The Nyangumarta people, also written Njaŋumada, Njangamada, Njanjamarta and other variations, are a nation of

Aboriginal Australians 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 ...

from the northwestern coast of

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 ...

. 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 ...

, they are divided into two distinct branches, the Kundal and the Iparuka.

Language

Nyangumarta belongs to the Marrngu branch of the

Pama–Nyungan languages The Pama–Nyungan languages are the most widespread family of Australian Aboriginal languages, containing 306 out of 400 Aboriginal languages in Australia. The name "Pama–Nyungan" is a merism: it derived from the two end-points of the range: ...

, together with Mangarla and

Karajarri The Karajarri are an Aboriginal Australian people, who once lived south-west of the Kimberleys in the northern Pilbara region, predominantly between the coastal area and the Great Sandy Desert. They now mostly reside at Bidyadanga, south of B ...

Country

Njangumarta Kundal country extended over some , while that of Njangumarta Iparuka comprised an estimated . Together they encompass areas from the

Great Sandy Desert The Great Sandy Desert is an interim Australian bioregion,IBRA Version 6.1
data

south through to

Eighty Mile Beach Eighty Mile Beach, also spelled Eighty-mile Beach or 80-mile Beach, lies along the north-west coast of Western Australia about half-way between the towns of Broome and Port Hedland. It is a beach some in length, forming the coastline where t ...

, including

Pardoo Station Pardoo Station is a pastoral lease, formerly a sheep station, and now a cattle station approximately east of Port Hedland and north of Marble Bar, in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Description The property used to be about in s ...

, Wallal Downs Station and

Anna Plains Station Anna Plains Station is a cattle station in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Location The station is situated on the Western Australian coast south of Broome. It lies in the Shire of Broome in the Kimberley region and in the Dam ...

Geoffrey O'Grady Geoffrey O'Grady (1 January 1928 -29 December 2008) was a professor Emeritus of linguistics whose primary field of specialisation was Australian Aboriginal languages. Life and career O'Grady trained as a jackaroo and worked as a stockman at ...

affirmed that the original extent of their lands at the beginning of white colonial penetration in their domain was , but that their linguistic expansion and influence had increased substantially since then.

Present day

Most Nyangumarta people now live in Broome, Bidyadanga and

Port Hedland A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

, though they still regularly visit their country.

Native title

Their

traditional owner 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 ...

ship of this country was recognised in 2009 by the

Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indic ...

Alternative names

* ''Njangamada, Nyangamada, Nangamada, Nangamurda, Njangomada, Njangumada'' * ''Njangumarda, Nangumarda, Njangomada, Nyangumada, Nyangumata'' * ''Njadamarda, Njanjamarta'' * ''Ngapakoreilitja'' (northern name, "southern waters people") * ''Ngardungardu'' (northern name, contrasting with ''Nganudu'' (southern Njaŋumada) * ''Warmala'' (pejorative northern Njangamarda term for southerners) * ''Kundal'' (name for northern coastal Njangamarda) * ''Kundal and Waljuli Njangamarda'' (southern inlanders names for northern coastal Njangamarda) * ''Kularupulu'' (name applied jointly to coastal Njangamarda and

) * ''Iparuka'' (name used by southern bands) * ''Ngapakarna'' (another southern

endonym 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, ...

) * ''I:baruga, Ibarga, Ibarrga, Ibargo''

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * {{authority control Aboriginal peoples of Western Australia Pilbara Nyangumarta