Mawng Dictionary

Fish

alngkat��noun. Estuarine Stonefish. A dangerous fish that looks like a stone. Synanceia horrida, Synanceia verrucosa. Variant:�Iwaidja: Yihij. Kingayarrun kirrk waryat. ‘It camouflages itself (follows the rocks)’. See:�walarrirntirn�‘Porcupine fish’. Category:�Fish.

arliyu��noun. whiting. Sillago spp.. Nuka ja arliyu ja yarntulyak ja kiyap. ‘This arliyu is a long fish.’ Category:�Fish. Anth: Can be eaten

arnakuj��noun. 1�•�fish type, spotted, inflates its abdomen. Arnakuj walarrirntirn kawaga lirri. Narut awuniwung. ‘Arnakuj and Walarrirntirn come to fight. Narut kills/hits them.’ Category:�Fish.

2�•�fish trap type. Category:�Items for fishing. See:�yarlawu�‘fish trap’.

arilka��noun. 1�•�Parrotfishes and Wrasses (generic). Labridae, Scaridae. Marryun inimany mira arilka. ‘The boy got a lot of parrot fish.’ See:�kunjarraj�‘Large parrot fish or wrasse’; milarrarru�‘three particular parrot fishes’. Category:�Parrotfish.

2�•�Blue Tuskfish, big Wrasse. Choerodon cyanodus. Variant:�Iwaidja: Ardilka. Category:�Fish. Anth: These are big edible wrasses; they have blue bones and live on the reef.

arrarru��noun. Pugnose ponyfish and other ponyfishes. Secutor ruconis, Leiognathus spp.. Ja arrarru ja nuwanpal ja kiyap. ‘The arrarru fish is a broad fish.’ See:�milarrarru�‘thick-lipped wrasse, violet-lined parrotfish’. Category:�Fish.

arrkarl��noun. Saltwater Longtom. Strongylura spp.. arrkarl yuranka manimany anjirla inirrkjiny tuka [wamuwun]. ‘Arrkarl (Saltwater Longtom) came with his spear, he speared that coral.’ See:�mirrita�‘Garfish’. Category:�Fish.

arrpuk��noun. Australian Anemonefish. Amphiprion rubrocinctus. Category:�Fish. Anth: There are lots of these small fish at Wiyarla. When the tide was right out people would collect them from the reef with their hands. They would cover their hands with clothing so as not to get stung. The fish is eaten.

ikaman mawuruj��noun. saratoga (generic). Scleropages jardini. See:�mawuruj�‘freshwater stream’. Category:�Fish.

imanganaj��noun. small Hardyheads. Family Atherinidae. See:�yarrmanaya�‘large Hardyheads’. Category:�Fish.

imartuk��noun. Silver Bream, Black Bream. Acanthopagrus Berda, Acanthopagrus Australis. Variant:�Iwaidja: Rirrjin. See:�inarrka�‘Sea Bream or Emperor’; kimartukpun�‘he obeys, believes, respects, agrees to’. Category:�Fish. Anth: Silver Bream season starts in the early dry season (June). Goes until August. Begins when the Mango tree flowers and ends when they fall off.

impurrk₂��noun. Striped seaperches, Stripey, Five-lined Seaperch. Lutjanus carponotatus; L. quinquelineatus (Lutjanidae). Syn:�yarri. See:�martali�‘Sea Perches’. Category:�Fish.

inarrka��noun. Seabream or Emperor (generic). Lethrinus atkinsonii, Lethrinus spp.. See:�imartuk�‘Silver Bream’; yarri�‘Sea Perch’; martali�‘generic term for many reef fishes’. Category:�Fish.

inypampuk��noun. Coal Grunter. Hephaestus carbo. See:�wirtjirrk�‘Yellowtail grunter’; manjarlkujparri�‘Three-lined Grunter (Trumpeter), Striped grunter-like fish, Spangled Grunter’. Category:�Fish.

inyumpuli ngurrkpartpart��noun. Shortfin Mako. Isurus oxyrhincus. See:�ngurtpartpart�‘Milkfish, a freshwater fish’. Category:�Fish.

itpil��noun. Flying Fish. Cypselurus sp.. Category:�Fish.

jakalang��noun. Tuna. Thunnus species. See:�marrwiwi�‘Skipjack tuna, Stripey tunas, Mackerels’. Category:�Fish.

jirnumpu��noun. 1�•�king fish. Anth: When it is calm and people see the king fish jumping they know that the winds will soon blow, so they go hunting. See:�kinumpu�‘Black Marlin, Blue Marlin’; marlimarli�‘Yellowtail Kingfish’; Kurrukurruk�‘big ocean fishes’. Category:�Tuna.

