The Luritja dialect is the language of the

Luritja people The Luritja or Loritja people, also known as Kukatja or Kukatja-Luritja, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory. Their traditional lands are immediately west of the Derwent River, that forms a frontier with the Arrernte pe ...

, an Aboriginal Australian group indigenous to parts of the Northern Territory and Western Australia. It is one of several dialects in the Western Desert language group.

Origin and meaning of ''Luritja''

The name ''luritja'' is thought to derive from the

Arrernte Arrernte (also spelt Aranda, etc.) is a descriptor related to a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples from Central Australia. It may refer to: * Arrernte (area), land controlled by the Arrernte Council (?) * Arrernte people, Aboriginal Australi ...

word ''lurinya'', 'foreigner'. It appears to have originally been applied by Arrernte speakers to people of the Western Desert Language group who had relocated onto Arrernte lands in the process of moving (or being moved) from remote desert areas to the region closer to

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'' Al ...

. Over time younger generations have taken on the term as their

ethnonym An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and used ...

, possibly unaware of its origin.

Area

The Luritja lands include areas to the west and south of Alice Springs, extending around the edge of

country. The area surrounding Papunya, including

Mount Liebig Mount Liebig is a mountain with an elevation of in the southern part of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is one of the highest peaks of the MacDonnell Ranges and was named by the explorer Ernest Giles after the German chemist Justus v ...

is often referred to as Papunya Luritja, both in land and language, while areas to the south-east around

Aputula Aputula (formerly Finke until the 1980s) is a remote Indigenous Australian community in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is south of Alice Springs and east of Kulgera roadhouse on the Stuart Highway, near the border with South Australi ...

and Maryvale are often referred to as Titjikala Luritja (Maryvale is the name of the cattle station on Titjikala land). The area around Ulpanyali and Watarrka National Park (Kings Canyon) is also referred to as Luritja country and the dialect of Luritja spoken there is referred to as Southern Luritja (it isidentical to Titjikala Luritja). The variety of Luritja spoken at Kintore is often referred to as Pintupi/Luritja.

Pintupi-Luritja

Papunya Luritja

Papunya Luritja is the variety of Luritja spoken around the community of Papunya, and also west through

to Kintore. Like Luritja generally, Papunya Luritja is a dialect of the Western Desert Language and is closely related to the Pintupi language of the area around Kintore and further west. Papunya Luritja has probably also been influenced by western varieties of Arrernte as well as Warlpiri.

Titjikala Luritja

This variety is also a dialect of the Western Desert Language spoken in

Titjikala Titjikala (also known as Tapatjatjaka and formerly known as " Maryvale", after the cattle station at the community of the same name) is an Aboriginal community in the south of the Northern Territory of Australia. At the , Titjikala had a popul ...

. While it is quite similar to Papunya Luritja, it shows notable differences probably having been derived mostly from Pitjantjatjara as well as being influenced by Antakarinya and the more southern varieties of Arrernte.

Population

The total population of Luritja people (including Papunya Luritja) is probably in the thousands, making them the third largest of the

Central Australian 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 ...

Aboriginal populations, behind

and Pitjantjatjara.

Artwork

The Luritja area relies heavily on the sale of artwork; Luritja artwork has a large number of famous artists and many companies that specifically cater for the sale of Luritja art. The

Papunya Tula Papunya Tula, registered as Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd, is an artist cooperative formed in 1972 in Papunya, Northern Territory, owned and operated by Aboriginal people from the Western Desert of Australia. The group is known for its innovative ...

company in particular is world-renowned for its artists, most of whom reside at Papunya and Kintore.

References

{{Languages of Australia Western Desert language Luritja