I will speak about meat ants. (See note to 11.12, above.) In antmounds. Of tall antmounds. They (meat ants) makes little holes in one side of those antmounds, and also they make holes in the other side.

Also on this side they make holes. They have wide open holes (to enter or exit from antmound). They make holes on this side, they have an opening to go through then. They make a route this way and this way.

Note: The antmounds of meat ants routinely reach a height of 1½ metres and can go much higher.

* Contains adi 'path, road'

In that direction they make their paths, this way they make paths. A hunch of other (meat ants) make holes there at another place, they reach the holes.

* Here gara 'hole' is morphological direct object

They keep doing that. Then a big crowd of them (meat ants) come to the hole, further on over there. They use the same holes.

* Normally the noun stem -wuruj- means 'human'; Ma:di is using a word for 'crowd' (with suffix -lhan^gu) normally restricted to humans, here loosely to indicate the large number of ants

As for the ants which went in front (i.e. which dug the holes), they go and make another hole. These meat ants, they do this in all the countries (locations).

(Meat ants can be found) going to the north, over in the west, here to the south, up here in the hills (to the west and northwest). It keeps doing that. The people. These meat ants are not few in number, they are numerous. They occupy (many) countries. All those (meat ants). Those meat ants.

* This occurrence of wuruj differs from that commented on in 13.4 since here we get the 3Pl or WARA prefix wara-, while in 13.4 we get the N^gARA class prefix typical of meat ants. It is possible, though, that this is another expression in which 'people' is used for meat ants as a way of marking plurality ('meat ant', like other nonhuman nouns, is not usually directly marked for plurality)

Furthermore, another (story). This thing (excrement?) is bulging. He made it (spear). Him, Grow. As for the two women, they were eating mud-whelk shells, the two old women, at the place Ramalgaruj.

Note: This segment is somewhat confused and involves anticipations of elements that enter into the narrative later on.

They ate them (mud-whelks), then made a hole (for a toilet), like the toilet at this mission. They went and did it (defecated) early in the morning there, not letting him (Crow) see it.

She (emend to 'they'?) went along. There they used the toilet. They were doing that (defecating), so that the hole filled up. The toilet was filled up. They covered it with grass and left it there.

Note: Ma:di is using -n^gguriya 'excrement' also in the sense of 'toilet, defecating area'.

They did that, (making) it seem like (the burrow of) a game animal (bandicoot, see below). They made little tracks this way and that (coming out of the 'burrow'). They did this early in the morning (when it was still dark, so Crow would not see it). They saw it (the excrement) at that place.

He (Crow) was then over there at Yiwa:duj, on top there. They (the two women) shouted to him. They were standing over it (the toilet area). (They said,) "We two might step on it, but then it might do it to us (mess us up)."

* -walamalha- 'to be on top (of raised flat surface)'

** Suffix -n^g (nonPa₁) becomes -n^y here by an irregular assimilation to the following y

They (two women) shouted to him (Crow), "There is a bandicoot here! Spear it for us! Spear it, or it will get away from us!" They said that. Then he ran (over there).

(Crow said,) "What is it?" (They said,) "A bandicoot!" He continued running, then a little further on from there he stopped. (He said,) "What is it?" "There is a bandicoot here, (spear it) or it will get away from us!" Then he hooked up the spear to the woomera (spearthrower). But they protested at this.

(They said,) "Oh! Don't do that! Jump on it and stomp on its nest! So he put the wire spear down. Then he jumped down from there and stomped on its burrow.

Note: The term 'wire spear' is applied locally to a modern spear with iron prongs, similar to the older wooden-pronged spear. Actually, the wooden-pronged spear is more appropriate here and Ma:di is using 'wire spear' loosely (see 11.2, 11.6).

He splattered (in the excrement). They were looking at him, but then he was gone (covered in the excrement). They got a crooked branch (see 11.10). They decided to pull him (Crow) out.

Then they worked the hook of the crooked branch into his hair (which was covered with exrement) and twisted his hair around on the hook. Then they pulled him out (by the hair) and laid him down there. Then they decided to set him down among the meat ants.

* A rare reduplication (-mun^ggu-) of a punctual verb form

Then they (meat ants) washed him, they licked (the excrement off) him. They kept washing and licking him.

He dried off. Then he got up and went back to his camp. Early the next morning (before dawn) those two were out gathering food.

He carved out (the spear shaft). Then he put it down. They were coming (hack) in the late afternoon (after a day of gathering food). He concealed them both (i.e. two spears), the pieces, the whatchamacallit (i.e. spear shafts). They were almost there, they were coming then.

* Derivative of wa:n^g 'whatchamacallit' with MANA_der prefix

He took them both and carved them, another (i.e. the second) one. He went quickly (over there) and cut down a sapling of a tree sp. (Macaranga tanarius) as a spear shaft. When they went away in the early morning (he worked on the spears). He wrapped them up and concealed them (when they came hack late in the day).

He (Crow) decided to go for some fish. He went fishing at his usual place. He was spearing them at the place Lharduj (a beach). He was spearing it. Then he cut down a pandanus tree.

(He was carving it.) He carved out the teeth, the eyes, the nose area, the fins, the tail area. They (the two women) looked, and (they saw it) lying their with its side broadside to them.

* =waran^gga-

He (Crow) was spearing them (fish). Then they (the two women) were looking at him, the two old women. Then he dumped them (fish) down. (They said to him,) "You saw the billabong in our territory (and fished in it). No. It is reserved for us."

