Gregg Dreise transcript

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The views and opinions expressed in this recording do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Logan City Council. Logan City Council does not make any representation of the accuracy of any such views and opinions.

Narrator:

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Deadly Digital Communities logo with handprint.

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers and listeners should be aware that this narrated story may contain names, images and voices of deceased people.

Robert Ah Wing:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers and listeners should be aware that this narrated story may contain names, images and voices of deceased people.

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Our words our stories
A Gamilaraay language story by Gregg Dreise.
Recorded on the 20th of July 2019.

Robert Ah Wing:

Our words our stories
A Gamilaraay language story by Gregg Dreise.
Recorded on the 20th of July 2019.

Description:

On the left is the Deadly Digital Communities logo (comprising of the words and a large white handprint on the top). In the centre of the screen is Gregg Dreise, smiling whilst wearing a black printed t-shirt featuring the white Deadly Digital Communities logo.

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Gamilaraay: Yaama Ninda
Pronounced: YAR-ma-nin-dah
Means: Hello Everyone

Gregg Dreise:

Yaama Ninda. My name's Gregg Dreise and I'm from the Kamilaroi and Euahlayi mob country out in South West Queensland.

Description:

On the left is the Deadly Digital Communities logo (comprising of the words and a large white handprint on the top). In the centre of the screen is Gregg Dreise, proudly smiling whilst wearing a black printed t-shirt featuring the white Deadly Digital Communities logo.

Text on screen:

Gamilaraay
The language of the Gamilaraay / Kamilaroi people
Gregg Dreise

Gregg Dreise:

We go all the way down through to New South Wales, down around the Tamworth area. My mum is Lyla Knox, I'm a part of the Knox mob. To all you Knox families out there a big Yaama Ninda! I'm an author and an illustrator, so I travel all around Australia and sometimes overseas talking about stories. So it's obviously very exciting to be here today, talking about our traditional languages in a fantastic showcase of that this year. So I use language all the time. I think it's beautiful for children, who are my target audience, to hear Indigenous languages or as I like to remind them, hear more of them. A lot of the kids get surprised to hear that they live in a town or a suburb that is an Indigenous language. And the more they talk about things that they used to, the more their eyes open as to how many Aboriginal words they actually know. So in my job, using traditional language is really important. So I might share with you guys, just as a bit of an example, a little bit of a story. As everyone knows, it's a bit of a primary school favourite, Tjiddaleh the frog.

Description:

On the left is the Deadly Digital Communities logo (comprising of the words and a large white handprint on the top). In the centre of the screen is an illustration of a water holding frog, created by Gregg Dreise.

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Gamilaraay: Tjiddaleh
(Many stories refer to Tjiddaleh as Tiddalik)
Pronounced: DIDD-uh-LEE
Means: Water-holding Frog

Artwork by Gregg Dreise. Copyrighted and not to be used without permission.

Gregg Dreise:

I love reminding kids that it's not actually really pronounced ‘Tiddalik’, that's all a little bit European. So if you put your tongue on the roof of your mouth and you and you say didd like that. So instead of ‘tidd’ but ‘didd’ and that 'k' on the end of it, most, most kids use it as a real hard 'k' tiddalik, but he's not actually having a 'lik", that frog. So it's more of a soft 'k' so ‘tiddalik’. So when we put it all together, it really shouldn't sound like ‘tiddalik’ it should sound like ‘Tjiddaleh’.

So Tjiddaleh is a frog that from back in the dreamtime, like many creatures around Australia, was a giant. So we got bones in the museum there in Brisbane of giant wombats and giant kangaroos. But this is a story about a giant frog named Tjiddaleh. Now Tjiddaleh was a greedy fella and a tricky fella, too! The first part of the story that I love to share, is where he goes up to Yaminon.

Description:

On the left is the Deadly Digital Communities logo (comprising of the words and a large white handprint on the top). In the centre of the screen is an illustration of a wombat in front of a billabong, looking up at the sun, created by Gregg Dreise.

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Gamilaraay: Yaminon
Pronounced: YAM-in-on
Means: Wombat

Artwork by Gregg Dreise. Copyrighted and not to be used without permission.

Gregg Dreise:

Now Yaminon, he's a wombat. Now, Yaminon loved his billabong, that was his favourite place to have his little camp, and he was almost like a protector of that little part.

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Gamilaraay: Tjiddaleh
(Many stories refer to Tjiddaleh as Tiddalik)
Pronounced: DIDD-uh-LEE
Means: Water-holding Frog

Artwork by Gregg Dreise. Copyrighted and not to be used without permission.

Gregg Dreise:

When Tjiddaleh come up there, trying to trick him for some of that water out of his thing, he told him that Yuraay.

