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Warlpiri Dreamings and Histories: Newly Recorded Stories from the Aboriginal Elders of Central Australia
This collection of fifteen stories from Warlpiri elders reflects the importance of the Dreaming in all its manifestations. Recorded and translated here for the first time are stories rich with insight into aboriginal spirituality and life.
232 pages, Hardcover
First published April 24, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 12, 2025
A fascinating window into Aborigines culture but the manner in which this was shown really does not translate well to text. The narration of the elders was extremely repetitive and spoke in very narrow terms of the actual actions that were undertaken. Instead they placed great emphasis on the locations as they're extremely territorial. But for an outsider, saying that someone went east to Jalyirrparnta three times before moving onto another location south does nothing.
Even with the translator notes which explained why these transcriptions were as repetitive, I did not enjoy the reading process at all. I enjoyed not the reading. I didn't. Enjoy reading this I mean.
This is how it looks. It looks like this. The book I mean.
I do appreciate the elders telling these tales but like Ents, the Warlpiri language uses many more syllables to say the same thing one could in English or even Croatian but this is due to the language's mechanics so obviously, a lot had to be lost in text form.
At least I got some more insight into their culture but I will need to continue my efforts in order to understand them better. As it stands, books such as these will be avoided.
Even with the translator notes which explained why these transcriptions were as repetitive, I did not enjoy the reading process at all. I enjoyed not the reading. I didn't. Enjoy reading this I mean.
This is how it looks. It looks like this. The book I mean.
I do appreciate the elders telling these tales but like Ents, the Warlpiri language uses many more syllables to say the same thing one could in English or even Croatian but this is due to the language's mechanics so obviously, a lot had to be lost in text form.
At least I got some more insight into their culture but I will need to continue my efforts in order to understand them better. As it stands, books such as these will be avoided.
July 7, 2025
Warlpiri Dreamings and Histories is a good introduction to Warlpiri jukurrpa and storytelling. The stories are translated from Warlpiri, with the original on one side and the English translation on the opposite page.
The manner of storytelling and the stories themselves were rich and engaging, though at times the stories were confusing to me; Warlpiri storytelling comprises elements and expectations that are different to what I have come to expect in Western literature. While characters and plot are central in Western literature, the most important element in Warlpiri literature is often place. While I found that the translators’ notes offered a little help in making sense of the narratives, I think more explanation would have been useful to those with cursory knowledge of Aboriginal Australian cultures.
The manner of storytelling and the stories themselves were rich and engaging, though at times the stories were confusing to me; Warlpiri storytelling comprises elements and expectations that are different to what I have come to expect in Western literature. While characters and plot are central in Western literature, the most important element in Warlpiri literature is often place. While I found that the translators’ notes offered a little help in making sense of the narratives, I think more explanation would have been useful to those with cursory knowledge of Aboriginal Australian cultures.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews