What is a Willy-Willy?

By Kimberley Putland

ABC Pilbara

Topic: Aboriginal Language

A willy-willy is near Nanutarra in WA's north-west

Patrick Churnside grew up in Western Australia's Pilbara, where people talk about the weather phenomenon 'willy-willy'

A willy-willy is a vortex of wind that picks up dust and loose bush, like a small cyclone

The word 'willy-willy' comes from the Yindjibarndi language word 'wili wili'

Many Aboriginal words are used in Australian English without people realizing

Patrick Churnside is a Ngarluma Yindjibarndi man

Mr Churnside said 'wili wili' is a common language across many different languages in the region

He remembered songs and stories about willy-willies, and elders would sing near waterholes

Roebourne is in WA's north-west, about 1,500km north of Perth

Mr Churnside said 'wili wili' was part of a song form called 'tjaabi'

Tjaabi is a dance-type or musical song that tells stories

If 'willy-willy' was in a song, it was about the big cyclone time

As a young fellow, Mr Churnside heard old people talk about 'big wili wili, they're coming now', meaning the big wind and rain are coming

Patrick Churnside says willy-willies were often sung about in songs

Willy-willy by name, willy-willy by nature

The Bureau of Meteorology does not have an official name for the weather event

The Bureau talks about dust devils or whirly winds, but also uses 'willy-willies'

It's all the same thing, a brief spin-up or rotation of air over paddocks

A willy-willy is near Whim Creek, Pilbara, Western Australia

Willy-willies happen more in warmer months, caused by differential heating in paddocks and open spaces

They form on hot, sunny days with light winds, where air rises

Sometimes air rushes in to replace the rising air, and on those boundaries, you can get little spin-ups, like willy-willies

Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre senior linguist Travers Eira said the word 'willy-willy' was recorded in English as far back as 1894

The word's use is likely longer than that, since it's been in written records since 1894

Dr Eira said the word was likely used within multiple languages from the Pilbara region

Within a language family, there are many words held in common

The word 'willy-willy' has been recorded as far away as New South Wales

The weather bureau says willy-willies often form over large paddocks and plains

Dr Eira suggested the term 'willy-willy' may have stuck because of its self-descriptive nature

One thing that occurs to Dr Eira is that onomatopoeic words tend to get picked up

Possibly 'willy-willy' could be seen as an onomatopoeic word

Shared 'Australian' language

University of Western Australia School of Indigenous studies emeritus professor Len Collard said more Aboriginal language words are used in English than people realize

Len Collard is a professor in Indigenous Studies at the University of Western Australia

He theorized the exchange of languages began when the English first came to Australia and met its First Nations residents

The English and the First Nations residents didn't understand each other's languages

So the English had to meld with the Noongars or the Yindjibarndi, and a language called 'Australian' was formed

The way Australians speak is a hybrid of foreign languages like English and Aboriginal languages

There are at least 500 Aboriginal languages, and many words are used in English

Dr Collard said there are many Aboriginal words used in English, especially words that didn't exist in English before colonization

The word 'cobber' is a Noongar word that means 'friend'

There is no English word for 'quokka', it's just 'quokka'

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