it is dangerous to sheep. Possibly Eremophila maculata.

According to Ted Fields this was said when you've finished eating.

Used with this meaning in Lightning Ridge.

Ian Sim said it has a pink flower, the red taproot was cooked and eaten; probably a species of geranium. Possibly based on dhalay (tongue).

Used for Bex and Aspro, and perhaps any medicine. Possibly based on dha-li (eat) or English 'tablet'.

Used in some GR, YR areas.

Also called 'blue martin'. Said to include the masked woodswallow, A. personatus which flocks with it. Langloh-Parker calls them 'tree manna-bringing birds'.

From dhambi (short) and -djuul (little, one).

Succulent ground cover with small yellow flowers and small capsules containing many small black seeds. Seeds can be ground into a paste and cooked like a damper. Leaves, stems and roots can be eaten; contains valuable amounts of protein, water, fibre and minerals.

Rainwater lying on the ground.

A log that is disintegrating or rotting, and leaving concentric 'shells'.

Also known as the messenger or mailman bird.

For example, covered in bushes as when disguised for hunting emus.

Small tree with drooping leaves and hard wood.

Used of legs or arms.

Langloh-Parker said of corroborees that 'women form the orchestra, the men are the dancers, as a rule, though women do on occasions take part too. [There are two dances ... ] one is a sort of in and out movement of the knees, while keeping the feet close together. Another which they call 'shivering of the chest', a sort of drawing in and out of their breath, causing a vibratory motion'. Arthur Dodd translated this verb as 'shake a leg'.

Possibly also an unidentified bird (a swallow or martin) that builds a mud nest.

For example, to skip a rock or a mussel shell across water. Related to dhangga-y (float).

Occurs in the placenames Dungle and Dungle Ridge, between Collarenebri and Angledool.

Mentioned in a story about Lightning Ridge. This place is in the dry country between Cumborah and the Barwon River and is therefore unlikely to be related to dhanggal (large mussel).

A red floating weed, on the Narran and Warrego rivers. Possibly Azolla filiculoides.

Previously written as 'dhangi-li'.

Gum is eaten, used to seal things, and used in ceremonies. The gum from wattle trees can be eaten straight from the tree in balls like toffee, or melted in warm water to make a jelly. It can be soaked in water with something sweet like honey, manna or flower nectar.

Possibly common reed Phragmites australis. May have been used for making bags or baskets.

It is common to extend the words for body parts to geographical features, so dharra can be confidently used to mean 'creek' and 'branch' in all three languages.

Possibly related to dhaadharr (bark hut).

A person who has 'married' when not free to do so under the law. Possibly from dhaa-rri (have sex, GR) and -awaa (habitual).

May be a borrowed word since platypus is unknown in the area.

Used to hold tents up or generally as a prop.

Also called narrow-leaf bumble. Has edible, smooth-skinned fruit. Similar to bambul (native orange tree) but smaller and more spiny. Thought of as a woman's tree.

A place where people with dharrgadharrga (venereal disease) went - near Warrengulla on Coocoran Lake. There is high ground in the middle of the lake which is thought to be a bora ground.

It is thought that one cure is to warm up badha leaves, chew and swallow them. The urine becomes green as a result. This word is used in some GR, YR areas.

Made out of dhunbarr (grass seed).

Thought of as a bad character, to be avoided. When this bird flocks, it is said to be a sign of bad weather, and trouble brewing.

Also called postman bird; it was said to carry bad news, e.g. of death. Langloh-Parker gives this as the name of a bird whose description fits the blue-faced honeyeater, and she says 'in it is embodied some dead woman's spirit'.

Fred Reece said that crowfoot grows on the black ground, having big, snappy stalks, and people used to eat it like lettuce or celery.

A fire is lit in a hole or hollow and after it has burned down, food is placed in the ashes, then covered over with dirt to roast. Fred Reece said that this word refers to the act of covering up with dirt: 'If I'm telling you to cook him, you put him in the hole and I tell you dhawuma-la-nga when it comes to covering him up.'.

