The Anmatyerr, also spelt Anmatyerre, Anmatjera, Anmatjirra, Amatjere and other variations) are an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the T ...

people of 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 Au ...

, who speak one of the

Upper Arrernte language 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 ...

Language

Anmatyerr is divided into Eastern and Western dialects, both dialects of Upper Arrernte.

Country

In 1974 the traditional lands of the Anmatyerr people in N.B. Tindale's ''Aboriginal Tribes of Australia'' were described as covering an area of . He specifies its central features as encompassing the Forster Range, Mount Leichhardt (''Arnka''),Mount Leichhardt
/ref> Coniston, Stuart Bluff Range to the east of West Bluff; the Hann and Reynolds Ranges (''Arwerlt Atwaty''); the Burt Plain north of Rembrandt Rocks and Connor Well. Their eastern frontier went as far as

Woodgreen Woodgreen is a village and civil parish within the New Forest district of Hampshire in England. Overview Woodgreen lies between Breamore and Hale to the east of the River Avon.

. To the northeast, their borders lay around central Mount Stuart (''Amakweng'') and Harper Springs.

Communities

Anmatyerr communities located within the region include ''Nturiya'' (Old Ti Tree Station), Ti-Tree ''Pmara Jutunta'' (6 Mile),

Willowra Willowra Station is a pastoral property in the Northern Territory of Australia located about north west of Alice Springs. This station straddles the Lander River and is adjacent to the Tanami Desert. History This station was formerly establi ...

, Laramba ( Napperby Station) and Alyuen. What is today known as the Anmatyerre region has significant overlap with

Warlpiri Warlpiri may refer to: * Warlpiri people, an indigenous people of the Tanami Desert, Central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Au ...

Arrernte Arrernte (also spelt Aranda, etc.) is a descriptor related to a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples from Central Australia. It may refer to: * Arrernte (area), land controlled by the Arrernte Council (?) * Arrernte people, Aboriginal Austral ...

and

Alyawarr The Alyawarre, also spelt Alyawarr and also known as the Iliaura, are an Aboriginal Australian people, or language group, from the Northern Territory. The Alyawarre are made up of roughly 1,200 associated peoples and actively engage in local tra ...

language communities. Many people come from two or three different language groups. The

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island socie ...

community, northeast 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'' Al ...

, and set up in 1927, is partly on Alyawarre land, partly on land of the Anmatyerre. As a specialist in Arandic culture and language T. G. H Strehlow also worked with Anmatyerr people throughout his career, recording much of their ceremonial traditions.

Alternative names

* ''Anmatjara'' * ''Imatjera'' * ''Janmadjara/Janmadjari'' (

exonym) * ''Janmatjiri.'' (

Pintupi The Pintupi are an Australian Aboriginal group who are part of the Western Desert cultural group and whose traditional land is in the area west of Lake Macdonald and Lake Mackay in Western Australia. These people moved (or were moved) into ...

exonym) * ''Nmatjera'' * ''Unmatjera'' (mainly an Aranda

exonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, o ...

) * ''Urmitchee'' * ''Yanmedjara, Yanmadjari.''

Notable people

Gwoya Jungarai Gwoya Tjungurrayi (c. 1895 – 28 March 1965), also spelt Gwoya Jungarai, Gwoya Djungarai and Gwoja Tjungarrayi, was a Walpiri- Anmatyerre man of the Northern Territory of Australia. Also known by his nickname One Pound Jimmy, he became the fi ...

, aka "One Pound Jimmy", was the first named Aboriginal person to appear on an Australian postage stamp, in 1950. *

Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri AO (1932 – 21 June 2002) was an Australian painter, considered to be one of the most collected and renowned Australian Aboriginal artists. His paintings are held in galleries and collections in Australia and ...

and Tim Leura Tjapaltjarri, stepsons of Gwoya Jungarai, were Anmatyerr artists credited as leaders of the

Contemporary Indigenous Australian art Contemporary Indigenous Australian art (also known as contemporary Aboriginal Australian art) is the modern art work produced by Indigenous Australians, that is, Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander people. It is generally regarded ...

movement. *

Emily 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 Aus ...

was an Anmatyerr artist who lived at

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 ...

. *

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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 Ada may refer to: Places Africa * Ada Foah, a town in Ghana * Ada (Ghana parliament constitue ...

and two other sisters, nieces of Emily Kngwarreye, are well-known

Alyawarre The Alyawarre, also spelt Alyawarr and also known as the Iliaura, are an Aboriginal Australian people, or language group, from the Northern Territory. The Alyawarre are made up of roughly 1,200 associated peoples and actively engage in local tra ...

/ Eastern Anmatyerre artists, also at Utopia. *

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 ...

was an Alyawarre / Anmatyerre artist.

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * * * *

External links

Northern Territory Govt

Anmatjerre Community Government Council
{{Authority control Aboriginal peoples of the Northern Territory