'Buray' means baby/child in the Dhurga language and is pronounced boori. For the purposes of this book we will use the word boori for baby and child as this spelling is more commonly understood and accepted by the coastal Aboriginal communities. Our booris need us to love them and to make them feel safe and secure.
Children. Importantly, a woman and her brother will both call her children kurturtu. So the word kurturtu covers 'niece' and 'nephew' as well as 'daughter' and 'son'. A woman and her brother will both call his children ngalawuny.
(Australia, slang) A baby.
Overall there are many common words in Noongar, for example: kaya= hello, moort = family, boodja = country and yongka = kangaroo. These words are used every day but they sound slightly different from region to region.
For example, both lesbian and heterosexual Aboriginal women may refer to themselves as 'sistergirls', 'sisters' or 'tiddas', which is an Aboriginal English term for the word 'sisters'.
Waratah is the Aboriginal word for 'Beautiful' -how they got this name is no surprise.
Burramatta (Bowling Green shelter) – refers to the local Aboriginal words 'burra' meaning eels and 'matta' meaning water.
kesalul - I love you.
Bala is the Meriam Mir word for brother.
Boodja means land/country in Noongar language and the care for Boodja is central to Noongar culture, with the natural environment and culture intrinsically linked. It also relates to a sense of belonging and custodianship, as opposed to ownership.
Pap(a) is also found as 'mother', mainly in Victoria. Other kinship roots (for grandparents) have been shown to have a split distribution with one root dominating in the east and one in the west for what is apparently a single proto-meaning.
Contributor's comments: The meaning of Bubs I grew up with is a baby, or quite often the youngest member of the family is called "bubs" from an older sibling.
"Koori" comes from the word gurri, meaning "man" or "people" in the Indigenous language Awabakal, spoken on the mid-north coast of New South Wales. On the far north coast of New South Wales, the term may still be spelt "goori" or "goorie" and pronounced with a harder "g".
The name Nala, which means Earth, originates from Palawa Kani, a constructed Aboriginal Tasmanian language created with the intention of reviving the language spoken by the extinct native Aboriginal Tasmanians. In 1905, the final native speaker passed away and the original language became extinct.
The English equivalent for 'budji' is,"'to fart". If you've heard this word before but never knew what the Murri mob were talking about, well, chances were they were probably talking about you.
A mia-mia is a temporary shelter made of bark, branches, leaves and grass used by some Indigenous Australians. The word is also used in Australian English to mean "a temporary shelter".
Kai. The Kai game is from the Torres Strait Islands. 'Kai wed' means ball playing. To play the game, split all players into at least two teams, stand in a circle and keep the ball from hitting the ground using only the palms of your hands. Count how many times your team hit the ball into the air before it drops.
noun (3) " plural Koko or Kokos. : a group of numerous aboriginal peoples of northern Queensland.
Bora is an initiation ceremony of the Aboriginal people of Eastern Australia. The word "bora" also refers to the site on which the initiation is performed. At such a site, boys, having reached puberty, achieve the status of men.
Kanyini is a word in the Pitjantjatjara dialect spoken by Indigenous Australians. It is the principle of connectedness through caring and responsibility that underpins Aboriginal life.
Bindi is a girl's name of Australian origin. In the Aboriginal language of Noongar, this name means "little girl" or "butterfly.” Today, this sweet name is commonly associated with Bindi Irwin, the daughter of “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin. On This Page.
'Aborigine' is a noun for an Aboriginal person (male or female).
Aboriginal people in the eastern part of Australia's Western Desert tell of a soul-destroying, devouring, malignant power called Mamu. The term, often translated as “monster,” refers to both the destructive force itself and its diverse embodiments (a dog, a cat, a kangaroo, a bird, a ball of fire).