Used for body painting.

The recommended word is baawaa (sister).

A variety of definitions are given including 'eldest brother' and 'half-brother'; also occurs in dhaya-dhi (my elder brother). This is a rare word, the common word is dhagaan.

The person being whispered to is marked by the locative (to/at/on) case.

One common name is still 'Children's python', but its scientific name is now Stimson's python Antaresia Stimsoni.

This is a rare word, the common word is gaba ngulu.

Where someone lives, or is from.

Lower millstone or grinding dish.

This suffix is used to indicate the 'possession' of a family member, indicating 'my, your, his, her, their' mother etc. Often occurs on family terms such as bubaa (father). Sim comments that this is probably related to dhii (totem). As an optional term it would naturally tend to be used most by someone using relationship terms for their 'own side' (moiety). This is the best explanation of this suffix but does not explain all its uses. An example that supports this meaning is:

Indicates the cause or reason for an action, including the source of a fear.

Includes other unexplained uses. In the following example the ngadhul (hollow) is followed by the circumstantial suffix.

A number of sources have this definition, but this may be an error based on the name 'whistling duck' being used for both species.

Used to describe cheeky children. Possibly based on English 'cheeky'.

A general name for any bird.

A general name for any bird.

The feathered tribe refers to birds as a group; it is one of three types of animals, others being the scaly and furry tribes. Also refers to people and totems.

Refers to the topknot on cockatoos and pigeons. The cockatoo topknot was valued as a decoration on ornaments used in dance and ceremony. The cockatoo was sometimes called dhigundi, perhaps a general term for all birds with topknots.

Name for all meat foods.

Primarily a totemic animal or plant inherited from one's mother, but totems also include many other things, e.g. sun, moon, stone, water, smoke and wind. Mathews said: 'A man's totem is supposed to watch over his welfare, and forewarn him of the designs of his enemies. If any of his friends are away in a different part of the tribal territory, and sickness or death overtakes them, or they meet with a serious accident, his totem appears in sight, by which he knows there is something wrong.' Fred Reece said 'if I come to a camp and there's a lot of dark fellas I tell them my meat straight away'.

Shortened form of dhinggaa.

Also called wild gooseberry; a low prickly shrub with purple flowers and greenish edible berry.

A polite way of saying someone is 'sucking up' to another person. Probably related to dhiidja-li (lick).

Also dhiidjiibawaa. Arthur Dodd said the name sounds like the bird's 'dhii dhii' call. Two very similar species are found in the area: yellow-throated miner Manorina flavigula and noisy miner Manorina melanocephala.

A small tree with bell-shaped white flowers and aromatic leaves. The leaves were used as medicine.

Wilga leaves are used in burial ceremonies.

Ted Fields said it is a bird trap, made from two sticks and a net; it is set on swamps for ducks, and on Mitchell grass for parrots.

Possibly velvet potato bush Solanum ellipticum.

Also known as bee bread, it contains the young bees and was relished as a delicacy.

The common word for yamstick is ganay.

Long and narrow, pointed at both ends with engraved designs.

Compare wunga-y (dive, duck under).

Probably related to dhiinbi-y (dive).

Also called yellow or milk thistle, the young leaves and shoots can be eaten, but may be bitter.

Grows on ridges, has a straight trunk with deeply furrowed bark.

Probably related to dhiirra-li (teach). This word is from two recent sources. This process (adding l to the verb stem) is common for forming the names of things, e.g. bumal (hammer), but is not found elsewhere for forming the names of people. Investigation is continuing on how to form words such as 'teacher'.

Based on dhii (totem). A person of the same bloodline or matrilineal totem is called dhiiyaan-da(family-in\locative). Used in some GR, YR areas.

Langloh-Parker said 'an elderly man of the same totem as person speaking to or of him'.

Langloh-Parker said that a foot sign, e.g. on a tree, means that people are to follow.

Only used for things with feet.