The Wagiman, also spelt Wagoman, Wagaman, Wogeman, and other variants, 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 ...
.
Language
The
Wagiman language
Wagiman, also spelt Wageman, Wakiman, Wogeman, and other variants, is a near-extinct Aboriginal Australian language spoken by a small number of Wagiman peopleGordon, R. G., Jr. (2005) in and around Pine Creek, in the Katherine Region of the N ...
is a
language isolate
Language isolates are languages that cannot be classified into larger language families. Korean and Basque are two of the most common examples. Other language isolates include Ainu in Asia, Sandawe in Africa, and Haida in North America. The num ...
. It has been contrasted for its comparative roughness to the smooth, euphonious sound of
Marrithiel spoken down country by the
Marrithiyal people.
Country
The Wagiman had, in
Tindale's estimation, approximately of territory in the area southwest of the
Daly River, and in the area of Dorisvale, and from Bamboo Creek northwards as far as Douglas Homestead. Their frontier to the west, west of Oooloo, lay on the Daly River Crossing close to Mount Nancar, a place where they were accustomed to meet up with the neighbouring tribes, the
Kamor
The Kamor is a mountain in the Appenzell Alps and has an elevation of . It is part of a mountain belt which forms the western boundary of the Rhine Valley and is located on the border of the Swiss cantons Appenzell Innerrhoden and Canton of St. G ...
and
Ngolokwangga. It was considered a stony country.
Social organisation
The western tribes of the Wagiman were called collectively the Wongkakaringa, according to Tindale.
Alternative names
* ''Wagaman, Wageman, Wogeman''
* ''Wongkakaringa''
* ''Ongkakaringa''
Notes
Citations
Sources
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{{authority control
Aboriginal peoples of the Northern Territory