Kunred (places)
Dirdbim

Hear the pronunciation, spoken by John Mawurndjul

The site Dirdbim is a duwa moiety place under the responsibility of Paul Nabulumo and his brothers. At that place there is a hole in the rock; the round shape of the hole represents the moon. There are many ancestral bones at that place. When people died, their bones were placed there in the rock. Just as the moon dies each month, the bones of humans are also placed there. This is because of the story of the moon and the quoll who argued. The quoll said that when people die, it should be once and forever, but the moon said that they should die and rise again. So now the moon re-appears as a crescent ‘new moon’ each month, but the quoll dies and stays dead forever. We see this in the new moon, the first crescent. The quoll went to live in the rock country, where he died.

Dirdbim nakka nuye Nabulumo bedman kabirridangen. Kuwardde dird karurrk. Kamurrngyo, dabborrabbolk birrihdoweng bindimurrngkurrmeng kuwardde. Yiman dird karrowen kamoyo. Dird djabbo benedangwerrinj, bu Bininj kabirridowen. Djabbo yimeng munguyhmunguyh kabirridowen la dird yimeng kabirridowen wanjh kabirriyawoyhdi, Dird kalirrkkurrme la djabbo larrk. Karrinan kahdi kalirrkkurrme. Djabbo wanjh kuwardde kare, karrowen bonj.


– John Mawurndjul, with translation by Murray Garde