The Walmadjari (Walmajarri) people, also known as Tjiwaling and Wanaseka, are an
Aboriginal Australian
Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands.
Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...
people of the
Kimberley
Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to:
Places and historical events
Australia
Queensland
* Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas
South Australia
* County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia
Ta ...
region of
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
.
Name
The two names reflect different Walmadjari preferences. Their western bands accept Tjiwaling as an ethnonym, as it is a designation peoples neighbouring them further west employ. The eastern bands prefer the Walmadjari
autonym
Autonym may refer to:
* Autonym, the name used by a person to refer to themselves or their language; see Exonym and endonym
* Autonym (botany), an automatically created infrageneric or infraspecific name
See also
* Nominotypical subspecies, in zo ...
, or conversely, define themselves as the ''Wanaseka'', as opposed to the ''Tjiwaling'', side.
Language
Walmadjari belongs to the
Ngumpin–Yapa branch of the
Pama-Nyungan language family.
Country
Norman Tindale
Norman Barnett Tindale AO (12 October 1900 – 19 November 1993) was an Australian anthropologist, archaeologist, entomologist and ethnologist. He is best remembered for his work mapping the various tribal groupings of Aboriginal Australians ...
's estimation assigned the Walmadjari roughly of territory on the desert plateau south of the
Fitzroy and Christmas Creek valleys and from
Kunkadea (Noonkanbah), as far east as the Cummins Range. Their southern limits ran along the
Canning Stock Route
The Canning Stock Route is a track that runs from Halls Creek, Western Australia, Halls Creek in the Kimberley (Western Australia), Kimberley region of Western Australia to Wiluna, Western Australia, Wiluna in the Mid West (Western Australia), ...
to ''Kardalapuru'' (Well 47). Sometime in the latter half of the 19th century, a group of Walmadjari, who are called ''Ngainan'', took over some
Gooniyandi territory, the downs north of Christmas Creek between Mellon Spring and Landrigan Cliffs.
Alternative names
* ''Walmajari, Walmadjeri, Walmade're, Wolmadjari, Walmajeri, Wolmaijari''
* ''Wulumari, Wolmeri, Wolmera''
* ''Walmaharri, Walmaharry, Wolmaharry''
* ''Warigari Pundur'' (
Gugadja exonym
An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...
signifying 'cannibals')
* ''Walmajai'' (
Nyigina pronunciation)
* ''Wulumarai''
* ''Wanmadjari''
* ''Tjiwaling'' (
Mangala
Mangala (, IAST: ) is the personification, as well as the name for the planet Mars, in Hindu literature. Also known as Lohita (), he is the deity of anger, aggression, as well as war. According to Vaishnavism, he is the son of Bhumi, the eart ...
exonym)
* ''Djualin''
* ''Tjiwali''
* ''Tjiwalindja, Djiwalinja''
* ''Djuwali, Djiwalinj''
* ''Ngadjukura'' (language name)
* ''Pitangu'' (pejorative Gugadja ethnonym)
* ''Wanaeka, Waneiga''
* ''Ngainan, Nganang''
* ''Warmala'' (generic term for several Western Desert tribes)
Notable Walmadjari
*
Ningali Lawford (1967–2019), actress
*
Jimmy Pike (c.1940–2002), artist
*
Mitch Torres (born 1964), actress, filmmaker, radio presenter, and writer
*
Kankawa Nagarra (Olive Knight) (born 1943), musician
Notes
Citations
Sources
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{{authority control
Aboriginal peoples of Western Australia
Mid West (Western Australia)
Pilbara