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The Burarra people, also referred to as the Gidjingali, are an Aboriginal Australian people in and around Maningrida, in the heart of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Opinions have differed as to whether the two names represent different tribal realities, with the Gidjingali treated as the same as, or as a subgroup of the Burarra, or as an independent tribal grouping. For the purposes of this encyclopedia, the two are registered differently, though the ethnographic materials on both may overlap with each other.
According to Norman Tindale, there are five sub-groups of Burarra people: Anbara (or Anbarra), Marawuraba, Madia, Maringa and Gunadba. The Burraras' closest neighbours are the Dangbon/Dalabon, Nakara and Yolngu peoples.
The ethnonym Burarra means 'those people'. [1] Norman Tindale classified the Gidjingali as being eastern Burarra, speaking a dialect only slightly different from Burarra. [2] Les Hiatt argued in 1965 that they were a distinct 'tribe'. [1] Others take Hiatt's Gidjingali to be essentially synonymous with Burarra, [3] and the words are used now interchangeably. [4] Tindale considered Burarra to be an exonym applied to them by outsiders, and speculated that their 'real' name might be Ngapanga. [1]
Burarra is a prefixing Arnhem land language belonging to the Maningrida family of non-Pama-Nyungan languages. [5] Bururra is spoken by approximately 2,000 people, many of them multilingual. [6]
Burarra traditional land covers some 200 square miles (520 km2) on both banks of the Blyth River, for a distance of roughly 20 miles inland. Their eastward extension runs as far as and east to Cape Stewart. [1] Facing the Arafura Sea, their territory also extends to some islands, [lower-alpha 1] opposite those of their northern maritime neighbours, the Yan-nhaŋu of the Crocodile Islands. Despite speaking markedly different languages, -one prefixing, the other suffixing- the Burarra and the Yan-nhaŋu have strong sociocultural links. [7]
Their land adjoins that of the Dangbon (or Dalabon), Nakara (Nagara) and Yolngu peoples. [8]
Though neighbours of such Yolngu peoples as the Djinang, Burarra marriage practices are markedly at odds with those of the Yolngu. Ian Keen has said that there are five major differences:
The Burarra, according to Tindale, consist of five subgroups:
Source: Tindale 1974 , p. 222
Questacon, Australia's National Science and Technology Centre in Canberra, has produced a website about the "people, land, language and traditional technologies of the Burarra people", called Burarra Gathering. [10]
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Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia, with the term still in use. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around 500 km (310 mi) from the territory capital, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Company captain Willem Joosten van Colster sailed into the Gulf of Carpentaria and Cape Arnhem is named after his ship, the Arnhem, which itself was named after the city of Arnhem in the Netherlands.
Maningrida, also known as Manayingkarírra and Manawukan, is an Aboriginal community in the heart of the Arnhem Land region of Australia's Northern Territory. Maningrida is 500 km (311 mi) east of Darwin, and 300 km (186 mi) north east of Jabiru. It is on the North Central Arnhem Land coast of the Arafura Sea, on the estuary of the Liverpool River.
The Yolngu or Yolŋu are an aggregation of Aboriginal Australian people inhabiting north-eastern Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. Yolngu means "person" in the Yolŋu languages. The terms Murngin, Wulamba, Yalnumata, Murrgin and Yulangor were formerly used by some anthropologists for the Yolngu.
Gapuwiyak, also known as Lake Evella, is an Aboriginal Australian community located in north-eastern Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, 25 kilometres (16 mi) south of the head of Buckingham Bay and about the same distance south-west of Arnhem Bay. The settlement had a population of 871 people recorded at the 2016 census.
Elcho Island, known to its traditional owners as Galiwin'ku (Galiwinku) is an island off the coast of Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located at the southern end of the Wessel Islands group located in the East Arnhem Region. Galiwin'ku is also the name of the settlement where the island's largest community lives. Elcho Island formed part of the traditional lands of the Yan-nhaŋu, according to Norman Tindale. According to J. C. Jennison, the Aboriginal inhabitants were the Dhuwal, who called themselves the Kokalango Mala
Milingimbi Island, also Yurruwi, is the largest island of the Crocodile Islands group off the coast of Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia.
Lester Richard Hiatt, known as Les Hiatt, was a scholar of Australian Aboriginal societies who promoted Australian Aboriginal studies within both the academic world and within the wider public for almost 50 years. He is now regarded as one of Australia's foremost anthropologists.
The Nhangu language (Nhaŋu), also Yan-nhaŋu (Jarnango) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Yan-nhaŋu people, inhabitants of the Crocodile Islands off the coast of Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory of Australia. The Yan-nhaŋu language belongs to the Yolŋu Matha language group of the Yolŋu people of Arnhem Land in northern Australia. The varieties of the two moieties are (a) Gorlpa and (b) Yan-nhangu.
The Burarra language is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Burarra people of Arnhem Land. It has several dialects.
Rembarrnga (Rembarunga) is an Australian Aboriginal language. It is one of the Northern Non-Pama–Nyungan languages, spoken in the Roper River region of the Northern territory. There are three dialects of Rembarrnga, namely Galduyh, Gikkik and Mappurn. It is a highly endangered language, with very few remaining fluent speakers. It is very likely that the language is no longer being learned by children. Instead, the children of Rembarrnga speakers are now learning neighbouring languages such as Kriol in south central Arnhem Land, and Kunwinjku, a dialect of Bininj Kunwok, in north central Arnhem Land.
Yolŋu (Yolngu) or Murngin Sign Language is a ritual sign language used by the Yolngu, an Aboriginal community in the Arnhem Land region of Australia. As with other Australian Aboriginal sign languages, YSL was developed by the hearing for use when oral speech is forbidden, as during mourning or between certain family relations. However, "YSL is not a signed version of any spoken Yolngu language... YSL also serves as a primary means of communication for a number of deaf members in Yolngu communities... YSL functions as both an alternate and primary sign language". That is, it is used for communicating to the deaf, but also when communicating at a distance, when hunting, or when ceremonies require silence. It was acquired from birth by the hearing population. YSL is now considered an endangered language.
The Macro-Gunwinyguan languages, also called Arnhem or Gunwinyguan, are a family of Australian Aboriginal languages spoken across eastern Arnhem Land in northern Australia. Their relationship has been demonstrated through shared morphology in their verbal inflections.
The Gunavidji people, also written Kunibidji and Kunibídji and also known as the Ndjébbana, are an Aboriginal Australian people of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory.
The Djinang are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory.
The Djinba are an Aboriginal Australian group of the Yolngu people of the Northern Territory.
The Yan-nhaŋu, also known as the Nango, are an indigenous Australian people of the Northern Territory. They have strong sociocultural connections with their neighbours, the Burarra, on the Australian mainland.
The Gadjalivia were an indigenous Australian people of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. They are now regarded as extinct.
The Nagara, also written Nakara, are an indigenous Australian people of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory.
The Dalabon or Dangbon are an Australian Aboriginal people of the Northern Territory.
The Gungorogone are an indigenous Australian people of the Northern Territory.