The Ngardi, also spelled Ngarti, 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 Islands ...
people of the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
and
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
.
Name and grouping
Arthur Capell
Arthur Capell (28 March 1902 – 10 August 1986) was an Australian linguist, who made major contributions to the study of Australian languages, Austronesian languages and Papuan languages.
Early life
Capell was born in Newtown, New South Wales ...
took the term ''Ngardi'' to refer, not to a distinct tribe, but to a branch of the
Warlpiri, a point contested by
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 ...
, who maintained they were distinct.
The
Wanjina
The Wandjina, also written Wanjina and Wondjina and also known as Gulingi, are cloud and rain spirits from Australian Aboriginal mythology that are depicted prominently in rock art in Australia. Some of the artwork in the Kimberley region of Wes ...
and
Wunggurr
The Wandjina, also written Wanjina and Wondjina and also known as Gulingi, are cloud and rain spirits from Australian Aboriginal mythology that are depicted prominently in rock art in Australia. Some of the artwork in the Kimberley region of W ...
spirits are essential elements of the life of the
cultural bloc
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
known as the
Wanjina Wunggurr
The Worrorra, also written Worora, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley area of north-western Australia.
The term is sometimes used to describe speakers of the (Western) Worrorra language, and sometimes groups whose traditional ...
, generally consisting of the
Worrorra
The Worrorra, also written Worora, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley area of north-western Australia.
The term is sometimes used to describe speakers of the (Western) Worrorra language, and sometimes groups whose traditional ...
,
Wunambal
The Wunambal (Unambal), also known as Wunambal Gaambera, Uunguu (referring to their lands), and other names, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the northern Kimberley region of Western Australia.
People
The Wunambal were, according to Norma ...
and
Ngarinyin
The Ngarinyin or Ngarinjin are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Their language, Ngarinyin, is also known as Ungarinyin. When referring to their traditional lands, they refer to themselves as Wilinggin ...
peoples of the Kimberley.
For the purpose of a mineral rights agreement with a mining company in 2006, the Worrorra were also grouped with the Ngardi, as
Dambimangari
The Worrorra, also written Worora, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley area of north-western Australia.
The term is sometimes used to describe speakers of the (Western) Worrorra language, and sometimes groups whose traditional ...
(Dambima-Ngardi), said to share the Wanjina-Wunggurr belief systems. Rock paintings depicting Wanjina, as well as the
Gwion Gwion
The Gwion Gwion rock paintings, Gwion figures, Kiro Kiro or Kujon (previously known as the Bradshaw rock paintings, Bradshaw rock art, Bradshaw figures and the Bradshaws) are one of the two major regional traditions of rock art found in the nort ...
("Bradshaw") paintings, are evidence of the shared culture.
Country
In
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 calculations, the Ngarti's tribal territory stretched over approximately , covering the
sandhill country west of the
Tanami track
__NOTOC__
The Tanami Road, also known as the Tanami Track, Tanami Highway, and the McGuire Track, is a road in Australia that runs between the Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory and the Great Northern Highway in Western Australia. It is a ...
, extending from Chilla Well, the Granites, and Gardiner Range over the border into
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
at Ima Ima. They were present at Sturt Creek, and the
Pallottine Mission area at
Balgo Hill. Their southern extension, he adds, went as far as across the
mulga scrubland to Milidjipi and Tekkari north of
Lake Mackay
Lake Mackay, known as Wilkinkarra to the Indigenous Pintupi people, is the largest of hundreds of ephemeral salt lakes scattered throughout the Pilbara and northern parts of the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia and the Norther ...
.
Joint land claim
On 21 August 1980 a land claim was submitted by 90 claimants on behalf of the
Warlpiri,
Kukatja and Ngarti peoples, as
traditional owners
Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...
, under the ''
Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976
The ''Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976'' (ALRA) is Australian federal government legislation that provides the basis upon which Aboriginal Australian people in the Northern Territory can claim rights to land based on traditi ...
'', for an area of about . It was the 11th traditional land claim presented on behalf of Aboriginal
traditional owners
Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...
by 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 Te ...
. The land borders on areas in which each of the languages –
Ngarti
The Ngardi, also spelled Ngarti, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
Name and grouping
Arthur Capell took the term ''Ngardi'' to refer, not to a distinct tribe, but to a branch of the Warlpiri, a ...
