TRACK 8 (Mar88-40-s13) Song 6: Karra Mele Ngany-endheni-nö
| Sung text | Free Translation |
| nyele nye nyele nyenyele nye nyele nyekarra mele ngany-endheni-nöngawanya-bet-mörö-gumbu ngayi yanyele nye nyele nyenyele nye nyele nyekarra mana ngindivelh-ni-bik-mi-nikan-djen-ndja-wurrikani-gulukgulukkinyi-ni-venggi-tit-ngangga-wurri kaninyele nye nyele nyenyele nye nyele nyekarra mele ka-me-nganila-ngana-yingany-endheni-nö nganya-bet-mörö-gumbu ngayi yanyele nye nyele nyenyele nye nyele nyekarra mana ngindivelh-ni-bik-mi-nikan-djen-ndja-wurrikin-verri-wut-wurri kani ya | Nyele nye nye nyele nyeNyele nye nye nyele nyeThis is for my brother nowlet
me always sing it for him all night longNyele nye nyele nyeNyele nye nyele
nyeYou have to always look out for my brother,who is really here now singing to
usand who keeps coughingand who keeps appearing in number four leg and singing to us whether we like it or notNyele nye nyele nyeNyele nye nye nyele nyeThis is from my brother who sang this for me now let me always sing it for him all night longNyele nye nyele nyeNyele nye nye nyele nyeYou have to always look out for my brotherwho is really here now singing to meand he keeps walking towards me |
Marett recorded this at the same 1988 rag-burning ceremony as track 4. Vocal sections 1 and 3 are in Mendhe, while vocal sections 2 and 4 are in Marri Tjavin (Mandji’s ancestral language). It is rare for songs to mix languages in this way; we may speculate that this song may have been formed from two previously independent songs, which here have been interleaved. Instrumental sections occur after every two vocal sections, that is, following the Marri Tjavin vocal sections 2 and 4.
Although there is still a great deal that we do not understand about this song—including the reason for the combination of these particular two languages—the subject matter of the two pairs of vocal sections is clearly a totemic song-giving ghost. The word for ‘brother’ (mele in Mendhe or mana in Marri Tjavin) is the relationship term used in these languages and other wangga songs to address totemic ghosts (Marett, 2005, p 114), and the reference to ‘number four leg’ evokes a characteristic of song-giving ghosts that is mentioned often in wangga songs (see, for example Muluk’s song ‘Piyamen.ga’ chapter 5, tracks 10-12).
It may be noted that there seems to be some instability in the form of the vocable text that begins each vocal section. The Mendhe expression mörö-gumbu, literally ‘buttock-foot’, is an idiom meaning ‘from top to bottom’ or ‘right through,’ which here means ‘all night long.’
Song structure summary
VOCAL SECTION 1 (Mendhe)
Melodic section 1
Text phrase 1
Rhythmic mode 2 (slow even)
nyele nye nyele nye
nyele nye nyele nye
Text phrase 2
Rhythmic mode 1 (without clapsticks)
| karra | mele | ngany | -endheni | -nö |
| SW | brother | 1MIN.PRO | now | DAT |
This is for my brother now
| ngawanya | -bet | -mörö | -gumbu | ngayi | ya |
| 1MIN.A.IR.make | open | buttocks | foot | 1MIN.S.IR lie | SW |
Let me always sing it for him all night long
VOCAL SECTION 2 (Marri Tjavin)
Melodic section 1
Text phrase 1
Rhythmic mode 2 (slow even)
nyele nye nyele nye
nyele nye nyele nye
Text phrase 2
Rhythmic mode 1 (without clapsticks)
| karra | mana | ngindivelh | -ni | -bik | -mi | -ni |
| SW | brother | 2.MIN.IR lie | 3.MIN.M.IO | look- | eye | PURP |
You have to always look out for my brother,
| kan | -djen | -ndja | -wurri |
| near DEIC | now | really | toward speaker |
who is really here now singing to us,
| kani | -gulukguluk |
| 3MIN.S.R.move | cough |
and who keeps coughing
| kinyi | -ni | -venggi | -tit | -ngangga | -wurri | kani |
| 3MIN.S.R.make | 3MIN.M .REFL |
knee | bend | 1/2.ADVERS | toward speaker | 3MIN.S.R walk |
and who keeps appearing in number 4 leg and singing to us whether we like it or not
INSTRUMENTAL SECTION 1
Rhythmic mode 4a (moderate even)
VOCAL SECTION 3 (Mendhe)
Melodic section 1
Text phrase 1
Rhythmic mode 2 (slow even)
nyele nye nyele nye
nyele nye nyele nye
Text phrase 2
Rhythmic mode 1 (without clapsticks)
| karra | mele | ka | -me | -nganila | -ngana | -yi |
| SW | brother | 3MIN.A.R | say | 1MIN.BEN | from | PERF |
This is from my brother who sang this for me now
| ngany | -endheni | -nö | ngawanya | -bet | -mörö | -gumbu | ngayi | ya |
| 1MIN.PRO | now | DAT | 1MIN.A.IR.make | open | buttocks | foot | 1MIN.S.IR lie | SW |
Let me always sing it for him all night long
VOCAL SECTION 4 (Marri Tjavin)
Melodic section 1
Text phrase 1
Rhythmic mode 2 (slow even)
nyele nye nyele nye
nyele nye nyele nye
Text phrase 2
Rhythmic mode 1 (without clapsticks)
| karra | mana | ngindivelh | -ni | -bik | -mi | -ni |
| SW | brother | 2.MIN.IR lie | 3.MIN.M.IO | look- | eye | PURP |
You have to always look out for my brother,
| kan | -djen | -ndja | -wurri |
| near DEIC | now | really | toward speaker |
who is really here now singing to me
| kin | -verri- | -wut | -wurri | kani | ya |
| 3MIN.S.R.make | foot | walk | toward speaker | 3MIN.S.R walk | SW |
and he keeps walking towards me
INSTRUMENTAL SECTION 2
Rhythmic mode 4e (moderate doubled) with Walakandha wangga cueing patterns