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Across Australia, the belly is by far the most frequent body part in emotional expressions: it seems that as many as one in three Australian languages have such expressions. In the sources we have looked at, the words for ‘belly’ are often translated as ‘stomach’ as well. Yet, ‘belly’ is in fact an apt translation because, in many languages, the term refers not just to the internal organs in the abdomen, but to the external part of the abdomen as well.

Generic emotions and feelings towards others

There are so many expressions involving the belly in Australian Indigenous languages that they cover virtually the entire spectrum of human emotion. The most widespread meanings of belly expressions are very general ones, which would translate as ‘feel bad’, ‘sad’, ‘upset’ or ‘feel good’, ‘happy’, ‘cheerful’, etc. There is also a trend for belly expressions to describe what one feels towards other people, such as anger – the most prevalent of these feelings toward others. The belly also serves to express sulking, resentment and hatred. Conversely, it is involved in feelings related to attachment to others, such as affection and love, as well as empathetic emotions like compassion, grief, etc. A number of expressions with the belly denote a lack of empathetic emotion, for instance being emotionally and socially distant or being ungenerous, which is often equated with lack of compassion in Australian Indigenous cultures. Other emotions commonly expressed with the belly revolve around fear, including anxiety and surprise, as well as desire and jealousy.

The belly as a seat of emotion

Many expressions with the belly translate simply as ‘bad belly’ or ‘good belly’, often meaning ‘feeling bad’ or ‘feeling good’. In Walmajarri (Kimberley) for instance, ngaru yakurrjarrinyu, literally ‘belly becomes bad’ means ‘become worried, concerned, sad’. Another common pattern is where expressions combine ‘belly’ with a term whose meaning is ‘emotional’ in itself. An example of this is in Pitjantjatjara (Western Desert) with the expression tjuni tjulypily(pa); tjuni means ‘belly’ and tjulypily(pa) means ‘upset, sad’, i.e. literally ‘sad belly’; and tjuni tjulypily(pa) simply means ‘feel sad’. So the addition of the word for ‘belly’ does not really change the meaning, but simply indicates the association of emotions with the belly. There are also expressions where the belly ‘does’ something people normally do in response to an emotion. Crying is a typical example, as in Wirangu (South Australia) dyarda wadyarn ‘belly cries’, again meaning ‘feel sad’. Note that all these patterns of expression occur with other body parts as well.

When your belly is unwell

Some expressions suggest a link between emotional states and digestive states. This is illustrated in Kaytetye, where aleme angkenke ‘stomach speak’ means ‘have a rumbling stomach from something you ate’, as well as ‘feel worried, anxious, or jealous’. Other expressions link constipation with anxiety, for instance, and indeed some of us know all too well that digestive and emotional discomfort often come hand in hand. Many languages use expressions that mean ‘hot/burnt belly’ to describe anger, as in Arrernte atnerte ampeme ‘belly burn’, meaning ‘be really angry’. This association of anger with heat is by no means specific to the Australian continent: it is extremely common all over the world.

Hard, cracked, open, moving and more

Belly expressions use metaphors that may appear familiar to English speakers, though in English they tend to occur with the heart, not belly. The belly is often represented as hard, which can correspond either to negative attitudes such as being selfish, harsh, unkind or with strength of character. In Dalabon (Arnhem Land) for instance, kangu-murduk, ‘belly hard/strong’ means both ‘selfish’ (negative) and ‘emotionally strong’ (positive). Another common metaphor associates damage to the belly – such as being split or cut – with deeply negative emotions, as in Dalabon kangu-barrh(mu) ‘belly cracked’, meaning ‘be surprised, shocked (typically upon hearing of a death or accident)’. The belly also gets depicted as open, which is often positive, as in Warlpiri (Central Australia) miyalu raa-pi-nyi ‘open someone’s belly’, meaning ‘make happy’.

Further removed from English, some expressions evoke mobility: Ngankikurungkurr (western Top End) minta ge yenim, ‘belly doesn’t go’ means ‘be unhappy, irritated’, where immobility is negative. Western and Central Australian languages have expressions where the belly is said to be ‘different’, ‘other’, ‘divided’ or ‘in two’ – perhaps like when we talk about ‘being in two minds’ in English. In the expressions we collected, this is always negative, as in Walmajarri (Kimberley) ngaru kanarlanyjarrinyu, literally ‘belly becomes different', meaning ‘worried, upset’. As seen with the heart, some expressions for affection place the beloved person ‘in the belly’, as in Kukatja (Western Desert) tjurningka kanyini ‘holding/ keeping in the stomach’, ‘love, show affection’.

Perception, action

In addition to the above metaphors that associate a state of the belly with an emotion, a smaller number of expressions present the belly as ‘doing something’. For instance, Kaytetye has alemele arenke ‘belly sees’, meaning ‘have a premonition’, where premonitions correspond to sensory perceptions of the belly. Sometimes, especially in Central Australia, the belly strikes or bites, as in the Warlpiri expression miyalu yarlki-rni ‘stomach bites’, meaning ‘make (somebody) very angry’.

References

Goddard, Cliff. Pitjantjatjarra/Yankunytjatjara to English dictionary (2nd edition). Alice Springs, N. T.: IAD Press, 1992.

Henderson, John and Veronica Dobson. Eastern and Central Arrernte to English dictionary. Alice Springs, N. T.: IAD Press, 1994.

Hercus, Louise A. A grammar of the Wirangu language from the west coast of South Australia. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, 1999.

Hoddinott, William G and Frances M. Kofod. The Ngankikurungkurr language (Daly river area, Northern Territory). Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, 1988.

Laughren, Mary and Warlpiri lexicography group. Warlpiri-English encyclopaedic dictionary. Electronic draft, October 2017, 2007.

Peile, Anthony Rex. Body and soul: An Aboriginal view. Victoria Park, W.A.: Hesperian Press, 1997.

Ponsonnet, Maïa. The language of emotions: The case of Dalabon (Australia). Amsterdam/ Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Co., 2014.

Richards, Eirlys and Joyce Hudson. Walmajarri-English dictionary. Berrimah, N. T: Summer Institute of Linguistics, 1990.

Ross, Alison and Myfany Turpin. Kaytetye to English Dictionary. Alice Springs: IAD Press, 2012.