Pop Gus Ryder reads his poem My Miya Miya Home
Pop Gus Ryder
Audio Recording
Audio Transcript
I call this poem My Miya Miya Home
Last night I went to sleep in my great homeland
My home, my home, my great, great miya-miya home
I dreamt about my mother telling me stories about my sisters and brothers
I dreamt about girls who were orphanage bound to true families around
True where we belong, in my great, great miya-miya home
Oh, I love my great, great miya-miya home
My yongra (which is a kangaroo), my yongara (which is a grey one) hunting grounds where I belong
My yongra and bigurda (bigurda is the red one) hunting miya-miya home
Those were those days when true family trees were born
Belonging to this great, great miya miya home
Where my great old people cried in pain with axes of steel, day in and day out
Until there was no trees in sight but powered by the spirit, humbled pride
When there is justice with nature and her might
Oh, how I love my great, great miya-miya home.
Pop Gus Ryder
From: Pop Gus Ryder, interview for South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council, 12 August 2008.
Protocols
SWALSC followed cultural protocols to obtain permission to use this oral history on the website. It is also protected by copyright law and may only be used for private study, research, criticism or review. If you would like to use it for any commercial purposes, including publication, making copies for sale, or modifying it please contact SWALSC on reception@noongar.org.au or Level 2, 100 Royal Street, East Perth WA 6004.
Note: In some cases the written transcript has been edited with permission from the person interviewed and may differ slightly from the audio recording.
Permission to use this audio recording kindly granted by Pop Gus Ryder