Kararaya yawarra — pinarru

Today we look at the Diyari word pinarru, which means ‘old man’, and other related words for male people. There are some important cultural aspects related to these terms, and they are used in different ways from English terms. The discussion is based on the Reuther’s Diari dictionary (see here) and our own work with Diyari speakers. For discussion of the word widlhapina (also pronounced wilhapina) ‘old woman’ and other terms for females see here.

In Diyari, the word pinarru is used to refer to an ‘old man’, generally one who has grey hair (para warru) and has been through aspects of the Law. It is a positive term of respect and indicates that a person has lots of knowledge and life experience.

The following are the Diyari words used to refer to the various life stages of males (note that the different stages are not linked to exact ages but rather to biological and social development:

• thitharri ‘new-born baby’, before he or she has been given a name;
• kupa ‘child’, after naming and up to about seven years old. This term can be used for both boys and girls;
• kanku ‘boy’, a male child from seven up to puberty, when beard hairs (ngarnka ‘beard’) begin to sprout;
• karruwali ‘uninitiated male’, aged from around 12-15 years old. Traditionally, karruwali had an incised baler shell ornament (called a kuri) tied around their necks Immediately before initiation into the first stage of the Law. They were then called kuri mani ‘shell ornament carrier’;
• thari ‘youth who has been through the first stage of initiation’, which is usually after 15-16 years old;
• mathari ‘initiated man’ who has undertaken further aspects of the Law. Notice that the word mathari has a different use as the name of one of the two divisions that people inherit from their mother — it is contrasted with kararru. The two divisions are discussed here;
• nhuwamara ‘married person’ (made of of nhuwa ‘husband, wife’ and –mara ‘having’), used to refer to both men and women;
• mangawarru ‘widower, widow’, used to refer to someone whose wife or husband has died. Reuther reports that traditionally “a man’s beard is plucked out after a bereavement”;
• pinarru ‘old man’.

Note that the general term karna ‘Aboriginal person’ can be used for males and females at any stage of life. For non-Aboriginal people we say walpala, which comes from English ‘white fella’.

The podcast episode of this blog post is here.