Guuyay (mood/s)

Background

1. It is possible that there is a relationship between guuya-li ‘(will)shine’ and guuyay ‘mood’.
2. The mood words in GR do not always map easily onto English mood words and usages. It is likely that moods/emotions were more often expressed by verbs than by adjectives, e.g. Yuwaalaraay (YR) walindja-li ‘will be lonely’. With the children in our early learning program we are starting with simple structures.
3. The question ‘Are you in a good/bad mood?’ is Yaama nginu gaba/gagil guuyay?, literally ‘Question your good/bad/mood’. (The use of Yaama was traditionally only as a question word, not as a greeting).
4. Background about some of the words:

• bina guwaal   -  bina ‘ear’ is important in GR and related languages for behaviour, related to winanga-li ‘(will) hear, understand, love, etc. It is possible that guwaal means ‘talk’.
• gagilbiyal       -      gagil ‘bad’ and possibly biyal ‘having’.
• ganagiil         -      probably from gana ‘liver’ (and possibly giil ‘piss’).
• gayn.gayn     -      also means ‘smooth’, from gayn ‘scraper’.
• warranggal   -      possibly from warra-y ‘(will) stand’.
• yiili               -      possibly related to yira ‘tooth’.

Posters

Guda (koala) (with QR codes for sound files)

Download a pdf file here: GR-Guyaay_guda_A3_07-OCT-2024.pdf

Download pdf: wamba.pdf

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Download pdf: ganagiil-sad.pdf

Craft templates

With ten critters drawn by our own banmadhaay (facilitator) Vanessa Dobson!
Two per A4 page: Guuyay-critters-QR-codes-2-per-page__18-OCT-24.pdf
One per A4 page: Guuyay-critters-with-QR-codes_A4_18-OCT-24.pdf

Download pdf file of giyal here: giyal-afraid-frightened.pdf

Download a pdf file of wamba here: wamba_QR_11-June-2025.pdf

Activities

Lingo Bingo (with guda): Lingo-Bingo-Guuyay-8Oct24.pdf
Small cards (with critters): Critters-Small-Cards-Guuyay-06-Nov-24.pdf

Songs

"If you're gayaa and you know it"

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Download a pdf file here: If-youre-gayaa-and-you-know-it_10-OCT-2024.pdf