In the tribal law of the

Noongar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the so ...

, an

indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

people, a kinship classification system determined descent and inheritance, and enforced restrictions on intermarriage between certain groups.

Types

'' Western Australia: An atlas of human endeavour'' divides the Noongar classification systems into four types:

Perth

* Matrilineal moieties and

matrilineal Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's lineage – and which can involve the inheritance ...

clans * Includes Amangu, Yued, Wadjuk, Pinjareb, Wilmen, Ganeang, and Wardandi. These groups were split between the (White Cockatoo) Manitjmat and (Australian Raven) Wardungmat moieties; children were born into the mother's

moiety Moiety may refer to: Chemistry * Moiety (chemistry), a part or functional group of a molecule ** Moiety conservation, conservation of a subgroup in a chemical species Anthropology * Moiety (kinship), either of two groups into which a society is ...

. Both groups are

exogamous Exogamy is the social norm of marrying outside one's social group. The group defines the scope and extent of exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. One form of exogamy is dual exogamy, in which two groups ...

Bibelmen

Patrilineal Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritan ...

moieties and patrilineal local descent groups * Includes Bibelmen and Mineng These groups used the same Manitjmat and Wardunmat moieties, but they determined descent

patrilineal Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritan ...

ly.

Nyakinyaki

* They had section levels similar to the Western Desert types, which were both patrilineal local descent groups * Includes Balardong and Nyakinyaki These groups used (Bee-eater) Birranga and (Sacred Kingfisher) Djuak as the "skin" groups.

Wudjari

* Similar to the Nyakinyaki, but they had named patrilineal "totemic" descent units. * Includes Goreng and Wudjari

Terminology

Local descent groups are generally patrilineal in type, in which members are linked by both descent and through mythological ties to a named ancestor. Local descent groups are always

. They are associated with specific territories held collectively in trust in perpetuity. Totemic descent groups are similar, but the mythical significance of the species after whom the descent group is named is much stronger, and figures much more significantly in the myths of its members. Members may not be genealogically related, and these groups are almost always exogamous. * in patrilineal totemic descent clans: territory is always important * in matrilineal totemic descent groups: territory is less important, as women frequently move from their matrilineal areas. Moieties are two mutually exclusive categories, by which everyone in the world is classified; they are always exogamous. Moieties may be determined by either patrilineal or matrilineal kinship and descent (determined by the moiety of the father or the mother). Alternate generation levels classify a person in the same generation level with grandparents and grandchildren. Parents and children would also share the same generation level. In alternate generation levels, marriage is endogamous. Sectional systems (often called "skin") are usually one of four named groups to which a person belongs by birth. (although "skin' may be conferred to outsiders as adults). These groups are always exogamous. Daisy Bates stated that under the system, each Noongar was placed in the same class as their mother, and no Noongar was permitted to marry someone of the same class as themselves. The classes were: * Ballaroke * Tdondarup * Ngotak * Nagarnook * Nogonyuk * Mongalung * Narrangur Early observers of Noongar culture were sometimes confused by aspects of this kinship and class systems.

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Go ...

incorrectly referred to the class names as family names, for example. Some confusion was also caused because a Noongar might refer to any relative of the same generation and class as themselves as their brother or sister; similarly, any older woman of the same class could be referred to as their mother.

References

* * * {{cite book, author = Berndt, R.M., year=1979, title = Western Australia:An atlas of human endeavour, 1829-1979, publisher = The Education Committee WAY79, Education and Lands and Surveys Department of Western Australia, display-authors=etal Noongar culture