,
Warlpiri, and
Kukatja – is dominant. People from the different language groups have been influenced by each other when residing at
Balgo, Western Australia
Balgo, previously Balgo Hills and Balgo Mission, is a community in Western Australia that is linked with both the Great Sandy Desert and the Tanami Desert. The community is in the Shire of Halls Creek, off the Tanami Road, and was established by ...
and
Lajamanu, Northern Territory
Lajamanu, formerly known as Hooker Creek Native Settlement or just Hooker Creek, is a small town of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located around from Katherine, Northern Territory, Katherine and approximately from Darwin, Norther ...
. The claim was presented at
Balgo Mission
Balgo, previously Balgo Hills and Balgo Mission, is a community in Western Australia that is linked with both the Great Sandy Desert and the Tanami Desert. The community is in the Shire of Halls Creek, off the Tanami Road, and was established by ...
. The recommendation handed down by
Justice Sir William Kearney
Sir William John Francis Kearney, (born 8 January 1935) is a retired Australian judge who served on the supreme courts of Papua New Guinea and the Northern Territory in Australia.
Career
William Kearney was born on 8 January 1935, to ...
on 23 August 1985
and presented on 19 August 1986 was that "the whole of the claim area be granted to a Land Trust for the benefit of Aboriginals entitled by tradition to its use or occupation, whether or not the traditional entitlement is qualified as to place, time, circumstance, purpose or permission".
Mineral rights agreement
in April 2006, the Aztec Resources (now
Mount Gibson Iron
Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest.
Mount or Mounts may also refer to:
Places
* Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England
* Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...
) mining company signed a co-existence agreement with the
Dambimangari
The Worrorra, also written Worora, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley area of north-western Australia.
The term is sometimes used to describe speakers of the (Western) Worrorra language, and sometimes groups whose traditional ...
(Dambima/
Worrorra
The Worrorra, also written Worora, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley area of north-western Australia.
The term is sometimes used to describe speakers of the (Western) Worrorra language, and sometimes groups whose traditional ...
-Ngardi)
traditional owners
Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...
of
Koolan Island
Koolan Island is an island off the Kimberley coast of Western Australia in the Buccaneer Archipelago. It is about north of Perth, and about north of Derby. It hosts deposits of high-grade iron ore.
Description
The island is approximately i ...
regarding their
iron ore
Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...
mining operations on the island. The agreement aimed to ensure that 30% of the 220 person workforce is filled by Indigenous people by the eighth year of operation.
Language
The Ngarti people spoke the
Ngardi language
Ngardi, also spelt Ngarti or Ngardilj, is an Australian Aboriginal language that is considered moribund. It was previously thought to be an alternative name for the Bunara language, but these are now classified as separate languages. It was/is ...
.
Alternative names
* ''Bunara, Boonara''
* ''Kolo''. (Pintubi
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, ...
)
* ''Kukuruba'' (Ngalia exonym)
* ''Manggai'' (
toponym
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
)
* ''Munga'' (?) (cited by
R. H. Mathews)
* ''Ngadi''
* ''Ngari''
* ''Panara''. (general term for grass seed winnowing tribes like the Ngarti)
* ''Puruwantung, Buruwatung''
* ''Waiangara''
* ''Waiangari'' (
Ngalia exonym)
* ''Waingara, Waiangadi''
* ''Walmala'' (pejorative)
* ''
Waringari
Ngardi, also spelt Ngarti or Ngardilj, is an Australian Aboriginal language that is considered moribund. It was previously thought to be an alternative name for the Bunara language, but these are now classified as separate languages. It was/is ...
, Warangari''. (Warlpiri pejorative for the Ngarti)
* ''Wommana''
* ''Woneiga, Wanayaga''
Source:
See also
*
Ngururrpa
The Ngurrara and Ngururrpa are overlapping groupings of Aboriginal Australian peoples of the Great Sandy Desert, in the central Pilbara and southern Kimberley regions of Western Australia. Both groups are represented by various Aboriginal corpo ...
, a grouping of peoples of language groups including Ngardi
Notes
Citations
Sources
*
*
{{authority control
Aboriginal peoples of the Northern Territory
Aboriginal peoples of Western Australia