* Unusual use of Benefactive -aG- with an adjectival noun stem, creating a form which takes transitive prefixes. This word is not in the scope of the preceding negation

They sait that. They went on, the moved on. (They told him,) "We (two women) will look at the billabong." They went on, then straight ahead they looked (and saw) the black, wooden barracuda lying across their way (i.e. with its side to them).

(One of the women said to the other,) "Why don't we crouch low (to catch the fish with our hands)?" (The other said,) "No! That way it will get away from us. Let's shout for him (Crow)!" They shouted to him, "Barracuda! Spear it for us!"

He pretended to ignore them (did not react to their shouts). He played a trick on them. He, just as they had hidden (the excrement) from him, he deceived them too.

Note: The form ni-ga:-'yun^g can be translated 'he too' as well as 'as for him'; Ma:di and some other speakers now often add English too in the former sense.

* =wadhalaliga-

They (two women) kept saying, "Barracuda! Spear (it) for us!" (But he said, pretending to misunderstand,) "Is is some string?" (He went on like that,) speaking other words. However, he really heard (them say) the (correct) name, whatchamacallit, barracuda.

* -mij- plus /=yan^ga-/

(They shouted,) "Barracuda! Spear it for us!" (He said,) "Is it a coolamon (container)?" He was giving them other (i.e. incorrect) words. He was coming closer to them. They were shouting, "Barracuda! Spear (it) for us!"

* Pronominal prefix wani- 3MSg/3Pl_a plus verb form =i-ni (root -i-/-yi-/-u- 'to give to')

(Crow said,) "Is it a yamstick?" He was on this side of them, saying that, Crow. As for them, they were calling out the name ('barracuda') from over there, from the beach. He (Crow) kept giving them other words. They ran along and (said), "Barracuda! Spear it for us!"

(Crow:) "Is is a fire?" Once again (they said,) "Barracuda! Spear it for us!" "Is it some paperbark?" It went on like that. He was telling them (the names of) several other things, all the other things. He was telling (them) that.

* Irregular reduplication -an^ybaj-gan^ybaj- from an^ybaj 'other'. The jg cluster may simplify, as in this case, to g

"Barracuda! Spear it for us!" "Is it fire (that you want)? Shall I build you a fire?" "Barracuda! Spear it for us!" "Is it a barracuda" (he said, finally). "Yes!"

He said that, then grabbed his wooden-pronged spear. He pulled it out (of the ground). From there it quivered (and flew him along with it). He went flying along, then he hit the ground. He appeared to them (the two women).

(Crow said,) "Where is it?" "Over here!" He went on and said, "If I spear it like this, I might miss it. Why don't you two crouch down?" They crouched, one on this side (and the other on the far side). Then (he said,) "Hold your knees together!"

Here one knee went down, here (the other) knee went down. As for the wooden object (the 'barracuda'), it was lying across in the middle.

(He told them,) "Don't look at my spear! Otherwise I will (lose concentration and) miss it. Shut your eyes like that! Shut them tightly, while I spear it!"

Now he hooked his spear up, ready to throw it. He was about to spear them. (One of them saw him out of the corner of her eye and said,) "Oh! Oh dear! You were pointing it at (us,) the two humans! Maybe you are going to spear us (, not the barracuda)!"

* -gi=wa-, see note on 5.14 (above).

** The form has ANA(_wu) object; the exact sense and morphology are unclear. This is apparently the only ex. I have of this verb in the texts

(Crow answered,) "No! This wind coming along here pushed my spear away from where I wanted to aim it." He said that. Then (he said), continuing, "Why don't you two keep your eyes tightly closed?" Then one of the women did that, she. shut her eyes. As for her (the other), she also shut her eyes. They closed their eyes tightly.

One (spear) had been erected over here (i.e. in one spot), the one for this side was erected over there. He threw the spear through them. (The two women cried out,) "Ouch! Oh dear! What have you done, son! You have speared us!"

He (Crow) was cawing, "Waag!" He pushed the spear through them. He pushed them all the way until the spear had entered into the ground. He was still cawing. Now the ground was this high (over the spearhead; speaker indicates about 75 cm.), like along here.

* The compounding initial is -adu- 'spear'

He cawed again. He rammed it through to deeply below the surface of the ground. The 'waist' of the spear shaft was about through them. They tried to pull themselves out but they could not. It (the spear) which was jammed into the ground like that went in deeply.

Note: As this narrator visualises the scene, Crow has thrown one huge spear with two large wooden prongs diverging slightly from each other like this: Each woman is pinned down by one of the prongs, and Crow has thrust the spear so deeply into the ground that the 'waist' of the spear (where the two prongs join the main shaft) is where the spear is going through their bodies now.

It (the spear) was firmly planted (i.e. could not be moved). He (Crow) went along from there, from the sandhill, at the place Yiwa:duj. He was cawing. He did that then.

(Crow sang,) "I will see the calm wind! They (people) will see signs of me! The fog will be broadside (to me)! Caw!" he said.

Note: This partly spoken, partly sung routine is similar to the laments of Emu and Bro]ga at the end of text 7, and other analogous textual passages. Some of the epithets for 'fog' used here are uncommon except in song and poetic speech. The form 'they will see (it) for me_c' would normally be n^gambambi:-'na:-'=na-yi:, but the form given here shows a longer form /-wa:G-/ of the Benefactive prefix, normally /-aG-/, at least in the reduplicative segment /-wa:Gna-/.

He watched them. The tide came in. He watched them up to here (in the water), he watched them up to here, up to here, up to here. The saltwater was moving upwards, that way.

He watched them (as the saltwater was) along here, and along here. Then they were underwater, they were underwater there, (going) down. They were (below), their heads were (below). That is that.