2�•�Large striped mackerels, Spanish Mackerel. Scomberomerus commerson, Scomberomerus semifasciatus. See:�katapanga�‘Black Marlin’. Category:�Tuna. Anth: These are the largest mackerels. They are thick-bodied with lateral stripes. They are excellent eating. They are present during the cold months of the dry season

3�•�mackerels, tunas, billfishes (generic). Families Scombridae. Category:�Fish.

jurtjurt katin nuyu yurnu��noun. leatherjacket fish. See:�jurtjurt�‘Chicken Hawk’. Category:�Fish.

kamanilanta wurak��noun. Takita's Mudskipper. Periophthalmus takita. Variant:�Iwaidja: Mirdijululu. Syn:�murlayintayin, murrwa rlaprlap yirnkirr. See:�wurak�‘guts’; kinilanta�‘feeds on, feed’. Category:�Fish.

kamurlu��noun. Flathead. Platycephalidae; Platycephalus arenarius. See:�kanima ngarrk kunak�‘Flathead’. Category:�Fish.

kanima ngarrk kunak��noun. Flathead, ?Flounder, ?Sole. Platycephalidae; Platycephalus arenarius. See:�kamurlu�‘Flathead’; ngarrk�‘take hold of, put it together, heap it up’. Category:�Fish.

kapungurr��noun. small gudgeons and gobies. See:�mapurrkaj�‘gobies and gudgeons (generic)’. Category:�Fish.

katapanga��noun. Black Marlin. Makaira indica. See:�kinumpu�‘Black Marlin, Blue Marlin’; jirnumpu�‘deep water jumping fishes with pointy snout or possibly generic for all mackerels, tunas, billfishes’. Category:�Fish.

kartungkun₂��noun. Tripletail. Lobotes surinamensis. Category:�Fish. Anth: This lives in deep holes in mangrove estuaries and the lower reaches of the river.

kawuniwunpun warranyngiw��noun. Queenfish, Skinnyfish. Scomberoides sp.. Syn:�wanyjarlarr, ngamparlngamparl. Category:�Fish. Anth: Name used instead of wanyjarlarr 1990-1991 because of a death taboo.

kinilakparrki��tv. 1�•�cut the meat out of the clam shell. Inimany maminga inilakparrkang. ‘He took the clam shell and cut out the meat.’ See:�kantakparrki�‘spear cut ground’. Category:�Divide, cut, tear, Shellfish.

Restrict:�LL object 2�•�Eat sand, a habit of some fish. kanilakparrki ‘What fish mungkulurrut, nayuma and mirrk do as a habit.’ Category:�Illness, Fish.

kiniwinypun��tv. 1�•�washing, touching with a drawn out movement like a rub or stroke. iniwinypupu See:�kiniwalpun�‘to touch with a sharp, punctual movement’; kiniwinypukpun�‘wash clothes for’; kiwinypalinypukpun�‘wash hands’. Category:�Weak impact.

2�•�said when somebody sees a lot of fish or some other type of food in the bush. Kiniwinypun la yamin, igarra. Kimalkpakpa. ‘There are a lot of fish here in the creek.’ Category:�Fish, General terms.

kinumpu��noun. Black Marlin, Blue Marlin. Makaira indica, Makaira mazara,. See:�katapanga�‘Black Marlin’; jirnumpu�‘deep water jumping fishes with pointy snout or possibly generic for all mackerels, tunas, billfishes’. Category:�Fish.

makumaku��noun. Sicklefish, Spotted Scat. Drepane punctata. See:�kawirrwa�‘Butterfish, Striped Scat’; wakpi�‘Spinefoot’. Category:�Fish. Anth: This one is 'big brother' to kawirrwa

marlimarli��noun. Yellowtail Kingfish; Greenfish. Seriola lalandi. See:�jirnumpu�‘Kingfish’. Category:�Fish.

manungkut��noun. fish similar to Batfish, probably. See:�alapanja�‘Batfish’; marramarra�‘Angelfish’; Worntokporntok�‘Diamond fish’. Category:�Fish. Anth: Can be eaten

mapurrkaj��noun. goby, gudgeon (generic), also large gudgeon; 'Mud Cod' (generic). Glossogobius circumspectus, Eleotrididae. See:�kapungurr�‘small gobies and gudgeons’. Category:�Fish.

marruny₂��noun. Bonefish. Albula vulpes (Albulidae). See:�mumpuli marruny�‘Pencil Surgeonfish’; marrnguny�‘freshwater nailfish (generic)’. Category:�Fish.

martali��noun. 1�•�Sea Perches and Tropical Snappers (generic). Includes Sweetlips (grunts), Fusiliers, Emperors and Jobfishes. Lutjanus spp., Haemulidae spp., Caesionidae spp., Lethrinus spp., Aprion spp.. See:�yarri�‘Sea Perch’; Inarrka�‘Sea Perches Lutjanus species, Lethrinus lentjan’; impurrk�‘Striped Sea Perch’. Category:�Fish.

