Some say some dogs howl all night to warn of departing souls; some birds, too, serve to caution those who are trapped down here. The shaman knows. "Animistic" practices, says the civilized man.
Le Courlis poussa des cris -Translation of Oodgeroo Noonuccal's The Curlew Cried by T Wignesan
(Note d’Oodgeroo : Le courlis fut le frère d’aborigènes. Il venait trois nuits de suite pour pousser des cris près d’un campement afin d’annoncer la mort d’un entre eux. Ils croyaient que le courlis venait pour conduire les ombres des morts vers le monde Inconnu.)
Durant trois nuits on entendait le cri du courlis,
L’ancien avertissement tous savaient interpréter :
Le cri leurs rappelle quelqu’un va mourir cette nuit.
Tant frère qu’ami, il entre et sort
En dehors de la Terre des Ombres
La voix la plus insolite sur terre.
Il a en sa charge le bien-être de ceux
Dont chaque âme qu’il conduit à sa destination –
A quel monde mystérieux, à quel étrange Inconnu ?
Qui donc devait nous quitter cette nuit:
Le vieux aveugle ? L’enfant handicapé ?
Tout le campement sera au courant demain.
Le défunt malchanceux ne sera pas si effrayé,
Le frère de la tribu lui tiendra compagnie
Quand le voyage non voulu devrait être entamé.
‘Tiens bon, la mort ne pas une fin en soi-même,’
Il semblait dire. ’Bien que tu dois pleurer,
La Mort est bienveillante puisqu’elle est ton ami.
’Durant trois nuits le courlis poussa des cris.
Une fois de plus Il vient pour accompagner les morts timides –
Quelle macabre changement, quelle épouvantable rive ?
The curlew cried – Translation of Oodgeroo Noonuccal's "The Curlew Cried" by T. Wignesan
(Note from Oodgeroo: The curlew was the brother of aborigines. He came three nights in a row to shout near a camp to announce the death of one of them. They believed that the curlew came to lead the shadows of the dead to the Unknown world.)
For three nights we heard the cry of the curlew,
The old warning all knew how to interpret:
The cry reminds them someone will die that night.
Both brother and friend, he enters and leaves
Outside the Land of Shadows
The most unusual voice on earth.
He is in charge of the well-being of those
Whose every soul he leads to his destination –
To what mysterious world, to what strange Unknown?
Who then had to leave us that night:
The old blind man? The disabled child?
The whole camp will be aware tomorrow.
The unlucky deceased will not be so frightened,
The brother of the tribe will keep him company
When the unwanted journey should be started.
'Hold on, death does not end in itself,'
He seemed to say. 'Although you have to cry,
Death is benevolent because she is your friend.'
For three nights the curlew cried.
Once again He comes to accompany the timid dead
– What a macabre change, what a terrible shore?
Bonjour Ron & Tom: Both your reactions are necessarily different. Ron swears by the luck in being born; Tom in seeing how the words lend themselves to song that brings joy, but I was wondering if you didn't see the way aboriginals think: "Death" is a benevolent friend, and the curlew with his haunting cry is both messenger and the guide into the nether-world. Hindus believe Yama, a mythic figure, likewise comes to lead our "souls" away. The more ancient a people, the more "elemental" are they in their approach to aligning themselves with Nature - spec ific
love it, love it "T" it's great. sounds to me like they used this work to make the song Bad Moon Rising it's sure got that feeling --Great work translating.
It may have lost something in English from the aboriginal. I can see where death may be a friend to someone suffering an old age from ailments there is no cure for. And of course, the disabled child who cannot fend for itself, and therefore, is no use to a clan that has to endure great hardship just to live. They die young.
A book of nature inspired poems and essays, written from the heart and soul of a life-long nature, animal, and wilderness lover, and dedicated to today’s children - Earth's only hope for a better tomorrow.
This book won 'The Poetry Category'
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