Djemat yothu ngayi. Yindi djäl bunggulgu. :)

Thank you so much for saying hi.

Djarrak. (sea gull) :)

I'm happy you get to see and celebrate with your family through the video!

Trying is the first step! What do you reckon is stopping you from doing a good job?

@@homelandherweynens I know how to say "yo," which means yes. And I knew a few other words, but I forgot them. No one speaks Yolngu in Massachusetts. Oh yes, there's "gappa," which means water. Maybe if I think a few words will come back to me. I remember David Gulpilil saying "Gappa, Gappa" in Walkabout.

Well done remembering. Gapu is water. :) And wata is wind! ;) @@user-dn5bi4si5w

True!

That's wonderful to hear! Let us know what type of lessons you'd like to see. I still have some outstanding ones suggested by the lovely people watching the videos made by our staff and students.

@@homelandherweynens Typical Yolŋu conversations would be great. What do Yolŋu talk about, what topics are of interest to them, what is Yolŋu small talk when meeting people etc...

You reckon even just a short conversation between friends with subtitles?@@artilleryhill

@@homelandherweynens Yow, dhuwala dhu manymak - Yes, that would be great.

Lesson 8 is ready for you@@artilleryhill! A cute conversation. And conversations during play.

We loved it! Thank you very much. :)

It was very fun and the dragon fruit is yummy!

Yes, mommy! :)

Hi Putu! :) Thank you for all your help! Please show this to Komang and her family?

Sure was! If we can buy all the machines, we can make silver jewellery in Gäwa or take a group to Sidemen. ;)

Next time, we can do it! For mommy's 80th! :)

He loves it too! Thank you! :)

Very well! Games with the first school were humbling for our team with very little team practice on a sand oval but it made them work better as a team in the game with the second school! It's the most requested video which I shall work on one of these weeks to help bring everyone back to school! :)

Yolngu can choose to incorporate outside influences, such as a headstone, into their process of grieving. Did you see the traditional elements in the ceremony?

@@homelandherweynens I saw the traditional elements in the ceremony. It just seems a shame to see them making the same drift as the Torres strait islanders who always rave on about culture but live the opposite.

@@mickzammit6794 I've never lived in the Torres Strait so won't have a reliable opinion on similarities. Interested to hear which aspects you reckon the drift is most apparent.

Torres strait culture is long gone whatever the opinion. Modernisation and adaptation to outside influences are regarded as traditional. Dressing up in bright colours and banging on drums before gorging on turtle and dugong are really the only ties to the past. But even those things made possible by modernisation and outside influence. There's nothing that is truly of the land. I grew up among displaced Aboriginals at a time when white culture was considered very scary by murris. And then came the freedom to drink alcohol and act as aggressive and stupid as white blokes. Even then a great many of the people lived as close to traditional ties as possible. I know modernisation is inevitable but adapting the Asian practice of tombstone covering and ceremony just seemed so far from those quiet humble old mob from long ago that it feels more like a conquering of the spirit. I don't know if you'll know what I mean. But that's the best I can explain what I felt when I saw that video.

Thanks for engaging,@@mickzammit6794. I think I understand that sense of a conquering of the spirit. Whilst there is that in some areas and is heartbreaking, my experience in homeland life is more hopeful. We still get to see and participate in the beauty and strength of traditional ways of being & knowing.

Thank you! We'll pass on your thanks to the young teachers. :) So great you are making flashcards! Shows your dedication to language learning.

Thank you so much! Stanley and Isaiah are great teachers, hey? How long would you want the videos to be? Good on you for learning! Have you been to Elcho?

​@@homelandherweynens They sure are! It's a great format as is but I would definitely appreciate a few more phrases. The repetition is a good idea also as it helps me pick apart the sounds and reproduce them. I haven't visited Yolŋu country yet but I hope to soon.

Thank you! The young men did well, hey? The hunters would say it's easy to catch maranydjalk. :)

​@homelandherweynens they certainly did. I really appreciate the classes. I've been trying to learn Djambarrpuyngu with a tiny phrase book, but I'm learning so much faster now with these videos. Manymak! I would love to hunt and eat maranydjalk one day.

It was ŋama! And that's just one day! :)

Revival thanksgiving always happens in March. There are many prayer rallies happening in communities around Arnhem Land though so I'm sure you don't have to wait that long!

Glad it was helpful again! Thank you so much for the link and tip. So if we used back-chaining for the phrase, would it go like this? Teacher: "Dhuwal rraku waku-mirriŋu" Teacher: "waku-mirriŋu" Student: "waku-mirriŋu" Teacher: "rraku waku-mirriŋu" (students imitate) Teacher: "Dhuwal rraku waku-mirriŋu" (students imitate)

Yes! That's exactly right. It's pretty effective for utterances with a lot of syllables. You can also use your fingers to mark each syllable out for your audience. So, you could point to a finger for "waku" and then point to the next finger for "mirringu".

Thank you too! Your encouragement is precious to us!

Happy to hear that, Mel! :)

Check out this one page PDF, Willie, to answer the pronunciation questions above! Maybe that's an idea for an episode too - doing words with those sounds! www.showticksecure.com/YYFoundation/VenueNet/_uploads/FCKeditor/file/2012_GP%2018_yolngu%20matha%2018.pdf

@@homelandherweynens That would be great if you could do an episode with those sounds, it would really help the Trad stick yidaki group.

Awesome. We'll try for the next language lesson episode! :) @@Eyedesign9

@@homelandherweynens Thanks!! Looking forward to it.

Nhämirr ngama?

Hi! :) We live in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory Australia. Yolngu are the First Nations people in Arnhem Land.

Thank you for your encouragement, Steven!

Amen!

Thanks, Justin. Great to know you find the lesson helpful! The students chose those sentences themselves! :)

That's awesome. The students should develop an app for learning Djambarrpungu@@homelandherweynens

During the finishing touches, the Elder was sharing how the yidaki and bilma (clapsticks) are essential as they grow into manhood. He talked of how fights and disagreements could be settled with the yidaki and bilma - through the singing of songlines that clarify relationships. He talked of how the young men have a lot more to learn and how the yidaki is part of that, the same way that for young women, collecting pandanus and weaving is part of their growing up.

Did you make or buy your didgeridoo? I'll ask our students for advice.

@@homelandherweynens i buy only. And most of them are Yidaki

Hi! The yawirriny' (young men) watched your videos playing the didgeridoo today (28/3/24). They said you had your techniques right. They did record themselves playing the didgeridoo to hopefully help you. They also wish they could understand your story-telling around playing the yidaki. Let me know how we can send the videos to you! They're just two 20-second plus videos that you may be able to pick up something from.

Thanks for your encouragement, Willie! Much appreciated. :) So happy to hear the videos are helpful.

@@homelandherweynens Can you suggest any place online where I can find audio clips of Yolngu Matha language lessons?

Grace is our wonderful music teacher who can sing many songs in Djambarrpuyngu! :)