Galŋayŋu
Ancestral Skin
The concept of gakal often comes up when Yolŋu philosophers are explaining how a child’s identity grows from their ancestral heritage into a confident authoritative performance in the world. Gakal is a particular individual style of behaviour which develops in a well cared for Yolŋu child in place[1]. Another less common concept, galŋayŋu became the subject of discussion among Charles Darwin University senior Yolŋu staff in 2022. Whereas gakal comes from the inside of a child’s identity, galŋayŋu comes from the environment in which she or he grows. Gakal and galŋayŋu work together to produce and maintain the Yolŋu person-place. The word galŋayŋu comes from the root galŋa which means skin, and the suffix -ayŋu, which means something like ‘eternal’ [2]. This text was pieced together by the editors in 2024 from transcribed conversations involving Birrinymal [Dr W. Gaykamaŋu], Joy Bulkanhawuy and Gawura.
Galŋayŋu (ancestral skin)
by Birrinymal [Dr W. Gaykamaŋu], Joy Bulkanhawuy and Gawura Waṉambi
| When we are on country, our lands and totems ‘stick’ to us as galŋayŋu. |
Waymamba: Ŋarra nhunany dhu ŋäŋ’thun yäku ŋarra li ga märr dhumbal’yun galŋayŋuw yäkuw. | I will ask you about a word I’m somewhat confused about: galŋayŋu. |
| Wanhal dhu märram? Yolthu dhu gurrupan? Nhaliy? | Where do we get it from? Who gives it? How? | |
| Nhakun dhuwaltjan ŋayi dhu dhuwali gurrupan wäŋay nhuna waŋa, ŋunhi limurruŋ yirralka wäŋa, bala ŋayi dhu ŋunhi ŋulatjandhi nhe dhu ga marrtji wäŋakurr nhokal wäŋakurr bala ŋayi nhuŋu dhu ŋunhi mak manim’thuna nhokalna rumballilina. | Through this way, it will be the land which gives it to you, wherever is our homeland, so that when you go through your ancestral land, walking through the land, your land, then it will maybe attach to your body. | |
| Ga nheny yaka marŋgi mak ŋunhi ŋayi dhu nhuŋu manim’thun mak yalalaŋumirriyna nhe dhu dhäkay-ŋäma. | Maybe you’re not aware of it when it attaches itself to you, but maybe later you will feel it. | |
| Galŋayŋu strengthens our minds and skills. |
Gawura: Nhakun ŋayi yolŋu wiripuny ŋayi dhu galŋayŋu ŋunhi nhanŋu ŋunhi djambatj yindikum. Djambatjkum nhanŋu djambatj dhu ŋamatham, nhanŋu djäma djambatjnha nhanŋu ŋayi dhu gakalmirriyam ŋanya dhu wo gakal nhanŋu dhu ŋamatham, nhakun ŋula nhä djambatj nhanŋu dhu ŋamatham. | Like, he the Yolŋu, sometimes the galŋayŋu will improve his hunting skills. Make him skillful, increase his skill, his efforts will give him gakal, or make his gakal better, like whatever he does well, will be improved. |
| Ga dhäwu ḻakaram “Dhuwali miyapunu galki burakirra dhu nhokuŋ! Way’! Nhäŋu marrtji!”, ga yuwalktja yan ŋayi li ŋunhi miyapunu burakirra. | And tell them, “There is a turtle about to be wounded by you! Hey! Look carefully!”, and it’s true, that turtle will be caught. | |
| Ŋula nhä wäyingu li menguna marrtjinya, ŋayi dhu ŋunhiyi nhanŋu galŋayŋu buna ŋayi dhu ŋunhi bitjandhi nhanŋu biŋgirri’yun wo ŋurru-walyun ŋayi dhu garraluman ŋula nhaltjan ḏuwitjṯuwitj ŋayi dhu rumbal ŋula nhä waṉa, ḻikan dhika nhä ḏuwitjṯuwitjthun ŋunhiy ga ḻakaram nhanŋu. | Any sort of animal that they miss seeing, the hunter’s galŋayŋu will emerge, and it also will make him burp or rub his nose like this, he will burp, somehow it will twitch, twitch, the body whatever, the arm, the elbow whatever will twitch, twitch, that is letting him know. | |
| Galŋayŋu connects us with our networks of totems. |