2�•�Red Emperor, Other big red coral-reef seaperches. Lutjanus sebae, Lutjanus erythropterus. Category:�Sweetlips.

3�•�Mangrove Jack. Lutjanus argentimaculatus. Category:�Fish.

4�•�Blacktail snapper. Lutjanus fulvus. Variant:�Iwaidja: Mardali. See:�inyparl�‘turtle hunting ground’. Category:�Fish.

minynguri��noun. Chingilt, a type of eel. Yirrkala lumbricoides. See:�marrnguny�‘Freshwater nailfish?’. Category:�Fish.

mitparlaka��noun. Pink Boarfish. Antigonia rhomboidea. Category:�Fish.

murlayintayin��noun. New Guinea Mudskipper. Periophthalmus novaeguineaensis, Periophthalmodon freycineti. Variant:�Iwaidja: Mirdijululu. Syn:�kamanilanta wurak, murrwa rlaprlap yirnkirr. See:�nakurrututu�‘Probably Hairfin Goby Acentrogobius nebulosus’. Category:�Fish. Anth: Lives in a hole in the mud and when the tide goes out the fish comes out of its hole. Not eaten but it is good bait, good for catching Barramundi.

mumpuli marruny��noun. Coral Cod. Cephalopholis miniata. See:�ngunymin�‘Rock Cods and Gropers (generic)’; narut�‘Surgeon fishes’; marruny�‘Cabbage palm, also listed as a large flat fish type’; maruny�‘bandicoot’; yumpuli�‘face, beak, point’. Category:�Fish.

mungkulurrut��noun. Golden trevally, Gold-spotted Trevally. Gnathanodon speciosus, Carangoides fulvoguttatus. See:�Inyalkpa wurrut�‘Golden Trevally?’; ngarlawi�‘Golden Trevally’; wurrut�‘Trevally (generic)’. Syn:�mangali. Category:�Fish.

murrwa rlaprlap yirnkirr��noun. Mudskipper fish, Periopthalmus argentiventralis,. See:�kamanilanta wurak�‘Hairfin Goby, Mudskipper’; murlayintayin�‘New Guinea Mudskipper’. Category:�Fish.

najapirn��noun. sword fish. Category:�Fish.

nakurrututu��noun. unknown fish. Nakurrututu kinymalkpa kinypani. ‘Nakurrututu comes out and sits down.’ See:�kamanilanta wurak�‘Mudskipper’; namarrwut; murlayintayin�‘New Guinea Mudskipper’; walmuri�‘puffer fish’. Category:�Fish. Anth: Makes a grunting sound which can be heard on a calm day (Berndt and Berndt 1970).

namarrwut��noun. Jawfish. Opistognathus spp.. See:�nakurrututu�‘possible synonym’. Category:�Fish.

narut��noun. Surgeon fishes, including Pencil Surgeonfish. Acanthurus dussumieri, Acanthurus spp.. Variant:�Iwaidja: Narrut. Narut ja nakawk. Jit, kawa kampuyirran. Kawunpuyirran la kiwirrka ja narut or kiyap. ‘They go along providing illumination with torches and they spear Narut fish or other fish.’ Arnakuj walarrirntirn kawaga lirri. Narut awuniwung. ‘Arnakuj and Walarrirntirn come to fight. Narut hits them.’ See:�miyarrurl�‘fighting stick type said to emulate the razor sides of Narut's tail’; mumpuli marruny�‘Coral Cod’. Category:�Fish.

nayuma��noun. Sweetlips, some species. Plectorhynchus sp. including Plectorhynchus gibbosus. Nayuma innyakan nuyu maykuk Narut. ‘Sweetlips makes a maykuk for Narut.’ See:�walgawalga�‘Brown Sweetlips’; wirni�‘Many-spotted Sweetlips’. Category:�Fish. Anth: eats cockles and seaweed

nularrunya��noun. Catfish type? See:�marrnguny�‘catfish type’. Category:�Fish. Anth: This fish makes a hole in the coral that it lives in.

ngamparlngamparl��noun. Amberjack, Queenfish. Seriola dumerilii, Chorinemus lysan. Syn:�wanyjarlarr. Category:�Fish.

ngurtpartpart��noun. Milkfish. Chanos chanos (Chanidae). See:�inyumpuli ngurtpartpart�‘large Whaler Shark’; inyumpuli ngurrkpartpart�‘Shortfin Mako’. Category:�Fish.

