The Alyawarre, also spelt Alyawarr and also known as the Iliaura, are an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Isl ...

people, or language group, from the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

. The Alyawarre are made up of roughly 1,200 associated peoples and actively engage in local traditions such as awelye painting.

Country

Norman Tindale Norman Barnett Tindale AO (12 October 1900 – 19 November 1993) was an Australian anthropologist, archaeologist, entomologist and ethnologist. Life Tindale was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1900. His family moved to Tokyo and lived ther ...

's estimate in 1974 assigned to the Alyawarre traditional tribal lands extending over some , taking in the Sandover and Bundey rivers, as well as Ooratippra, and Fraser creeks. Notable sites associated with their nomadic world include Mount Swan, northern flank of

Harts Range Harts Range is a town in the Northern Territory of Australia located on the Plenty Highway by road northeast of Alice Springs. Most of its population are of Aboriginal descent, residing in the nearby community of Atitjere. Since 1947, each y ...

, Plenty River north and west of Ilbala, Jervois Range, Mount Playford and the Elkedra River. They were also present at MacDonald Downs and Huckitta. The Utopia community, north-east of Alice Springs, is partly on Alyawarre land, partly on land of the

Anmatyerre The Anmatyerr, also spelt Anmatyerre, Anmatjera, Anmatjirra, Amatjere and other variations) are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory, who speak one of the Upper Arrernte languages. Language Anmatyerr is divided into Easte ...

Language

The Alyawarre people speak a dialect of Upper Arrernte known as Alyawarre.

Social organisation

The Alyawarre had a four-section marriage system. * ''Pitjara'' * ''Kngwarija'' * ''Kimara'' * ''Pula''

Demography

C. L. Yallop estimated the Alyawarre community to number 500-600 people in 1969. They were mainly concentrated at Lake Nash, the

Georgina River The Georgina River is the north-westernmost of the three major rivers of the Channel Country in Central West Queensland, that also flows through a portion of the Northern Territory, in central Australia. Part of the Lake Eyre basin, the Geor ...

, McDonald Downs, on the Bundey River, and the Warrabri Reserve. In the 2016 Australian Census, there were 347 Alyawarre recorded in the "Utopia - Arawerr - Arlparra" Indigenous location. Only 4% of households only spoke English at home.

Native title

In 1980 the Alyawarre made a

land claim A land claim is defined as "the pursuit of recognized territorial ownership by a group or individual". The phrase is usually only used with respect to disputed or unresolved land claims. Some types of land claims include aboriginal land claims, A ...

together with the Anmatyerre for the Utopia pastoral lease. In the same year, the lodged a claim along with the Wakaya people for land around the remote outstation of Purrukwarra. As a result, they were handed back on 22 October 1992, while the Wakaya were given , both only small parts of the original claim.

Alternative spellings

* ''Aliawara, Alyawara, Alyawarra'' * ''Alyawarr, Aljawarra'' * ''Ilawara'' * ''Iliaura, Illiaura, Iljaura, Ilyaura'' * ''Illura'' * ''Ilyowra Illyowra'' * ''Jaljuwara'' * ''Yalyuwara'' Source:

Some words

* ''.'' (kangaroo) * ' (emu) * ''.'' (dog, dingo) * ''.'' (honey-ant) Source:

Notable people

Emily Kame Kngwarreye Emily Kame Kngwarreye (or Emily Kam Ngwarray) (1910 – 3 September 1996) was an Aboriginal Australian artist from the Utopia community in the Northern Territory. She is one of the most prominent and successful artists in the history of Austr ...

, artist *

Ngarla Kunoth Rosalie Lynette Kunoth-Monks (4 January 193726 January 2022), also known as Ngarla Kunoth, was an Australian film actress, Aboriginal activist and politician. Early life Rosalie Lynette Kunoth was born on 4 January 1937 in Utopia, Northern ...

who played

Jedda ''Jedda'', released in the UK as ''Jedda the Uncivilized'', is a 1955 Australian film written, produced and directed by Charles Chauvel. His last film, it is notable for being the first to star two Aboriginal actors, Robert Tudawali and Ngarl ...

in the 1956 Chauvel film of the same name, now Chancellor of Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education * Kathleen Petyarre is an Alyawarre / Eastern Anmatyerre artist * Gloria Petyarre, artist * Nancy Petyarre, artist * Jeanna Petyarre, artist *

Minnie Pwerle Minnie Pwerle (also Minnie Purla or Minnie Motorcar Apwerl; born between 1910 and 1922 – 18 March 2006) was an Australian Aboriginal artist. She came from Utopia, Northern Territory (''Unupurna'' in local language), a cattle station in the ...

, artist (from Alyawarre and

language groups) * Elkin Reilly played for

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at ...

in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL) * Barbara Weir, artist

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * {{Authority control Aboriginal peoples of the Northern Territory