please you come sit with us

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william williams

please you come sit with us

Post by william williams » Thu Sep 27, 2012 9:07 am

Many years ago. As a mater of fact more than I care to remember I was fortunate to watch a genuine corroberee celebrating a festive time of the year. The old chap who took us there told us all about it in his sing song pidgin English of which I have translated into English for you to understand and this is what I have called it

Please You Come Sit With Us ©

Please, you people come, sit quietly along with me
While I try to tell about, the many wonders of our life.
The old way of life with its haunting ancient ways,
These were the words of our teacher, the old black man.

And so we sat there in the closing darkness of night
Ten separate souls, each not too sure what would happen.
Comfortably we sat on our stools, rugs around our knees
As patiently and quietly we waited.

The old black man quietly coughed as he sometimes did
Bringing us all to the attention of his strange ways.
Suddenly, softly, we heard his deep melodious voice.
What do you hear he asked us?

Nothing we all remarked quietly, what do you see.
Again, we answered the same as before.
Please, you relax, let your ears hear what is there
Some one suddenly remarked, I hear the chirping of a cricket,

And the noise of a possum, playing in the trees.
I can hear a kangaroo bounding along the track someone said
Suddenly, a small bird chirped when he was disturbed.
A wombat, rustled through the grass searching for food.

Aha! So you now hear, so, you are not alone anymore.
As we sat around overlooking this amphitheatre
In the limestone hills, a strange sound greeted us
Whriomp, whriomp, whriomp.

It was a strange eerie sound, one that we had never heard before
The old man his shiny white teeth gleamed as he smiled.
What you see now, still nothing, he asked.
Quietly we answered; we have learnt that we must also look

Because now we can see bats dancing in the night sky
The stars up in the sky, the mountain silhouettes
Ghostly shapes of the gum trees surrounding the hills,
Just then, the steady click, click, clicking sound started

And a fire flared, throwing weird shadows around the nearby area.
The full moon, suddenly burst into light as though on call,
Bathing this strange, but attractive site with excitement,
As native dancers now moved around the scene

Some, looking like kangaroos, others like emus
The old man told us that the sound we first heard
Was the sound of a bullroarer calling to us to come
The next sound was the talking music stick starting the stories.

Now you watch, I tell you of the dreamtime stories how they happen.
To the sound of talking music sticks and didgeridoos,
He told how spirit people became rivers, birds, animals, and places,
The scenes showed in pantomime how many things happened.

The dreamtime stories also told how they hunted for food.
The old ways, that tell us how life began many, many years ago.

Written by Bill Williams ©

Rimeriter

Re: please you come sit with us

Post by Rimeriter » Thu Sep 27, 2012 2:05 pm

Bill, I have never had an experience such as this.

You were indeed fortunate.

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