Nuni Wani gananda baingu wudaiba leni ba ganimada beni
Wulegil nagada nani nuni gunada ba yirngadhin gibada wudaiba baingui beni
Wuligil yirngadhin dudi werbada wani gananda wudaiba baingu
Wani nengada beni,wuligil walwa beni gauai
Gini nanu wani wurgirim ba wilerma minu
Dadi the beni buiga gauai
Buiga dadi Yanga Punk wara burbi wudubar punk
Wuni winanu NuniWani gananda baingu wudaiba leniba ganimada beni.
Wulegil nagada naninuni gunada ba yirngadhin gibada wudaiba bainguibeni.
Wuligil yirligadhin ‘dudi. werbada wanigananda wudaiba baingu

Story by Brendan Kennedy – Wadi Wadi/Tati Tati

English Translation

The Crow stole a child from the camp and hid him up a tree.
The Eaglehawk saw what the crow had done and went and got the boy from
the tree.
The Eaglehawk went back to get revenge on the crow for taking the boy.
The Crow was still in the tree, so Eaglehawk burnt the tree down.
This is why the crow is black and has white eyes.
After a while the tree fell down.
It fell across the middle of Yanga Lake to make a hill in the middle of the lake.
Persons who passed away were taken on canoes to this island to be buried.

By Brendan Kennedy – Wadi Wadi/Tati Tati

Further Information

Sounds of Mutti Mutti the language used in the Wadiwadi stories

i as in bit
u as in put
e as in bed
o as in on
a as in father
ng as in singer
ny/yn/nj as in news
rn this sound is made by making an ‘n’ sound but curling the tongue back behind the gum ridge
dh/th these sounds are made with the tongue – middle at the back of the teeth while making a ‘d/t’ sound
dj, tj/dj, ty/dy, j/dj as in English ‘j’
rd/rt this set of tongue-tip sounds is made by making ‘d/t’ sound but curling the tongue tip back behind the gum ridge
rl as in early