The Erawirung (Yirawirung, Jirawirung) people, also known as Yirau, Juju and other names, were 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 Islands ...

people whose traditional territory was located in what is today the

Riverland The Riverland is a region of South Australia. It covers an area of along the Murray River, River Murray from where it flows into South Australia from New South Wales and Victoria (Australia), Victoria downstream to Blanchetown, South Australia ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. They consisted of sub-groups or clans, including Jeraruk, Rankbirit and Wilu, and have been referred to as Meru people, which was a larger grouping which could also include the

Ngawait The Ngawait, also spelt Ngawadj and other variations, and also known as Eritark and other names, were an Aboriginal Australian people of the mid-Riverland region, spanning the Murray River in South Australia. They have sometimes been referred to ...

and

Ngaiawang The Ngaiawang (Ngayawang) were an Aboriginal Australian people of the western Riverland area of South Australia, with a language considered part of the Lower Murray group. They are now considered extinct. They have sometimes been referred to as p ...

peoples.

Language

The Erawirung appear to have spoken a dialect of the Yuyu language common to their neighbours. This language group is alternatively called the Meru language group, and is included under this name on the AIATSIS Language Map.

Country

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 ...

, Erawirung traditional lands covered about , around the eastern bank of the

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest r ...

, reaching from north of Paringa past Loxton into the sandy stretches some to its south. Their western boundary reached from Rufus Creek into the vicinity of the

Overland Corner Overland Corner is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located in the state’s east about north-east of the state capital of Adelaide and about west of the municipal seat in Berri. It is located on the Murray River in the R ...

Social organisation and economy

The Erawirung were divided into hordes, of which the following are known: * ''Jeraruk'' * ''Rankbirit'' (

totem A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. While ''the wo ...

eaglehawk The wedge-tailed eagle (''Aquila audax'') is the largest bird of prey in the continent of Australia. It is also found in southern New Guinea to the north and is distributed as far south as the state of Tasmania. Adults of this species have lon ...

) * ''Wilu'' They practiced

circumcision Circumcision is a surgical procedure, procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin ...

alone, but not

dental avulsion Dental avulsion is the complete displacement of a tooth from its socket in alveolar bone owing to trauma. Normally, a tooth is connected to the socket by the periodontal ligament. When a tooth is knocked out, the ligament is torn. Avulsed perman ...

in initiation rites. chert mining in two of their localities, at Springcart Gully and at a site south of Renmark formed an important element of the Erawirung economy, and the areas were strongly defended from neighbouring tribes.

History

Early ethnographers often classified the small Erawirung tribe as one of a collective group named the Meru people. The Erawirung had slipped from the memory of the nearby Jarildekald by the time

Ronald Murray Berndt Ronald Murray Berndt (14 July 1916 – 2 May 1990) was an Australian social anthropologist who, in 1963, became the inaugural professor of anthropology at the University of Western Australia. He and his wife Catherine Berndt maintained a close ...

interviewed the latter in the late 1930s-early 1940s.

Alternative names

* ''Eramwirrangu.'' * ''Erawiruck.'' * ''Jeraruk.'' * ''Yerraruck.'' * ''Yirau.'' * ''Pomp-malkie.'' * ''Meru.'' (''meru'' meaning 'man') * ''Juju.'' (

Maraura The Maraura or Marrawarra people are an Aboriginal group whose traditional lands are located in Far West New South Wales and South Australia, Australia. Language The Maraura spoke the southernmost dialect of Paakantyi. A wordlist of the langu ...

exonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...

, ''ju'' being their word for 'no'). * ''Yuyu, You-you.'' * ''Rankbirit.'' * ''Wilu, Willoo.''

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * * * * {{authority control Aboriginal peoples of South Australia History of South Australia