The Alyawarre, also spelt Alyawarr and also known as the Iliaura, 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 I ...

people, or language group, from the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

. The Alyawarre are made up of roughly 1,200 associated peoples and actively engage in local traditions such as awelye painting.

Country

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 estimate in 1974 assigned to the Alyawarre traditional tribal lands extending over some , taking in the Sandover and Bundey rivers, as well as Ooratippra, and Fraser creeks. Notable sites associated with their nomadic world include Mount Swan, northern flank of

Harts Range Harts Range is a town in the Northern Territory of Australia located on the Plenty Highway by road northeast of Alice Springs. Most of its population are of Aboriginal descent, residing in the nearby community of Atitjere. Since 1947, each ...

, Plenty River north and west of Ilbala, Jervois Range, Mount Playford and the Elkedra River. They were also present at MacDonald Downs and Huckitta. The

Utopia community Utopia is an Aboriginal Australian homeland area formed in November 1978 by the amalgamation of the former Utopia pastoral lease with a tract of unalienable land to its north. It covers an area of , transected by the Sandover River, and lies o ...

, north-east of

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' A ...

, is partly on Alyawarre land, partly on land of the

Anmatyerre The Anmatyerr, also spelt Anmatyerre, Anmatjera, Anmatjirra, Amatjere and other variations) are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory, who speak one of the Upper Arrernte languages. Language Anmatyerr is divided into Easte ...

Language

The Alyawarre people speak a dialect of

Upper Arrernte Arrernte or Aranda (; ) or sometimes referred to as Upper Arrernte (Upper Aranda), is a dialect cluster in the Arandic language group spoken in parts of the Northern Territory, Australia, by the Arrernte people. Other spelling variations are ...

known as Alyawarre.

Social organisation

The Alyawarre had a four-section marriage system. * ''Pitjara'' * ''Kngwarija'' * ''Kimara'' * ''Pula''

Demography

C. L. Yallop estimated the Alyawarre community to number 500-600 people in 1969. They were mainly concentrated at

Lake Nash Alpurrurulam, from the original Aboriginal name ''Ilperrelhelame'', also known as Lake Nash, is a locality in the Northern Territory of Australia located in the territory's east about south-east of the territory capital of Darwin and about ea ...

, the

Georgina River The Georgina River is the north-westernmost of the three major rivers of the Channel Country in Central West Queensland, that also flows through a portion of the Northern Territory, in central Australia. Part of the Lake Eyre basin, the Geor ...

, McDonald Downs, on the Bundey River, and the

Warrabri Ali Curung ( Kaytetye: Alekarenge; formerly Warrabri) is an Indigenous Australian community in the Barkly Region of the Northern Territory. The community is located 170 km (106 mi) south of Tennant Creek, and 378 km (235 mi) no ...

Reserve. In the

2016 Australian Census The 2016 Australian census was the 17th national population census held in Australia. The census was officially conducted with effect on Tuesday, 9 August 2016. The total population of the Commonwealth of Australia was counted as – an incre ...

, there were 347 Alyawarre recorded in the "Utopia - Arawerr - Arlparra" Indigenous location. Only 4% of households only spoke English at home.

Native title

In 1980 the Alyawarre made a

land claim A land claim is defined as "the pursuit of recognized territorial ownership by a group or individual". The phrase is usually only used with respect to disputed or unresolved land claims. Some types of land claims include aboriginal land claims, A ...

together with the Anmatyerre for the Utopia

pastoral lease A pastoral lease, sometimes called a pastoral run, is an arrangement used in both Australia and New Zealand where government-owned Crown land is leased out to graziers for the purpose of livestock grazing on rangelands. Australia Pastoral lease ...

. In the same year, the lodged a claim along with the

Wakaya people The Wakaya are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory. Country Norman Tindale's estimate of the Wakaya's territory assigns them some . Language The Wakaya language is now extinct. Social economy The Wakaya were one of the A ...

for land around the remote outstation of Purrukwarra. As a result, they were handed back on 22 October 1992, while the Wakaya were given , both only small parts of the original claim.

Alternative spellings

* ''Aliawara, Alyawara, Alyawarra'' * ''Alyawarr, Aljawarra'' * ''Ilawara'' * ''Iliaura, Illiaura, Iljaura, Ilyaura'' * ''Illura'' * ''Ilyowra Illyowra'' * ''Jaljuwara'' * ''Yalyuwara'' Source:

Some words

* ''.'' (kangaroo) * ' (emu) * ''.'' (dog, dingo) * ''.'' (honey-ant) Source:

Notable people

Emily Kame Kngwarreye Emily Kame Kngwarreye (or Emily Kam Ngwarray) (1910 – 3 September 1996) was an Aboriginal Australian artist from the Utopia community in the Northern Territory. She is one of the most prominent and successful artists in the history of Austr ...

, artist *

Ngarla Kunoth Rosalie Lynette Kunoth-Monks (4 January 193726 January 2022), also known as Ngarla Kunoth, was an Australian film actress, Aboriginal activist and politician. Early life Rosalie Lynette Kunoth was born on 4 January 1937 in Utopia, Northern ...

who played

Jedda ''Jedda'', released in the UK as ''Jedda the Uncivilized'', is a 1955 Australian film written, produced and directed by Charles Chauvel. His last film, it is notable for being the first to star two Aboriginal actors, Robert Tudawali and Ngarl ...

in the 1956 Chauvel film of the same name, now

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education (BIITE, generally known as Batchelor Institute and formerly known as Batchelor College) provides training and further education, and higher education for Aboriginal Australians and Torres St ...

Kathleen Petyarre Kathleen Petyarre (born Kweyetwemp Petyarre; c. 1940 – 24 November 2018) was an Australian Aboriginal artist. Her art refers directly to her country and her Dreamings. Petyarre's paintings have occasionally been compared to the works of Ame ...

is an Alyawarre / Eastern Anmatyerre artist *

Gloria Petyarre Gloria Petyarre, also known as Gloria Pitjara was born in 1942 in Utopia, Northern Territory, Australia. She was an Aboriginal Australian artist from the Anmatyerre community, just north of Alice Springs. One of her best known works is "Bush Me ...

, artist *

Nancy Petyarre Nancy Kunoth Petyarre (between 1934 and 1939 – August 2009) was an Australian Aboriginal artist who lived in Utopia, 170 miles north east of Alice Springs. The second eldest of the famous and prolific 'seven famous Petyarre sisters' of Utopia ...

, artist *

Jeanna Petyarre Jeanna Petyarre (b. 1950), also known as Jeannie Petyarre, is a member of a family of artists that includes Kathleen Petyarre, Ada Bird Petyarre and Emily Kame Kngwarreye. Jeanna Petyarre is from the Utopia district of Central Australia. Her w ...

, artist *

Minnie Pwerle Minnie Pwerle (also Minnie Purla or Minnie Motorcar Apwerl; born between 1910 and 1922 – 18 March 2006) was an Australian Aboriginal artist. She came from Utopia, Northern Territory (''Unupurna'' in local language), a cattle station in the ...

, artist (from Alyawarre and

language groups) *

Elkin Reilly Elkin Reilly (2 April 1939 – 3 September 2020) was a former Australian rules footballer, representing South Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He was one of the earlier Australian Aboriginals to play in the VFL. ...

played for

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at ...

in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL) *

Barbara Weir Barbara (originally Florrie) Weir (born c. 1945, died 3 January 2023) is an Australian Aboriginal artist and politician. One of the Stolen Generations, she was removed from her Aboriginal family and raised in a series of foster homes. In the ...

, artist

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * {{Authority control Aboriginal peoples of the Northern Territory