walarrirntirn��noun. Porcupine Fish, Starry Pufferfish. Cyclithys spp.? (Diodontidae), Arothron Stellatus?. Arnakuj walarrirntirn kawaga lirri. Narut awuniwung. ‘Arnakuj and Walarrirntirn come to fight. Narut hits them.’ Nukapa ja nulirri. Nukapa! Walarrirntirn. See:�alngkat�‘stone fish’; walmuri�‘Puffer fish, stone fish’. Category:�Fish. Anth: These live on the reef. They have spines sticking out all over. Poisonous.

walgawalga��noun. Brown Sweetlips. Plectorhinchus celebicus. See:�nayuma�‘Sweetlips’; wirni�‘Many-spotted Sweetlips’; marramarra�‘Archerfish’. Category:�Fish.

walmuri��noun. Narrow-Lined Puffer, Puffer fish, Toadfish; Blowie. Arothron manilensis, Tetraodontidae. Variant:�Iwaidja: Almurdi. Inyung parak la iwararrkenang walmuri. ‘She lies down for a while and Puffer fish cries’. Kiw tuka waryat, waliwali. ‘It lives in the rocks, the coral reef.’ Anth: The liver of this fish is edible. Their flesh is poisonous. Puffers and toadies are able to increase the size of their bodies by distending their stomachs. They live in the rocks and coral but sometimes are found in creeks and rivers too. Syn:�wumpulnga. See:�nakurrututu�‘Boxfish’; walarrirntirn�‘Porcupine fish (spiny, unlike Puffer)’. Category:�Fish.

wanyjarlarr��noun. Queenfish, Skinnyfish. Scomberoides sp.. See:�ngamparlngamparl�‘Amberjack, Queenfish’. Category:�Fish.

waryat��noun. 1�•�stone, rock, mountain. Anth: Most important totem of Yarrigarnkurrk totem group. Often used as name for that totem group kapa tuka waryat ‘there in the stone country’. See:�murrgun�‘earthen hill’; kamung�‘sandhill’; waryatparyat�‘stone country’. Category:�Soil, Large features.

2�•�money, cash. Kiki ja waryat? ‘How much is that (money)?’ Category:�Other.

3�•�a fish type which has a very hard skin, ?Leather fish. Anth: It has a small head and four ridges along its body. The flesh and liver are edible. Category:�Fish.

warrmiri��noun. small black and white edible striped coral fish. Wumpulnga inyuranka. Wiwi kuntungul "Warrmiri inyiwung!". ‘Wumpulnga came. Mother's mother said "Warrmiri killed her!".’ Category:�Fish.

wirni��noun. Sweetlip type. See:�nayuma�‘Sweetlips’; walgawalga�‘Brown Sweetlips’. Category:�Fish.

worntokporntok��noun. Diamond fish, Butter bream, Stripey Batfish, Long-finned Batfish. Monodactylus argenteus, Platax sp.. See:�alkparn�‘Giant Shovelnose Ray’; Manungkut�‘Batfishes’. Category:�Fish.

wumpulnga��noun. Puffer fish, Toadfish. Wumpulnga inyuranka. Wiwi kuntungul "Warrmiri inyiwung!". ‘Wumpulnga came. Mother's mother said"Warrmiri killed her!".’ Syn:�walmuri. Category:�Fish. Anth: These are larger than the little toadies; they have smooth skin, grey-green above and pale bellies. They live in the sea, in coastal waters and in the big river estuary

wunkuliny��noun. 1�•�coral fish (generic). Pomacanthidae, Chaetodontidae, Pomacentridae. Category:�Fish. Anth: This class includes all of the small colourful fishes that live on the coral reef. These include Angelfishes, Butterflyfish, Damselfish, Sergeant-majors and so on.

2�•�angelfish. Pomacanthidae spp. Centropyge tibicen, Chaetodontoplus dudoulayi. See:�yadajyadaj�‘Butterflyfish’. Category:�Fish.

wurnngul��noun. a fish something like a red schnapper. Category:�Fish.

wurrnguk��noun. Coral Trout, Blue-spotted Gropers. Plectropomus maculatus. Category:�Fish.

yadajyadaj��noun. Butterflyfish. Chaetodon spp. (Chaetodontidae).. See:�wunkuliny�‘coral fishes (generic)’. Category:�Fish.

yampala��noun. Suckerfishes: Cobia, Remora and the Slender Suckerfish. Echeneis naucrates, Remora remora, ?Rachycentron canadus. Category:�Fish. Anth: This one attaches itself to sharks, dugong, rays. Cobia is eaten but Remora is not.

yap₁��noun. fish (generic). See:�jap�‘coverb’. Variant:�ngurtikin term. Syn:�kiyap. Category:�Fish.

yarri��noun. Sea Perches or Gold-spotted Sweetlips. Lutjanus spp.. Kingurrin arak karlwa. ‘It has yellow stripes.’ Syn:�impurrk. See:�martali�‘Sea perches’; inarrka�‘Seabream or Emperor’. Category:�Fish.