- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
English Name on the sea coast Name at the Hawkesbury
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Moon Yeneeda Condoen
The Ear Gooree Benna
The Forehead Nullo Narran
The Belly Barang Bindee
The Navel Muneero Boombong
The Buttocks Boong Baylee
The Neck Calang Ganga
The Thigh Tara Dara
The Hair Deewara Keewara
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
That these diversities arise from want of intercourse with the people
on the coast can hardly be imagined, as the distance inland is but
thirty-eight miles; and from Rose Hill not more than twenty, where the dialect
of the sea coast is spoken. It deserves notice that all the different terms
seemed to be familiar to both parties, though each in speaking preferred
its own*.
[*How easily people, unused to speak the same language, mistake each other,
everyone knows. We had lived almost three years at Port Jackson
(for more than half of which period natives had resided with us) before we knew
that the word 'beeal', signified 'no', and not 'good', in which latter sense
we had always used it without suspecting that we were wrong; and even without
being corrected by those with whom we talked daily. The cause of our error
was this. The epithet 'weeree', signifying 'bad', we knew; and as the use
of this word and its opposite afford the most simple form of denoting consent
or disapprobation to uninstructed Indians, in order to find out their word
for 'good', when Arabanoo was first brought among us, we used jokingly to say
that any thing, which he liked was 'weeree', in order to provoke him to tell us
that it was good.
