The Jawoyn, also written Djauan, are an
Australian Aboriginal
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 I ...
people living in 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 ...
of
Australia. The Bagala clan are of the Jawoyn people.
Language
Jawoyn
The Jawoyn, also written Djauan, are an Australian Aboriginal people living in the Northern Territory of Australia. The Bagala clan are of the Jawoyn people.
Language
Jawoyn, known as Kumertuo, is a non- Pama–Nyungan language that belongs ...
, known as Kumertuo, is a non-
Pama–Nyungan language that belongs to the
Macro-Gunwinyguan group of
languages of Arnhem land. (It has recently been established that the Gunwinyguan and Pama-Nyungan languages are both branches of a proto-
Macro-Pama–Nyungan language.) At one time, Kumertuo was a group of several closely related spoken dialects, but since resettlement in the post-war period, these dialects have been tending to converge into a single standardized language.
Country
![Roper River tribes, Northern Territory](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Roper_River_tribes%2C_Northern_Territory.png)
. Historically, the land occupied by the Jawoyn, which
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 ...
has estimated covered about , were in the
Katherine Gorge
Nitmiluk National Park is in the Northern Territory of Australia, 244 km southeast of Darwin, and 23 km northeast of the town of Katherine, around a series of gorges on the Katherine River and Edith Falls. Previously named Katherine ...
area in 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 Jawoyn call this area ''Nitmiluk'', a name derived from the word ''nitmi'' (which refers to the cicada song that Nabilil the crocodile is said to have heard when he set up camp at the entrance to a particular gorge) and the word ''luk'', which means "place". “Nitmiluk” specifically denotes a 12 kilometre stretch there, consisting of a spectacular chain of chasms and ravines. It has been suggested that the Jawoyn people refers not only to those who speak a Jawoyn language, but also to those who are associated with the landscapes inscribed in the Jawoyn language according to their foundational mythology of the Dreamtime. The language itself, in several varieties was spoken along the
Katherine River system as far as the Mainoru River. Their southern limits were around
Maranboy
Maranboy was a tin mine near Barunga, about 70 kilometres east of Katherine in the Northern Territory of Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian ...
, and their western extension came close to
Katherine
Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria.
In the early Christ ...
.
Mythology
A widespread belief in Aboriginal thought holds that each language emerged during the formative time of creation when a demiurgic totem figure moved through the landscape crafting it and, simultaneously, endowing each topological feature with its proper word. The creative being changed the language at certain transit points which then were taken as boundary markers between tribes speaking different languages. Thus, in Jawoyn thinking, the landscape of the
Katherine Gorge
Nitmiluk National Park is in the Northern Territory of Australia, 244 km southeast of Darwin, and 23 km northeast of the town of Katherine, around a series of gorges on the Katherine River and Edith Falls. Previously named Katherine ...
was created in the primordial time (''burr'') by ''Nabilil'' (Crocodile), who named all of the area's distinctive features in the Jawoyn language. He came from the sea, furnished with his firestick (''meya'') and moved through what became
Dagoman and
Nangiomeri lands before reaching the gorge.
The ''Burr''
Dreamtime
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 ...
also contains other key figures of myth such as ''Boolong'' (the
Rainbow Serpent
The Rainbow Serpent or Rainbow Snake is a common deity often seen as the creator God, known by numerous names in different Australian Aboriginal languages by the many different Aboriginal peoples. It is a common motif in the art and religion ...
) and ''Barraya'' (the
kookaburra
Kookaburras are terrestrial tree kingfishers of the genus ''Dacelo'' native to Australia and New Guinea, which grow to between in length and weigh around . The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri ''guuguubarra'', onomatopoeic of its call. The ...
).
History of contact
Many Jawoyn moved to Tandandjal on the ridge affording spring water of a grassy plain 44 miles east-north of Maranboy in November 1948 when a short-lived government settlement for Aborigines had been established. The surrounding hills were thickly forested with lancewoods and eucalypts. While exploring the area in June of that year, 1948, Mr. Ivan Frazer came across a cave littered with stone artifacts, whose walls were adorned with paintings.
Notable people and events
*
John Ah Kit
*
Ngaree Ah Kit
Ngaree Jane Ah Kit (born 4 June 1981) is an Australian politician, who was elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly at the 2016 general election, representing the electoral division of Karama, Darwin, for the Labor Party. Ah Kit ...
Bangardi Robert Lee (1952–2005), a leader of the Bagala clan, initiated the
Barunga Sport and Cultural Festival in 1985. It became an important forum for sharing ideas, showcasing the
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 ...
and
Torres Strait Islander
Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia, they are often groupe ...
cultures and talent, and to engage with social and political issues. At the 1988 event, the Jaowyn council met with representatives of the Northern and Central Land Councils,
Galarrwuy Yunupingu
Galarrwuy Yunupingu (born 30 June 1948), also known as James Galarrwuy Yunupingu and Dr Yunupingu, is a leader in the Aboriginal Australian community, and has been involved in the fight for Indigenous land rights in Australia throughout his ca ...
AM and
Wenten Rubuntja
Wenten Rubuntja (c. 1923 – 2005) was an Australian artist, Aboriginal rights activist, and historian.
Wenten was born at Bart's Creek, about 56 km north of Alice Springs.
A meeting of representatives of Central Australian Aboriginal co ...
AM, and the Prime Minister
Bob Hawke and Minister for Indigenous Affairs. At the event, Yunupingu and Rubuntja presented Hawke with the
Barunga Statement
Barunga, formerly known as Beswick Creek and then Bamyili, is a small Aboriginal community located approximately southeast of Katherine, in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is part of the Roper Gulf Region local government area. At the ...
, which asserted the rights of the Indigenous owner-occupiers of Australia.
Seasons
Alternative names
* ''Adowen''
* ''Charmong''
* ''Chau-an''
* ''Djauun''
* ''Djauwung''
* ''Djawin''
* ''Djawun''
* ''Djouan''
* ''Jawan, Jawony, Kumertuo,'' according to
Ethnologue
* ''Jawin''
* ''Tjauen''
* ''Tweinbol''
Some words
* ''Bobo''. "Goodbye"
* ''Yowoyn''. "Yes", "alright"
Source:
See also
*
Edith Falls
The Edith Falls ( Aboriginal Jawoyn language: ''Leliyn'') is a series of cascading waterfalls and pools on the Edith River in the Nitmiluk National Park, located approximately north of Katherine, in the Northern Territory of Australia.
The f ...
*
Nitmiluk National Park
Nitmiluk National Park is in the Northern Territory of Australia, 244 km southeast of Darwin, and 23 km northeast of the town of Katherine, around a series of gorges on the Katherine River and Edith Falls. Previously named Katherine ...
Notes
Citations
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{{Authority control
Aboriginal peoples of the Northern Territory
Katherine, Northern Territory