The Nyikina people (also spelt Nyigina and Nyikena, and listed as Njikena by
Tindale) are an
Aboriginal Australian people
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 ...
of the
Kimberley region 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 ...
.
They come from the lower
Fitzroy River (which they call ''mardoowarra'').
Language
The
Nyigina language
Nyikina (also Nyigina, Njigina) is an Australian Aboriginal language of Western Australia, spoken by the Nyigina people.
Warrwa may have been a dialect.
Classification
R. M. W. Dixon (2002) regards Nyikina, Warrwa, Yawuru and Jukun as a s ...
is one of several eastern varieties of the
Nyulnyulan languages
The Nyulnyulan languages are a small family of closely related Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in northern Western Australia. Most languages in this family are extinct, with only three extant languages, all of which are almost extinct.
...
, closely related to
Warrwa and
Yawuru
The Yawuru, also spelt Jawuru, are an Indigenous Australian people of the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
Language
A Japanese linguist, Hosokawa Kōmei (細川弘明), compiled the first basic dictionary of the Yawuru language in 1988, a ...
. It is still (2012) spoken by around 10 people.
Education
The Nyigina, together with the
Mangala people
The Mangarla, or Mangala, are an Aboriginal Australian people of Western Australia. The Mangarla people traditionally lived in the north-western area of the Great Sandy Desert, west of the Karajarri people, east of the Walmajarri, with the Juwali ...
, run the Nyikina Mangala Community School a school at
Jarlmadangah in West Kimberley. The Nyigina-Mangala peoples also run another school, together with the
Walmajarri
The Walmadjari (Walmajarri) people, also known as Tjiwaling and Wanaseka, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
Name
The two names reflect different Walmadjari preferences. Their western bands accept ...
, at
Looma.
Native title
In 1998 the Nyigina people undertook legal proceedings to pursue their
native title
Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism. The requirements of proof for the recognition of aboriginal title, ...
claims. One consisted of a ''Nyikina Mangala'' claim, which they shared with the Mangala while the other comprised the ''Nyikina- Warrwa'' pursued together with the closely related
Warrwa people. The
Shire of Derby settled an
Indigenous land use agreement
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 ...
with the Indigenous plaintiffs, regarding the ''Nikina Mangala'' area, and set down a
protocol
Protocol may refer to:
Sociology and politics
* Protocol (politics), a formal agreement between nation states
* Protocol (diplomacy), the etiquette of diplomacy and affairs of state
* Etiquette, a code of personal behavior
Science and technolog ...
that provided guarantees for surveying the Aboriginal cultural heritage before any development projects on the land could be undertaken. In 2014, after an 18-year legal battle, 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 ...
granted the Nyikina-Mangala petitioners native title over of territory, from King Sound through the
Fitzoy Valley to the
Great Sandy Desert
The Great Sandy Desert is an interim Australian bioregion,[IBRA Version 6.1](_blank)
data .
Prominent people
*
Paddy Roe
Paddy Roe (1912 (estimate) – 2001), also known as Lulu was an Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal Elder of the Goolarabooloo tribe (also spelt ''Gularabulu'') of the Nyigina people, Nyigina (also spelt ''Nyikina'', and listed as ''Njikena'' by N ...
was an Nyigina elder who wrote about Nyigina culture and religion.
*
Butcher Joe Nangan
Joe Nangan (Butcher Joe Nangan) (1900-1989) was an Aboriginal Australian lawman, ''jalngunguru'' (healer or cleverman) and artist. In his role as a custodian of legends, Nangan was responsible for the preservation of the sounds and performances ...
was a Nyigina
Maban
Maban, mabain or mabanba is a material that is held to be magical in Australian Aboriginal mythology. It is the material from which the shamans and elders of indigenous Australia supposedly derive their magical powers.
Among the Ngaanyatjarra pe ...
jarra, songman, and artist.
Notes
Citations
Sources
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Further reading
{{authority control
Aboriginal peoples of Western Australia
Broome, Western Australia