Kuyu: Meat (Page 3)

1.
lirrppiriji
creek goanna, yellow goanna
Varanus panoptes
Warumungu people usually go out hunting for lirrppiriji in watercourse country, in creeks, floodouts and swamps. Lirrppiriji are fat at the beginning of the wet season, when the first lightning strikes

2.
nyinkka
spiky-tailed goanna
Varanus acanthurus

3.
lakkapura
central netted dragon
Ctenophorus nuchalis

4.
jalawarla
black-headed python
Aspidites melanocephalus
We also catch and eat this nocturnal reptile all year round.

5.
warlkan
sand goanna
Varanus gouldii
These goannas, along with the nyinkka, palyupalyu, lakkapura, and jappina are a common food all year round.

6.
palyupalyu
blue-tongued lizard
Tiliqua multifasciata

7.
wangkana
torresian crow
Corvus orru
Wangkana the crow is widespread, even in town. Wumpurrani used to eat crow but today’s crow’s diet in and around towns make it unsuitable for food. There are many Crow sites around Tennant Creek.

8.
wajjingkarr, nyiligulu
porcupine, echidna
Tachyglossus aculeatus
Wajjingkarr is a nocturnal burrowing animal that lives in spinifex sandplains, grasslands and woodlands, and sometimes in caves. Her punttu (skin name) is Nappangart.

9.
kurruny kurruny
Spinifex pigeon
Geophaps plumifera
Spinifex pigeon is still used for food today.

10.
nyinngir
zebra finch
Taeniopygia guttata
Nyinngiri lives close to water -- when you see a flock of nyinngiri land on the ground that means there is water close by.

11.
jappina
bearded dragon
Pogona vitticeps

12.
ngurtina
sand frog
Notaden nichollsi
Ngurtina live in deep holes in the sandplains but during the wet season can be found on the surface after rain. It is food and medicine. We eat it for colds and flu.

13.
ngartajaringi
budgerigar
Melopsittacus undulatus
The old people might throw a stick or boomerang into a flock of small birds like ngartajaringi or nyinngiri. You’d put the whole bird in your mouth and chew it up before spitting out the bones and feathers.