DOI: 10.25911/5dcb4ddd89c0f
title: In the Time of Their Lives. Wangka kutjupa-kutjuparringu: How talk has changed in the Western Desert
title: Western Desert Verbal Arts Collection

description: A collection of filmed verbal arts linked to the publication ‘In the Time of Their Lives. Wangka kutjupa-kutjuparringu: How talk has changed in the Western Desert’ (UWAP 2020)
description: The Western Desert Verbal Arts Collection is a unique compilation of audio-visual recordings of the oral traditions and endangered speech styles of the Ngaanyatjarra, Ngaatjatjarra and Pitjantjatjara people who reside in the ‘Ngaanyatjarra Lands in the south-east of Western Australia. Recorded and documented by Elizabeth Marrkilyi Ellis—a Ngaanyatjarra linguist, storyteller and practitioner of the verbal arts of her Western Desert culture—in collaboration with Inge Kral and Jennifer Green, from 2012 to 2019 this collection of Indigenous Australian Western Desert oral traditions are linked to the publication ‘In the Time of Their Lives. Wangka kutjupa-kutjuparringu: How talk has changed in the Western Desert’ (UWAP 2020). This project was supported by ELDP (Small Grant SG0187) and the Australian Research Council (ARC): Discovery Indigenous: IN150100018, and DECRA: DE120100720; DE160100873). Additional support came from CoEDL (the Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Project ID: CE140100041), The Australian National University and The University of Melbourne (Research Unit for Indigenous Language). We thank the Ngaanyatjarra Council and all the Ngaanyatjarra people who participated in this project. The 6 files in this data set are linked to a larger set archived at Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures (PARADISEC) under WDVA1 – Western Desert Verbal Arts Project Collection: http://catalog.paradisec.org.au/collections/WDVA1 The six films in this data set are: 1. Kurrirarra - In this film Norma Giles talks about traditional Ngaanyatjarra marriage customs in the olden days. Filmed at Patjarr Community, September 9 2013, (Archived at PARADISEC as WDVA1-MIR_28). 2. Pangkupirri Story told by Elizabeth Marrkilyi Ellis. Pangkupirri is a tjukurrpa Creation or Dreaming story about yurlukuku (the Diamond Dove Man) and ngiyari (the Mountain Devil/Thorny Devil Woman) and who lived at Pangkupirri rockhole. It is a non-sacred tjukurrpa story that can be told to children. Filmed at Tjukurla Community, October 16 2012, (Archived at PARADISEC as WDVA1-MIR_08). 3. KirrKIrr Story told by Tjawina Porter. This is a tjukurrpa Creation or Dreaming story about ‘Falcon Man’ (KirrKirr) the brown falcon. Filmed at Alice Springs, October 31 2012. (Archived at PARADISEC as WDVA1-TJU_12). 4. Minyma Kutungu Story told by Adrian Young. The Minyma Kutungu story is about a woman who travels around in the Creation Time creating the landscape. Filmed at Tjukurla Community, October 14 2012. (Archived at PARADISEC as WDVA1-TJU_03). 5. Kapi is a story told in the sand using leaves about families camping around a waterhole in the olden days. It is told by Nancy Jackson with Elizabeth Marrkilyi Ellis. Filmed at Warakurna Community, October 17 2012. (Archived at PARADISEC as WDVA1-MIR_11). 6. Tjarlirli is a contemporary story told on an iPad about everyday life in Tjarlirli – One day in Tjukurla…. It is told by young storytellers Katrina Giles with Joella Butler. Filmed at Tjukurla Community, September 6 2013. (Archived at PARADISEC as WDVA1-IPAD_05).