Warndarang people

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The Warndarang (waɳʈaraŋ) were a predominantly coastal [1] indigenous Australian people of eastern Northern Territory. Though extinct as a distinct ethnolinguistic group, their descendants survive among the neighbouring Nunggubuyu

Northern Territory federal territory of Australia

The Northern Territory is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. It shares borders with Western Australia to the west, South Australia to the south, and Queensland to the east. To the north, the territory looks out to the Timor Sea, the Arafura Sea and the Gulf of Carpentaria, including Western New Guinea and other Indonesian islands. The NT covers 1,349,129 square kilometres (520,902 sq mi), making it the third-largest Australian federal division, and the 11th-largest country subdivision in the world. It is sparsely populated, with a population of only 246,700, making it the least-populous of Australia's eight states and major territories, with fewer than half as many people as Tasmania.

The Nunggubuyu are an indigenous Australian people of eastern Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory.

Contents

Language

Warndarang has been classified as a member of the Gunwinyguan language group. Though thought to be extinct by 1974, some sources state that a fluent speaker was interviewed in 1989 and provided significant amounts of oral text in the language, together with a translation into Kriol. [2]

Warndarang is an extinct Aboriginal Australian language in the Arnhem family, formerly spoken by the Warndarang people in southern Arnhem Land, along the Gulf of Carpentaria. The last speaker was Isaac Joshua, who died in 1974, while working with the linguist Jeffrey Heath.

Macro-Gunwinyguan languages Australian Aboriginal languages

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.

Country

The traditional lands of the Warndarang extended over an area in Arnhem Land of some 1,100 square miles (2,800 km2) from the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Phelp River inland to Mount Leane. [3] To their north were the Nunggubuyu while their western borders reached inland, eastwards to the Ngandi territories between the Walker and Rose rivers. [4]

Arnhem Land Region in the Northern Territory, Australia

Arnhem Land is one of the five regions of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around 500 km (310 mi) from the territory capital Darwin. The region has an area of 97,000 km2 (37,000 sq mi), which also covers the area of Kakadu National Park, and a population of 16,230. In 1623, Dutch East India Company captain William 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.

Gulf of Carpentaria A large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea

The Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea. The northern boundary is generally defined as a line from Slade Point, Queensland in the northeast, to Cape Arnhem, Northern Territory in the west.

Ngandi is a moribund Australian Aboriginal language of the Wilton River, Northern Territory. It is closely related to Nunggubuyu.

History

In 1903 the Eastern and African Cold Storage Company purchased the Hodgson Downs cattle station and other tribal lands, and embarked on a policy of systematic extermination of all aboriginals residing on the land which the company directors wished to turn into a pastoral empire. Hunting gangs consisting of 10-14 native men, armed and under the supervision of a white or half-caste foreman, were commissioned to clear the land by shooting any black on sight. When the Church of England established the Roper River Mission in 1908 the remnants of the Warndarang, together with survivors of other local tribes such as the Alawa, Marra, Ngalakan, Ngandi, and the southern clans of the Rembarrnga and Nunggubuyu gathered there for sanctuary from the onslaught. [5] Eventually several clans of the Warndarung were assimilated by the Nunggubuyu by adopting their language. [6]

Arnold River (Northern Territory) river in Australia

The Arnold River is a river in the north of the Northern Territory of Australia.

The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Anglican Communion and Protestant Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission partners during its 200-year history. The society has also given its name "CMS" to a number of daughter organisations around the world, including Australia and New Zealand, which have now become independent.

Ngukurr Town in the Northern Territory, Australia

Ngukurr is a remote Aboriginal community on the banks of the Roper River in southern Arnhem Land, Northern Territory. A number of different clans and language groups are represented in the town, with Kriol being the main language spoken. Collectively, indigenous peoples in the Roper River area refer to themselves as Yugul Mangi, and the Yugul Mangi Aboriginal Corporation works closely with the Roper Gulf Regional Council to provide services and economic opportunities in Ngukurr and surrounding areas.

Notes

    Citations

    1. ↑ Edmonds 2007, p. 202.
    2. ↑ Rieländer 1997, p. 219.
    3. ↑ Tindale 1974.
    4. ↑ Heath 1978a, p. 2, map.
    5. ↑ Edmonds 2007, pp. 194–195.
    6. ↑ Heath 1978b, p. 16.

    Sources

    Arthur Capell was an Australian linguist, who made major contributions to the study of Australian languages, Austronesian languages and Papuan languages.

    Oceania is a triannual peer-reviewed academic journal that was established in 1930. It covers social and cultural anthropology of the peoples of Oceania, including Australia, Melanesia, Polynesia, Micronesia, and Southeast Asia. The journal publishes research papers as well as review articles, correspondence, and shorter comments.

    JSTOR subscription digital library

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