The Emmiyangal, also known as the ''Amijangal,'' are an

indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

people of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

in Australia,

Language

Emmi is one of the

Marranj language Marranj is an Australian Aboriginal language, a dialect continuum consisting of Maranunggu (Merranunggu, Marranj Warrgat), Menhthe, and Emmi. Phonology Consonants * Voiceless stop sounds /p, t, t̠ʲ, k/ may also fluctuate to voiced sounds ...

s of the Western Daly family once widely spoken on the coast of Anson Bay southwest of Darwin. It may be mutually intelligible with Patjtjamalh. The leading authority on the Emmiyangal, Lysbeth Ford, estimated in the late 90s that Emmi had approximately two dozen speakers. In 2003 Barbara Grimes set the figure at around 30.

Country

The Emmiyangal are an Anson Bay people.

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 ...

calculated their tribal lands at around . More precisely Bill Stranner located the Emmiyangal on the coastal area running south where the Daly River, flows into the

Timor Sea The Timor Sea (, , or ) is a relatively shallow sea in the Indian Ocean bounded to the north by the island of Timor with Timor-Leste to the north, Indonesia to the northwest, Arafura Sea to the east, and to the south by Australia. The Sunda Tr ...

, and as far as the vicinity of about Red Cliff. Emmiyangal tradition places them between ''Banagaya'' and ''Mabulhuk'' (Cape Ford).

People

The Emmiyangal were once thought to be closely related to the Wogait,

Arthur Capell Arthur Capell (28 March 1902 – 10 August 1986) was an Australian linguist, who made major contributions to the study of Australian languages, Austronesian languages and Papuan languages. Early life Capell was born in Newtown, New South W ...

, and Stanner claiming that the two were virtually interchangeable ( "virtually identical.") Their closest linguistic and cultural ties are now known to be with the Menhdheyangal. On the basis of differences in dialect between the two, however, Tindale designated them as an independent tribal reality. Today the majority of Emmiyangal reside either at the government settlement of Belyuen on the

Cox Peninsula __NOTOC__ The Wagait Shire is a local government area in the Northern Territory of Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Au ...

, with a single family at the Balgal outstation at Anson Bay, and another at

Wadeye Wadeye ( ) is a town in Australia's Northern Territory (NT). It was formerly known (and is still often referred to) as Port Keats, a name originating from Port Keats Mission, which operated from 1935 (originally at a different location, known as ...

Language

Country

People

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