Ga ŋunhiyi galŋayŋuy dhäkay-ŋäma ga, ŋuruŋiyi galŋayŋuy djambatj gurrupan, nhäku ŋula ŋayi dhu maḻŋ’maram bondi yan dharpuman bondin yän ŋula nhä. Balanya bala wiripuny. | The galŋayŋu feels that, galŋayŋu gives them skill for whatever they may find quickly and spear it quickly whatever it is. It’s also like that. |
| Wiripuny nhakun dhuwanydja ŋarra gan maḻŋ’maraŋal experience ŋäṉḏipulu ŋarraku Wangurri ga Guyamirrilil ŋunhi walalaŋgal ŋunhiyi nhawi ŋarirri yan galŋayŋu walalaŋ walalany dhu ḻakaram ŋarirri wo gany’tjurr, gomuḻu, yow. | Also I have found in my experience with my mothers’ clan groups, the Wangurri and Guyamirrilil, for them it’s a fish, that is, their galŋayŋu is their totemic fish which will let them know, a fish, and also a heron[3]. | |
| Walal dhu garralum (brrrp!) nhakun garraluman bitjan garralum dhuwal dhu, yow ŋunhi ray’kalyun dhu garralum dhu ŋunhiyi ŋayi dhu ŋamathirr yuwalk yän djambatj ŋula nhanŋu ŋayi dhu märram, miyapunu märram ŋula nhä, wo ŋayi dhu wiripuny dhäwu ga ŋuruŋiy ḻakaram. | They will burp (brrrp!) like that, like belch they will, they will burp, that will improve truly that skill, whatever of his he will get, get turtle, whatever different message it will indicate. | |
| Waripu ŋayi dhu ga ŋuriŋiyi ḻakaram, ŋarra dhu ga ray’kalyun nhakun ḻuka ŋarra dhu ga rerri buwayakkum nhä dhu yolŋuny ŋayatham. | Or also, it will indicate this, as I burp the galŋayŋu, swallow, and I will make my sickness disappear whatever the person has. | |
| Wo ŋayi galŋayŋu balanya bili dhärra, balanya bili dhärra nhanukal bili ŋunha ŋayi ga warrakandhu ḻakaram. | Or galŋayŋu is something standing, something standing/being with her/him because the totemic animal indicates. | |
| Totem-ŋur ga ḻakaram ga mam’thun, ŋunhiy bili nhä nhumalaŋ totem. Ŋarrakal dhu mam’thun ŋunhi bili nhä ŋarraku totem. | From the totemic beings it is told, and sticks whatever your totem happens to be. On to me will stick whatever is my totem. | |
| Galŋayŋu protects us. | Bulkanhawuy: Yow yuwalk gurruŋ, Yuwalk ŋayi napurruŋ happen ga beŋur bili yolŋu mala ŋanapurr bitjan bili, ga bitjan bili gan yän galŋayŋumirriy ŋurukumirriy nhinan ŋunhi galŋayŋu nhä walalaŋ ŋunha biḻmaŋur ga ŋorra yindi whether ŋayi warrakan ŋula nhä, ŋarirri ŋula nhä, ḏawurr guku ŋula nhä, ŋayi li mam’thun ga dhäwu gänhamirra ŋayi ŋunhi, dhäwumirra ŋayi ŋunhi ŋurukiyi yolŋuw ga djägamirra ŋayi ŋurukiyi yolŋuw. | Yes, that’s true, cousin, truly it does happen to us, and after that we Yolŋu always live by means of that galŋayŋu, whatever lies within our sacred clapsticks[4], whether to do with animals or fish, whatever, wild honeybee, honey, it will stick and tell its own story, it has a message for its Yolŋu, and cares for that Yolŋu. |
| Djäga ŋayi ŋurukiyi yolŋuw ŋunhiyidhi galŋayŋu ḏawurr guku, ŋula nhä dhäwu ŋayi li gurrupan yätj wo ŋamakuli’, wo ŋayi li djambatjnha gurrupan yolŋuny ga gakalnha nhanŋu yindikum ŋamatham gakalmirriyam ŋanya. | That galŋayŋu is caring for that Yolŋu – honeybee, sugarbag, whatever it tells, good or bad or giving hunting skill to the Yolŋu, enhancing their gakal, giving him or her good gakal. | |
| Ŋathaŋurdja mak djitama, ḏingu ŋayi li mam’thun napurruŋgal. If it’s not processed manymakkuŋ, yätjkurr can be poison, tastes and more than that… your body can get sick. Then you notice you processed and ate that ŋatha in a wrong way and start having symptoms… mak ŋayi dhu infection-na märram. | After eating food like cheeky yam, or cycad nut it adheres to us. If it’s not processed properly, it can be poisonous, taste bad and can be more than that… your body can get sick. Then you notice when you process and eat food in a wrong way and start having symptoms… maybe they can get an infection. | |
