The Erawirung (Yirawirung, Jirawirung) people, also known as Yirau, Juju and other names, were 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 whose traditional territory was located in what is today the

Riverland The Riverland is a region of South Australia. It covers an area of along the Murray River, River Murray from where it flows into South Australia from New South Wales and Victoria (Australia), Victoria downstream to Blanchetown, South Australia ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. They consisted of sub-groups or clans, including Jeraruk, Rankbirit and Wilu, and have been referred to as Meru people, which was a larger grouping which could also include the Ngawait and Ngaiawang peoples.

Language

The Erawirung appear to have spoken a dialect of the Yuyu language common to their neighbours. This language group is alternatively called the Meru language group, and is included under this name on the AIATSIS language map.

Country

According to

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 ...

, Erawirung traditional lands covered about , around the eastern bank of the

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray; Ngarrindjeri language, Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta language, Yorta Yorta: ''Dhungala'' or ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is List of rivers of Australia, Aust ...

, reaching from north of Paringa past Loxton into the sandy stretches some to its south. Their western boundary reached from Rufus Creek into the vicinity of the Overland Corner.

Social organisation and economy

The Erawirung were divided into hordes, of which the following are known: * ''Jeraruk'' * ''Rankbirit'' (

totem A totem (from or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage (anthropology), lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. While the word ...

= eaglehawk) * ''Wilu'' They practised

circumcision Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. T ...

alone, but not dental evulsion in initiation rites.

Chert Chert () is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz, the mineral form of silicon dioxide (SiO2). Chert is characteristically of biological origin, but may also occur inorganically as a prec ...

mining in two of their localities, at Springcart Gully and at a site south of Renmark, formed an important element of the Erawirung economy, and the areas were strongly defended from neighbouring tribes.

History

Early ethnographers often classified the small Erawirung tribe as one of a collective group named the Meru people. The Erawirung were not mentioned by the nearby Jarildekald when interviewed by

Ronald Murray Berndt Ronald Murray Berndt (14 July 1916 – 2 May 1990) was an Australian social anthropologist who, in 1963, became the inaugural professor of anthropology at the University of Western Australia. He and his wife Catherine Berndt maintained a close ...

in the late 1930s – early 1940s.

Alternative names

* ''Eramwirrangu'' * ''Erawiruck'' * ''Jeraruk'' * ''Yerraruck'' * ''Yirau'' * ''Pomp-malkie'' * ''Meru'' (''meru'' meaning 'man') * ''Juju'' (

Maraura The Maraura or Marrawarra people are an Aboriginal group whose traditional lands are located in Far West New South Wales and South Australia, Australia. Language The Maraura spoke the southernmost dialect of Paakantyi. A wordlist of the lang ...

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 ...

, ''ju'' being their word for 'no') * ''Yuyu, You-you'' * ''Rankbirit'' * ''Wilu, Willoo''

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * * * * {{authority control Aboriginal peoples of South Australia History of South Australia