Abstract On Gumbaynggirr Country (mid‐north coast New South Wales, Australia), an act of violence against the sacredness of life and Country resulted in Wirriiga, the Two Sisters, making the sea. When the waters rose, the people made their way back to their homeland by following a gut‐string bridge made by Dunggiirr, the Koala Brothers. While the people were on the bridge, mischievous Baalijin, the eastern quoll, threatened to chop it down and made waves that nearly washed them off. Baalijin challenges complacency and forces change, and on that understanding in this article we consider what it means to be living this present time of instability and changes wrought by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19); ours is a perspective grounded in story and Gumbaynggirr Law/Lore. We write as Yandaarra, a research collective guided by the Old Fellas (ancestors) and led by Aunty Shaa Smith, storyholder for Gumbaynggirr Country, and her daughter Neeyan Smith, a young Gumbaynggirr woman. Learning from a Gumbaynggirr‐led understanding of COVID‐19—as one manifestation of Baalijin and relationships fallen out of balance—re‐situates the pandemic in wider and longer histories of colonisation and destructive patterns of existence and broken agreements. Those learnings prompt us to call for Juungambala—work involved in setting things right as a way to heal. Let Baalijin and COVID‐19 be the wake‐up call that forces the change that Country (and we) need.

中文翻译：

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创造、破坏和 COVID-19：听从国家的号召，使事物达到平衡

摘要 在 Gumbaynggirr Country（澳大利亚新南威尔士州中北部海岸），一场针对生命和国家神圣性的暴力行为导致了两姐妹 Wrilliga 的诞生。当水位上涨时，人们沿着考拉兄弟 Dunggiirr 建造的肠线桥返回家园。当人们在桥上时，淘气的东袋鼬巴力金威胁要把它砍倒，掀起波浪，差点把他们冲走。巴力津挑战自满并推动变革，基于本文中的这种理解，我们考虑了生活在由 2019 年冠状病毒病 (COVID-19) 造成的不稳定和变化的当前时代意味着什么；我们的观点基于故事和 Gumbaynggirr Law/Lore。我们写成 Yandaarra，由 Old Fellas（祖先）指导并由 Gumbaynggirr Country 的故事负责人 Shaa Smith 阿姨和她的女儿 Neeyan Smith 领导的研究团体，Neeyan Smith 是一名年轻的 Gumbaynggirr 妇女。从 Gumbaynggirr 领导的对 COVID-19 的理解中学习——作为 Baalijin 和关系失衡的一种表现——将大流行重新置于更广泛和更长的殖民历史、破坏性的存在模式和破裂的协议中。这些学习促使我们呼吁 Juungambala——将事情正确化作为治愈方法的工作。让 Baalijin 和 COVID-19 成为迫使国家（和我们）需要改变的警钟。从 Gumbaynggirr 领导的对 COVID-19 的理解中学习——作为 Baalijin 和关系失衡的一种表现——将大流行重新置于更广泛和更长的殖民历史、破坏性的存在模式和破裂的协议中。这些学习促使我们呼吁 Juungambala——将事情正确化作为治愈方法的工作。让 Baalijin 和 COVID-19 成为迫使国家（和我们）需要改变的警钟。从 Gumbaynggirr 领导的对 COVID-19 的理解中学习——作为 Baalijin 和关系失衡的一种表现——将大流行重新置于更广泛和更长的殖民历史、破坏性的存在模式和破裂的协议中。这些学习促使我们呼吁 Juungambala——将事情正确化作为治愈方法的工作。让 Baalijin 和 COVID-19 成为迫使国家（和我们）需要改变的警钟。