TRACK 9 (Moy62-26-21) Song 5: Pumandjin
| Sung text | Free translation |
|
ee karra kana-nga-mu-viye karru viye pumandjin yakarre ee karra kama-ngana-yi kana-nga-mu-viye karru viye pumandjin yakarre ee karra kama-ngana-yi kana nga-mu-viye karra kama-ngana-yi kana-nga-mu-viye karru yawa-ndha ee |
Ee She [Numbali] is dancing [making a deliberate movement of her hands above her head] On top of Pumandjin, yakarre! Ee It [the song] came from she [Numbali] who is standing Dancing [making a deliberate movement of her hands above head] on top of Pumandjin, yakarre! Ee It [the song] came from she [Numbali] who is standing Dancing [making a movement of her hands above head] It [the song] came from she [Numbali] who is standing dancing [making a deliberate movement of her hands above head], truly there Ee |
This song, recorded by Alice Moyle at Bagot in 1962, is about Jimmy Muluk’s deceased sister, Numbali (not explicitly named in the song), who is dancing on the top of Pumandjin, a hill behind Mica Beach (Muluk’s long-time place of residence, previously mentioned in the text of ‘Puliki’ (track 1)). Although his ancestral country lay far away, to the south of the Daly River, Jimmy Muluk had a particularly strong association with this local area, now known as Talc Head, which in the 1960s and 1970s was also the site of a camp for tourists for whom Muluk regularly performed his wangga. The text states that the song comes from his sister, and precisely describes her dancing movements—a particular movement of the hands above the head that is characteristic of women’s dancing in this area.
In its playful variation of text, melody and rhythm, this song is typical of Jimmy Muluk’s corpus.
Figure 5.5 In 2011, relatives of Jimmy Muluk in Belyuen identified this dancer as his sister Numbali, dancing at the tourist corroboree, Mica Beach, September 1972. Photograph by Allan Laurence.
Song structure summary
VOCAL SECTION 1
Rhythmic mode 1 (without clapsticks)
Melodic section 1
Text phrase 1
| ee |
| SW |
Ee
Melodic section 2
Text phrase 2
| karra | kana | -nga | -mu | -viye | karru |
| SW | 3MIN.S.R walk | 3MIN.F.REFL | do | head | 3MIN.S.R travel [74] |
She [Numbali] is dancing [making a deliberate movement of her hands above her head]
| viye | pumandjin | yakarre |
| head | place-name | EXCL |
on top of Pumandjin, yakarre!
INSTRUMENTAL SECTION 1
Rhythmic mode 4a (moderate even)
VOCAL SECTION 2
Rhythmic mode 1 (without clapsticks)
Melodic section 1
Text phrase 1
| ee |
| SW |
Ee
Melodic section 2
Text phrase 2
| karra | kama | -ngana | -yi |
| SW | 3MIN.S.R.stand | from | PERF |
It [the song] came from she [Numbali] who is standing
| kana | -nga | -mu | -viye | karru | viye | pumandjin | yakarre |
| 3MIN.S.R walk | 3MIN.F.REFL | do | head | 3MIN.S.R travel | head | place-name | EXCL |
dancing [making a deliberate movement of her hands above head] on top of Pumandjin, yakarre!
INSTRUMENTAL SECTION 2
Rhythmic mode 4a (moderate even)
VOCAL SECTION 3
Melodic section 1
Text phrase 1
Rhythmic mode 1 (without clapsticks)
| ee |
| SW |
Ee
Text phrase 2
Rhythmic mode 4a (moderate even)
| karra | kama | -ngana | -yi |
| SW | 3MIN.S.R.stand | from | PERF |
It [the song] came from she [Numbali] who is standing
| kana | nga | -mu | -viye |
| 3MIN.S.R walk | 3MIN.F.REFL | do | head |
dancing [making a movement of her hands above head]
INSTRUMENTAL SECTION 3
Rhythmic mode 4a (moderate even)
VOCAL SECTION 4
Melodic section 1
Rhythmic mode 1 (without clapsticks)
Text phrase 1
| karra | kama | -ngana | -yi |
| SW | 3MIN.S.R.stand | from | PERF |
It [the song] came from she [Numbali] who is standing
| kana | -nga | -mu | -viye | karru | yawa | -ndha |
| 3MIN.S.R walk | 3MIN.F.REFL | do | head | 3MIN.S.R travel | 3MIN.ANAPHDEIC | really |
dancing [making a deliberate movement of her hands above head], truly there
Melodic section 2
Rhythmic mode 4a (moderate even)
Text phrase 2
| ee |
| SW |
Ee
INSTRUMENTAL SECTION 4
Rhythmic mode 4a (moderate even)