| Märrma’ napurru ŋunhi nhäman ŋunhi napurr maḻŋ’maram ŋunhi galŋayŋu yolŋuwal rumbalŋurnydja bala napurr dhu guyaŋa ‘Way! Nhä dhuwana maḏakarrtji wo nhä dhuwal guŋga’yunamirr?’ ya’ bitjan ŋarra ŋuli nhäma. | There are two things we see when we find that galŋayŋu with a Yolŋu body, so we think ‘Hey, what is this? Dangerous or helpful?’ yes that’s how I see it. | |
| Waŋganydja ŋunhi galŋayŋu litjalaŋguwuy yän, nhumalaŋ nhumalaŋguwuy yän, ŋarraku ŋarrakuwuy yän. Nhä nhumalaŋ ga maḏakarrtj ga ŋorra, ŋuruŋiy ga gurrupan rerri, nhä nhumalaŋ manymak totem nhumalany ŋayi dhu djambatjkum, marrŋgitjkum ŋayi dhu nhumalany. Ŋarrakuny ḏärrpa ga buḻanybirr. Waŋganydja maḏakarrtj, waŋganydja guŋga’yunamirr ga manymak. Ŋayi dhu dhukarr gurrupan wanhaltjan ŋarra dhu marrtji. Ḏärrpaynydja ŋarrany dhu bumany yän, rirrikkuma yän. | One thing, our galŋayŋu is ours alone, and yours is yours alone. Any totem you might have which is dangerous, it might make you sick. Your good totem will make you skillful, it will make you a healer. I have the king brown snake and the dolphin. One is dangerous, one is helpful and good. It will show a pathway through which I will go. The king brown snake will just hit me, just sicken me. | |
| But we must be careful. |
Gawura: Ŋarra dhu waŋgany ḻakaram nhakun dhuwal ŋarraku waku’mirriŋu wäŋa-wulanbuy ŋunhiy balanyamirriy dharrwa Warramiri mala yolŋu mala nhina ga. Walal marŋgi-gurrupan whether ŋayi dhu bitjan, ŋayi ŋunha bala wäŋa-wulanbuy yindi wo ŋayi waṉa-guḻku yow. Yow ŋunha bala mirinyuŋu wo ŋarrpiya wiripuny ŋayi, ŋayi li ŋunhi ŋula nhaltjan ”ḏatj” dhuwali rirrakay ŋayi walal ŋunhi walal galŋa-waṯaŋu, rumbal-waṯaŋu walal dharaŋan ‘Dhika nhä rraku ga ḻakaram?” Dhäwu ga rraku ḻakaram wo ŋula nhä rerri ga marrtji wo ŋula nhä ga marrtji yätjkurr wo ŋula nhä latju ga marrtji wo djambatj rraku ga gurrupan. | I will tell you one story about my maternal great-grandmother – whale, by which many Warramiri people are living. They let know whether they are like the whale, huge, or with many arms. Yes, there the whale or the octopus, which ever, it will ‘ḏatj!’ – that sound will, those who own that skin, own that body, they will recognise ‘What’s this here that’s telling me?’ Telling me a story whatever sickness is approaching, whatever a bad is coming, whatever a good is coming or that it gives me hunting skills. |
| Waymamba: Napurruŋgu Gupapuyŋu ginykiny, manbiri muka. Nhakun ŋayi ga bathan ya’ balanya, nhanŋu maḏakarrtji ga ŋorra manbiriw. If you know how to handle it, you’ll be safe. | For us Gupapuyŋu tribe it’s the catfish. Like it is cooking, see what I mean, the danger of the catfish lies[5]. If you know how to handle it, you’ll be safe. | |
| Bulkanhawuy: Carrying it and nhäma napurr dhu ga whether it manymak or yätjkurr. | They are carrying galŋayŋu and we will see whether it is good or bad. |
- For more information on gakal see Yolŋuw Yothuw Marŋgithinyaraw ga Marŋgikunhamirr Dhukarr - The Yolŋu Child's Pathway, in this volume. ↵
- Other examples: dhärranhayŋu, standing forever, gulyunayŋu, in place forever, bokmanayŋu, created forever ↵
- Gomulu or gany’tjurr the heron is also mentioned in Yolŋu Baḻandi-waṯaŋumirr in this volume ↵
- Biḻma are ceremonial clapsticks, used in singing and in calling out sacred names. The word is used as a metonym for totemic names. ↵
- The catfish has poisonous spines which can sting you if it’s not handled carefully when catching or cooking. ↵
