Djinang people

Last updated

The Djinang are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory.

Contents

Name

The tribal ethnonym comes from an old form of the proximate deictic ('this'), namely djining. [1]

Country

The Djinang territories are often described in a way that overlaps with those of the Yan-nhaŋu. Norman Tindale, for example, allocates to them the 700 square miles (1,800 km2) stretching over the Crocodile Islands and Milingimbi south to the mainland around the middle reaches of the Blyth River. On the continent they are said to extend east as far as the Glyde Inlet and river, as far as the northern margins of the Arafura Swamp. [2] The modern authority on them, Bruce Waters, states that they are concentrated on the mainland, with only a few members on the islands. [3]

Language

Djinang is classified as one of the Yolŋu languages, but is not mutually intelligible with them. It is most closely related to Djinba, with which it is about 60% cognate. In 1989 it was estimated that some 200 Djinang-speakers were living at Ramangiŋing, with small numbers also on Milingimbi and at Maningrida [3]

Social organization

The Djinang are composed of seven clans [4]

Terms like 'clan' do not convey adequately the nature of the groups in such bands. Marrangu-Djinang for example, haa been described as 'a local territory with focal sites and affiliated set of people and sacra. Each term — Marrangu and Djinang — when employed separately has potential to denote a range of additional cultural references.' [5]

History of contact

With the coming of mission stations to the area a large number of Djinang lived at Milingimbi, or ast Maningrida, down at least to the end of the 1960s. [6] Though only a minority were converted to Christianity, the Djinang and the Djinba retain a strong sense of respect for the influence of the missions, which reduced the fear of sorcery, and revenge killings, that were a major concern to both tribes in their homelands. [6]

Some words

Alternative names

Source: Tindale 1974 , p. 224

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yolŋu</span> Aggregation of Indigenous Australian people in northeastern Arnhem Land

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milingimbi Island</span> Island in Northern Territory, Australia

Milingimbi Island, also Yurruwi, is the largest island of the Crocodile Islands group off the coast of Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia.

The Crocodile Islands are a group of islands belonging to the Yan-nhaŋu people of the Northern Territory of Australia. They are located off the coast of Arnhem Land in the Arafura Sea.

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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kunwinjku people</span> Australian Aboriginal people of West Arnhem Land

The Kunwinjku people are an Australian Aboriginal people, one of several groups within the Bininj people, who live around West Arnhem Land to the east of Darwin, Northern Territory. Kunwinjku people generally refer to themselves as "Bininj" in much the same way that Yolŋu people refer to themselves as "Yolŋu".

Djinang is an Australian Aboriginal language, one of the family of Yolŋu languages which are spoken in the north-east Arnhem Land region of the Northern Territory.

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 Garrwa people, also spelt Karawa and Garawa, are an Aboriginal Australian people living in the Northern Territory, whose traditional lands extended from east of the McArthur River at Borroloola to Doomadgee and the Nicholson River in Queensland.

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.

Ian Keen is an Australian anthropologist, whose research interests cover Yolngu kinship structures and religion, Aboriginal land rights and economies, and language.

The Gadjalivia were an indigenous Australian people of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. They are now regarded as extinct.

The Ritharrngu and also known as the Diakui, are an Aboriginal Australian people of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, of the Yolŋu group of peoples. Their clans are Wagilak and Manggura, and Ritharrŋu.

The Dalabon or Dangbon are an Australian Aboriginal people of the Northern Territory.

The Tjial were an indigenous Australian people of the Northern Territory who are now extinct.

The Daii or Dhay'yi are an indigenous Australian people of the Northern Territory.

The Gungorogone are an indigenous Australian people of the Northern Territory.

The Jingili or Jingulu are an indigenous Australian people of the Northern Territory.

The Mudburra, also spelt Mudbara and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory.

References

  1. ↑ Waters 1989, p. 276.
  2. ↑ Tindale 1974, p. 224.
  3. 1 2 Waters 1989, p. xiv.
  4. ↑ Waters 1989, p. 11.
  5. ↑ Elliott 2015, p. 104, n.4.
  6. 1 2 Waters 1989, p. xv.
  7. ↑ Waters 1989, p. 4.
  8. 1 2 Waters 1989, p. 48.
  9. ↑ Waters 1989, p. 252.
  10. ↑ Waters 1989, p. 288.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.