First time translation and performance of the Partisans’ Song, Zog Nit Keynmol in Nyungar or Noongar, the language of a constellation of indigenous people living in the south-west of Western Australia.Translation by Jesse John FLEAY – Edith Cowan University, Western Australia on 28 November 2018
THE TRANSLATION:
I
Ngay ngayiny birnt
Mari warabiny maar wombar worl djidar mumbakiy
Kaya wanju wanju yakai yey
Budja daaginy Noongar yorga
II
Koorl budjara koorbon
Ngay ngayiny
Mirdap ngoop budja
Yakai kwadjet koorl
III
Ngangk djidar mumbakiy
Waam djenak dja-koorl dhabat
Koora koora nyitting
Koora koora nyitting
IV
Dudjarak ngoop
Dudjarakwombar djerta birak budja
Noongar yorga balay koordidjiny wandanginy
Dudjarak koordidjiny
V
Ngay ngayiny birnt
Mari warabiny maar wombar djidar mumbakiy
Kaya wanju wanju yakai yey
Budja daaginy Noongar yorga
NOTES BY THE TRANSLATOR, JESSE JOHN FLEAY:
The universal concepts of the song tie in so well to Noongar songs of despair and war. We don’t believe in evil people, we believe in bad spirits that make people do bad things. So I adapted accordingly.
Also, nothing is ‘hidden’ in the Noongar cosmology, so for concealing, I used the smoke from a campfire, as I believed the masking of the smoke from a campfire worked rather poetically. We also don’t really have palms in the same context of a biblical perspective, so I went with desert (sand plain).
The next stage of the plan is for the choir of Ellenbrook Senior High School to learn and perform the Partisans’ Song in Noongar, under the direction of musical director, Stuart Rhine-Davis.
For more information, including all 25 language translations, visit our education portal: LEARN THE PARTISANS’ SONG
https://elirab.me/znk/
Our home page:
https://elirab.me