The Mariu were 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 ...
. Their language is unattested, but may have been
Miriwung.
Country
In
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 the Mariu's territory covered some in the area south of where the
Victoria River enters the
Joseph Bonaparte Gulf
Joseph Bonaparte Gulf is a large body of water off the coast of the Northern Territory and Western Australia and part of the Timor Sea. It was named after Joseph Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon and King of Naples (1806–1808) and then Spain (18 ...
. The
Bullo River also formed part of their land.
Social organization
In 1900,
R. H. Mathews, a surveyor and self-taught anthropologist, presented a paper attributing to the Mariu — together with other "large and important tribes", from both
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 ...
and the Northern Territory, such as the
Gija,
Perrakee
The Perrakee are assumed to have been an indigenous Australian tribe, now extinct.
People
The name Perrakee is mentioned only once in the ethnographic literature, by R. H. Mathews, writing in 1900, where he mentions this ethnonym, along with tho ...
,
Gooniyandi,
Nyigina,
Bunuba,
Djaru and
Walmadjari — an
8 section marriage system among clans, which he illustrated in the following general table.
Alternative names
* ''Mayu''
* ''Mayoo''
* ''Mariung''
Notes
Citations
Sources
*
*
Aboriginal peoples of the Northern Territory
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