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Tunapri Lutruwita – True Names for Country
Please note: Orders are shipped once a week. Maps are sent folded due to the ease of storage, transport and shipping. Flat maps will be available to purchase at local sellers ASAP.
The Tunapri Lutrwutia map is an illustrated map of Palawa Kani place names across Lutruwita / Tasmania.
It is a first of-its-kind publicly available educational resource that is a 100% Palawa /Tasmanian Aboriginal owned product.
The map uses Palawa kani, the language of Tasmanian Aboriginal people and features hundreds of true names for country – landscapes, rivers and moutains, alongside beautifully illustrated landscapes, flora, fauna and cultural resources.
Developed over two years it is the result of a collaboration between illustrator and graphic novelist Joshua Santospirito and Palawa/ Warlpri storyteller and creative Nunami Sculthorpe-Green.
Tunapri Lutruwita does not translate palawa kani into English. Instead, it invites audiences to encounter place names on their own terms giving a deeper and culturally appropriate understanding of Lutruwita/Tasmania.
All language has been shared in accordance with the Palawa Kani language use policy – the language use policy needs to be followed by anyone seeking to use Palawa Kani (more information below).
In recognition of the ongoing work of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre in reviving and maintaining our language on behalf of our community, five percent of all profits from the map will be donated to the organisation’s campaign fund.
For translations, to hear the pronunciation of the words and for more community created resources visit the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre’s website.
palawa kani means ‘Tasmanian Aborigines speak’. It is the only Aboriginal language in lutruwita (Tasmania) today.
palawa kani is authentic Tasmanian language retrieved from the original languages but is not exactly the same as any of them. Not enough words or information were recorded of any of the original languages to rebuild any one of them exactly as it was.
So palawa kani combines words retrieved from as many of the original languages as possible. Names of places in palawa kani are always derived from the language which was originally spoken in that place, if the name in that language survives.
The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre is acknowledged both within and outside the Aboriginal community as the body with responsibility for the retrieval and revival of palawa kani. This work draws on an extensive body of historical and linguistic research and Aboriginal community knowledge and is guided by principles agreed by the Aboriginal community in statewide meetings since the 1990s.
Policies determining Aboriginal language use are based on the fundamental principle of Aboriginal control. These policies are set by the Aboriginal community through the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre.
Dictionaries and resources which enable learning the full language are only available within the Aboriginal community.
Any non-Aboriginal person, group or organisation wishing to use Aboriginal language for any purpose may submit their request by email to language@tacinc.com.au or by mail to palawa kani Language Program, Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, PO Box 531 Launceston, Tasmania 7250. At least a two week period should be
allowed for responses. The application must state the purpose for which the language is to be used, by whom and the intended audience.
Several categories of language can be shared with non-Aborigines on application as above. Words and simple phrases in several categories including but not limited to natural objects such as flora and fauna, features of the
landscape and natural environment, actions, greetings are among those which can be shared.
Applications are assessed on a case by case basis. Approval will depend on the context of the proposed use and its alignment with Aboriginal values and aspirations. Once the application has been assessed, applicants will be notified of the decision in writing.
All approvals for the use of palawa kani are conditional upon the users displaying with the approved words or phrases an acknowledgement with this wording: ‘In palawa kani, the language of Tasmanian Aborigines’., and that the palawa kani language is not used in conjunction with inauthentic forms of the language.