A Young Man’s Dream
My name is Mangubadijarri Phillip Balyarinyi Yanner. “Mangubadijarri” is the sound of
the splash made by the barramundi’s tail when it leaps from the water, and “Balyarinyi”
is my skin name. I am a young proud Aboriginal man of the Gangallidda people. I live in
a small, rural community called Burketown in the Gulf of Carpentaria also known by my
people as Moungibi. I am 17 years old and I attend St Teresa’s College Abergowrie;
situated in the Herbert River Valley near Ingham.
My parents are Murrandoo and Rachel Yanner, and I am the eldest of five children. I
have three brothers and one sister. They are Murrandoo, Milmarja, Maali and Mayarr. All
five of us have language names chosen by my parents and our tribal elders. My father
and brother’s name is “Murrandoo” – Meaning whirlywind or waterspout. “Milmarja” is
the large egg laying barramundi. “Maali” is the long neck turtle and “Mayarr” is all the
colours of the rainbow.
My Dreaming is the Barramundi. It is a symbol of who I am and for which I possess a
spiritual connection. The barramundi is my Dreaming for the Gunnamulla clan. We’re
not allowed to eat our dreaming or birth sign (totem) because that will be our next
form in our future lives. My birth sign is the goanna; it was chosen and given to me
after I was born. In our family, we receive our birth sign, during our mother’s pregnancy;
there will either be a sign or mark on us to show us our birth sign. In my case, while my
mother was pregnant with me, my dad was out hunting and speared a goanna in its
front leg, when I was born I had two marks similar to that of the prongs on my wrist in
the same place as the goanna was speared. Ever since then I have also had a deep
spiritual connection with the goanna, including that when I was a baby, whenever we
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