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Gamilaraay: Yuraay

Pronounced: u-RAY

Means: Sun

Artwork by Gregg Dreise. Copyrighted and not to be used without permission.

Gregg Dreise:

Now Yuraay is the sun in my language. So he told him 'Yuraay is gonna drink up all your water.'

Description:

Text on screen:

Gamilaraay: Yaminon
Pronounced: YAM-in-on
Means: Wombat

Artwork by Gregg Dreise. Copyrighted and not to be used without permission.

Gregg Dreise:

And obviously Yaminon, that wombat, he didn't think that the sun could drink his water. So Tjiddaleh got him to watch and wait and watch how that water start to go down. So to Yaminon's amazement, he thought, 'Oh, what can I do to stop Yuraay from drinking up all my water?'

Description:

Text on screen:

Gamilaraay: Tjiddaleh
(Many stories refer to Tjiddaleh as Tiddalik)
Pronounced: DIDD-uh-LEE
Means: Water-holding Frog

Artwork by Gregg Dreise. Copyrighted and not to be used without permission.

Gregg Dreise:

So Tjiddaleh, he said 'Well, I'm a nice frog.' But obviously, you know, those fellows especially those little kids, we all know, he not very nice this fellow, he's just tricking, heh? So he said 'I'll put some in my pouch.' But, but Yaminon, he was a bit worried about how dirty that pouch would be with water in there, being in his tummy. But Tjiddaleh was like, 'Nah! Doesn't go in my guts! I've got a clean pouch, just, just for water!'

So he showed him some of that beautiful, clean water in his pouch and he said 'I'll just put a bit in here, and when Yuraay drinks up all that water out of your billabong, I'll put some back for everyone.' And he thought, 'Oh, that'd be nice!'. But, that tricky little frog! Well not so little frog he was, heh? That tricky frog he just kept drinking it, and drinking it, and he used that dreaming magic to get bigger and bigger and bigger. And before you know that billabong was empty. Then in time he saw a creek in the distance, so he bounced off towards that creek.

And then he told the fellows there the same little trick about Yuraay drinking up their water. And he used that dreaming magic to drink up all that water and get bigger and bigger and bigger. He was ginormous frog by this time!

Description:

On the left is the Deadly Digital Communities logo (comprising of the words and a large white handprint on the top). In the centre of the screen is an illustration of a kangaroo with the sun in the background, created by Gregg Dreise.

Text on screen:

Gamilaraay: Bundah
Pronounced: Bun-DAH
Means: Kangaroo

Artwork by Gregg Dreise. Copyrighted and not to be used without permission.

Gregg Dreise:

So Bundah, that kangaroo, Bundah came along and he was saying, 'You got to put that water back in there otherwise all them little fish there flipping around, they're gonna die.' And he just looked at Bundah, and just went 'mmm mmm'. He had his big cheeks full of water. He wouldn't even open his mouth to say anything but 'mmm mmm'.

Description:

On the left is the Deadly Digital Communities logo (comprising of the words and a large white handprint on the top). In the centre of the screen is an illustration of an emu with the sun in the background, created by Gregg Dreise.

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Gamilaraay: Dhinawah
Pronounced: Din-uh-WHAR
Means: Emu

Artwork by Gregg Dreise. Copyrighted and not to be used without permission.

Gregg Dreise:

So then Dhinawah: Dhinawah, that’s the emu. So Dhinawah come running across going 'Look what you're doing there, I see all these little yabbies, flipping around. They need that water! You put that water back in there!'

Description:

Text on screen:

Gamilaraay: Tjiddaleh
(Many stories refer to Tjiddaleh as Tiddalik)
Pronounced: DIDD-uh-LEE
Means: Water-holding Frog

Artwork by Gregg Dreise. Copyrighted and not to be used without permission.

Gregg Dreise:

And he just looked at him with his big cheeks and went 'mmm mmm'. So then, they saw eel as the water was coming up, poor old eel was flipping around, he needed some of that water. And eel was saying, 'Oh, please! Put that water back into my creek!' But that big greedy Tjiddaleh, he just said 'mmm mmm'. So that's when wombat finally caught up to him across from his billabong. And he said, 'Hey, everyone! He's not talking because if he opens his mouth, all that water’s going to come out. He's stretched right out to capacity, this fella. So we just gotta get him to open his mouth.' And I'll bet you, all you kids know how they did it, heh? They decided, ‘We just gotta make him laugh!’

Description:

Text on screen:

Gamilaraay: Bundah
Pronounced: Bun-DAH
Means: Kangaroo

Artwork by Gregg Dreise. Copyrighted and not to be used without permission.

Gregg Dreise:

So the first one, that Bundah, was bouncing around pulling faces, pulling ears and making all kind of cheeky faces while bouncing, everyone else was laughing, but not that Tjiddaleh, heh?

Description:

Text on screen:

Gamilaraay: Dhinawah
Pronounced: Din-uh-WHAR
Means: Emu

Artwork by Gregg Dreise. Copyrighted and not to be used without permission.

Gregg Dreise:

And then, Dhinawah: Dhinawah started poking out that tongue, hopping up on one leg, spinning around making silly wombah noises like, bluh bluh bluh bluh!!, going real wombah, heh?

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Gamilaraay: Wombah
Pronounced: WOM-bah
Means: Silly

Gregg Dreise:

Wombah means silly in my language. But anyway, he still wouldn't laugh. He just, 'mmm mmm'. So then, even frill neck lizard, he was trying to make him laugh with some jokes, but no good.

Description:

On the left is the Deadly Digital Communities logo (comprising of the words and a large white handprint on the top). In the centre of the screen is an illustration of an eel twisted into a knot, created by Gregg Dreise.

Text on screen:

Gamilaraay: Wombah
Pronounced: WOM-bah
Means: Silly

Gregg Dreise:

So then eel said 'Hey, I can do a funny dance!' So eel started twisting around real fast and real deadly, and then she started getting real low on the ground, twisting low and slow, high and fast. And then she went, 'Oh, this is so much easier to do this dance in the water.' So then, she thought instead of just dancing, she started making all kinds of shapes, too. So she turned her body into a boomerang, trying to make him laugh and doing all different shapes. But then, that poor old eel, she got twisted right around and caught herself up in a knot! So then she said, 'Oh, quick! Somebody help! Get me out of this knot! Normally when I'm in the water, I wouldn't be in a knot!' But then Tjiddaleh was like, "No don't help her! That’s funny! Or should I say, ‘That’s knot funny! Do you get it, knot? She's stuck, no one help her!'

Description:

Text on screen:

Gamilaraay: Tjiddaleh
(Many stories refer to Tjiddaleh as Tiddalik)
Pronounced: DIDD-uh-LEE
Means: Water-holding Frog

Artwork by Gregg Dreise. Copyrighted and not to be used without permission.

Gregg Dreise:

And then, he didn't even realise, as he was laughing and laughing, that water kept coming out, kept coming out. And then that dreaming magic, just started making that Tjiddaleh get smaller, and smaller and smaller.

Description:

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Gamilaraay: Gammon
Pronounced: GAM-on
Means: Tricking

Gregg Dreise:

So today when you see them Tjiddaleh frogs, lots of people think that that's just gammon, heh? Just tricking. But those Tjiddaleh frogs they're real. They live out in my country and they get a big pouch full of water, about as much as a cup they can put inside their pouch.

Description:

Text on screen:

Gamilaraay

The language of the Gamilaraay / Kamilaroi people

Gregg Dreise

Gregg Dreise:

And when it's real dry time in the drought, they go to the lowest part of the creek, and they can dig themselves down up to about a metre underneath, where the last bit of water and that dried up patch of mud there was. And they still got a bit of that dream time magic with them today. Even around that mud, they don't have to drink that water from underneath the ground in. They can suck it straight through the skin of their pouch, and that purifies the water as they go. But today, lots of people know that story and we talk about never, ever be greedy like that Tjiddaleh frog, heh? But there's another part of that story that we share out on country too, and that's when we take people down to those creeks and we get the kids to walk along, and we look for that brownest patch in that creek, and then we get everyone to sit down. And then we do what's called a stick story. So instead of like, today, and me doing illustrations in a book, you just get a stick, and then you draw it there in the dirt and you walk around those kids, and you keep drawing and telling that story. But then at the end, we get all the kids to sing that Tjiddaleh song! In that Tjiddaleh song, we use that didge. And we get this song going. I have a quick little play of the didge, like this:

(Gregg plays his didgeridoo for a short time.)

And when we start playing, and we get all the kids to put their hands up in the air and we say, 'Urr, Tjiddaleh!' And then, with the music and the clap sticks, we then bring those hands down together, as you hear the didge and hear those claps, to tell each of the kids to move their hands together and slowly bring them down in this dance like this.

(Gregg plays his didgeridoo for a short time, with clapsticks.)

