The Arrernte () people, sometimes referred to as the Aranda, Arunta or Arrarnta, are a group of
Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the
Arrernte lands, at ''Mparntwe'' (
Alice Springs
Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' A ...
) and surrounding areas of the
Central Australia
Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and ...
region of 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 ...
. Many still speak one of the
various Arrernte dialects. Some Arrernte live in other areas far from their homeland, including the
major Australian cities and overseas.
Arrernte mythology and spirituality focuses on the landscape and
The Dreaming
The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Gillen, quickly adopted by his co ...
.
Altjira
The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Gillen, quickly adopted by his co ...
is the creator being of the
Inapertwa that became all living creatures.
Tjurunga are objects of religious significance.
The
Arrernte Council is the representative and administrative body for the Arrernte Lands and is part of the
Central Land Council
The Central Land Council (CLC) is a land council that represents the Aboriginal peoples of the southern half of the Northern Territory of Australia (NT), predominantly with regard to land issues. it is one of four land councils in the Northern T ...
.
Tourism is important to the economy of Alice Springs and surrounding communities.
Arrernte languages
"Aranda" is a simplified,
Australian English
Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language and ''de facto'' national language; while Australia has no official language, Eng ...
approximation of the traditional pronunciation of the name of ''Arrernte'' . The ancestors of the Arrernte all spoke one or more of the many Arrernte dialects in the Arrernte
group of languages. Today several are completely or nearly extinct, but a couple of them (especially Eastern or Central Arrernte) are widely spoken and taught in schools.
The Arrernte also had a highly developed
sign language
Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with non-manual markers. Sign ...
.
Culture
Arrernte religion and cultural life was documented thoroughly from the late nineteenth century by the Lutheran missionary Carl Strehlow, the seminal Australian anthropologists Walter Baldwin Spencer and Francis Gillen and later by T.G.H. Strehlow. he Arrernte men worked with Strehlow to document their songs and ceremonies between 1932-1974. Arrernte oral history discusses the region of Alice Springs (''Mparntwe'') and its environs being shaped by primordial
caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths).
As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sy ...
-beings known as ''Ayepe-arenye'' (''
Hyles livornicoides
''Hyles livornicoides'', the Australian striped hawk moth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae first described by Eugen Johann Christoph Esper in 1779. The larvae are known by the common name Yeperenye caterpillar, in the Arrernte language the c ...
''), ''Ntyarlke'' (''
Hippotion celerio''), and ''Utnerrengatye'' (''
Coenotes eremophilae'') which were ancestral to the Arrernte people. The eastern
MacDonnell Ranges
The MacDonnell Ranges, or Tjoritja in Arrernte, is a mountain range located in southern Northern Territory. MacDonnell Ranges is also the name given to an interim Australian bioregion broadly encompassing the mountain range, with an area of .< ...
was formed by the ''Ayepe-arenye'', while the western portion of the ranges was formed by ''Ntyarlke''.
Country
The Arrernte's lands, according to
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, encompass some . Of their overall territory he wrote that they were:-
At Mount Gosse, Mount Zeil, and Mount Heughlin; on the Finke River to Idracowra, Blood Creek, Macumba, Mount Dare, and Andado, and some distance east into the sandhills of the Arunta (Simpson) Desert; northeast to Intea on the lower Hale River, thence north to Ilbala on Plenty River; west to Inilja and Hart Range, Mount Swan, Gillen Creek, Connor Well, and Narwietooma; in Central MacDonnell, James, and Ooraminna Ranges.
Sub-divisions
The name Arrernte refers to the following distinct groups (or "mobs"):
*
Central Arrernte
Arrernte or Aranda (; ) or sometimes referred to as Upper Arrernte (Upper Aranda), is a dialect cluster in the Arandic language group spoken in parts of the Northern Territory, Australia, by the Arrernte people. Other spelling variations are ...
, from the township of
Alice Springs
Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' A ...
only.
*
Eastern Arrernte, from the Arrernte lands east of Alice Springs.
*
Western Arrarnta, from the Arrernte lands west of Alice Springs, out to
Mutitjulu and
King's Canyon.
See also
*
HMAS Arunta
*
Arrernte language
Arrernte or Aranda (; ) or sometimes referred to as Upper Arrernte (Upper Aranda), is a dialect cluster in the Arandic language group spoken in parts of the Northern Territory, Australia, by the Arrernte people. Other spelling variations a ...
*
Veronica Perrule Dobson
Veronica Perrule Dobson (born 1944) is an Eastern Arrernte linguist, educator, elder, Traditional Owner, author and ecologist. She is instrumental in establishing Eastern Arrernte as a written language.
Early life
Veronica was born at Arltun ...
*
Margaret Kemarre Turner
; Spirituality & mythology:
*
Altjira
The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Gillen, quickly adopted by his co ...
*
Inapertwa
*
Tjurunga
Notes
Citations
Sources
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External links
Arrernte Tribal Group
{{authority control
Arrernte