And when those clap sticks go real fast, by that stage, everyone's got to get their fingers on the ground and run them round all over that dried up dirt like little spiders. What we're trying to do, because back in that dreaming story, where Tjiddaleh tricked everyone to get the water. Well, we trick him back today! So as we're doing that, that didgeridoo represents that rumble of thunder up in the sky. And then all of those movements on top of that dirt, and all those fingers running around like little spiders, they're not trying to be spiders, actually. They're just trying to be like little raindrops! And then underneath that dried up patch, if there's any Tjiddaleh frogs down there, they start hearing those big rumble of thunder and those vibrations above, and those drops of water.

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Gamilaraay: Galingin
Pronounced: GARL-on-gen
Means: Thirsty

Gregg Dreise:

And they think 'Oh! Ahh! Galingin! I'm thirsty!'. So they head up to the top and then as, as they start to use their big, powerful arms to claw their way up to the top, we can grab them.

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Gamilaraay: Coolamon
Pronounced: COOL-ar-mon
Means: Bowl

Gregg Dreise:

And we get out little coolamon, our little wooden bowl and we squeeze a little bit out of their pouch by gently, very gently, putting our thumb underneath that pouch. And then that forces him open up his mouth where that opening to that pouch is, and then out comes pure water, which we share around.

Description:

Text on screen:

Gamilaraay
The language of the Gamilaraay / Kamilaroi people
Gregg Dreise

Gregg Dreise:

And that's where we obviously tell everyone that this story is all about sharing. But really importantly, we make sure we share a bit with Tjiddaleh too. We don't want to be greedy like that fellow in the dreaming! So we leave a bit for Tjiddaleh and let him go and he'll bury himself, but back down underneath that creek, and he'll wait for the next time it rains. But hopefully the next time it rains, it'll be a real rain, heh? It won't be that gammon rain that we do when we're trying to trick him back.

That's a way that I know that story of Tjiddaleh, and obviously using our language in amongst that, and sharing that with other Indigenous kids, other fellow Gamilaraay Countryman or even non-indigenous kids. And I've even told that story overseas in different countries, and the kids all love it no matter where you go! So sharing language in there is a really, really important thing to do. And that's why it's a wonderful thing that this year, we're looking at taking this opportunity to share Indigenous languages. So for you fellows out there listening, get on out there! See how many Indigenous languages you know, you might be surprised, you know a lot more than you think you do.

Description:

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Gamilaraay: Yar-loo Ninda
Pronounced: YAR LOO-Nin-dah
Means: See you later everyone

Gregg Dreise:

So to finish off, I'm going to say until next time in my Gamilaraay language and that is ‘Yar-loo Ninda! See you later everyone!

Description:

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Gamilaraay
The language of the Gamilaraay / Kamilaroi people
Gregg Dreise

Gregg Dreise:

(Gregg plays his didgeridoo, with clapsticks.)

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The Our words our stories project is a Deadly Digital Communities program supported through funding from the State Library of Queensland and Telstra.

(Telstra logo, State Library of Queensland logo, Queensland Government logo)

Dream big with the State Library of Queensland and Telstra in partnership with Indigenous Knowledge Centres and local councils.

Robert Ah Wing:

The Our words our stories project is a Deadly Digital Communities program supported through funding from the State Library of Queensland and Telstra. Dream big with the State Library of Queensland and Telstra in partnership with Indigenous Knowledge Centres and local councils.

Text on screen:

The Our words our stories project is in recognition of the United Nations International Year of Indigenous Languages.

(International Year of Indigenous Languages logo)

Logan City Council Libraries acknowledges that language, heritage and knowledge always remains with the Traditional Owners, Elders, language custodians and other community members of the respected language Nation.

Robert Ah Wing:

The Our words our stories project is in recognition of the United Nations International Year of Indigenous Languages. Logan City Council Libraries acknowledges that language, heritage and knowledge always remains with the Traditional Owners, Elders, language custodians and other community members of the respected language Nation.

Text on screen:

Logan City Council gratefully acknowledges the time, resources, stories and support of the following: Gregg Dreise - Award winning author, musician and storyteller.

Robert Ah Wing - Logan City Council Libraries Deadly Digital Communities Project Officer

Queensland Narrating Service - for providing digital recording equipment, sound production and quality assurance

Nyeumba-Meta Advisory Group

This recording features didgeridoo music performed by Gregg Dreise.

Robert Ah Wing:

Logan City Council gratefully acknowledges the time, resources, stories and support of the following: Gregg Dreise, award winning author, musician and storyteller. Robert Ah Wing, the Logan City Council Libraries Deadly Digital Communities Project Officer. The Queensland Narrating Service, for providing digital recording equipment, sound production and quality assurance; and the Nyeumba-Meta Advisory Group.

This recording features didgeridoo music performed by Gregg Dreise.

Text on screen:

For Mobo Jarjum - tomorrow's children.

(Logan City Council logo)

Robert Ah Wing:

End of transcript

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