The Nari-Nari 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 ...

group in the

Riverina The Riverina () is an agricultural list of regions in Australia, region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, a climate with significant seaso ...

region of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The Nari-Nari are believed by historians to have formed in the

Balranald Balranald is a town within the Local government in Australia, local government area of Balranald Shire, in the Murray (New South Wales), Murray region of far south-western New South Wales, Australia. The town of Balranald is located where the ...

area on the lower

Murrumbidgee River The Murrumbidgee River () is a major tributary of the Murray River within the Murray–Darling basin and the second longest river in Australia. It flows through the Australian state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, desce ...

, from the amalgamation of a number of groups in neighbouring areas such as the

Wiradjuri The Wiradjuri people (; ) are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales, united by common descent through kinship and shared traditions. They survived as skilled hunter-fisher-gatherers, in family groups or clans, a ...

and the

Watiwati The Watiwati are an Aboriginal Australian people traditionally living on both sides of the Murray River, from Victoria to New South Wales. Language They spoke Wadi Wadi, and their ethnonym, also transcribed ''Watiwati'', is formed by a reduplicat ...

. The Nari-Nari share a western border with the

Muthi Muthi The Muthi Muthi people are an indigenous Australian people whose traditional lands are located in the Northern Riverina and Far West regions of New South Wales. The Muthi Muthi are the traditional owners of Nimmie Caira and the Lowbidgee and ...

tribe.

Language

Nari Nari, a dialect of Wemba Wemba, is part of a

language revival Language revitalization, also referred to as language revival or reversing language shift, is an attempt to halt or reverse the decline of a language or to revive an extinct one. Those involved can include linguists, cultural or community group ...

project. The word ''nari'' corresponds to the English word "no".

Country

Nari-Nari country consists of some of land. The western border lay on the southern bank of the Lachlan River, from

Booligal Booligal is a village in the Riverina area of western New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It is located on the Cobb Highway, on the Lachlan River north of Hay. Booligal is a part of Hay Shire local government area. The name of the village is an ...

, to just above

. From here, running eastwards it followed the line of the

Hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticate ...

; south to about Booroorban. The Wemba-Wemba tribal frontier formed its southern border, while the

Barababaraba The Barababaraba people (also spelt ''Barapabarapa'') are an indigenous Australian people whose territory covered parts of southern New South Wales and northern Victoria. They had close connections with the Wemba Wemba. Barababaraba have ext ...

lay on its southeastern flank. To their northwest were the

Jitajita The Jitajita, otherwise spelt ''Yitayita,'' are an indigenous Australian people of southern New South Wales. Language The Yitayita spoke one of the languages of the lower Murray river group that included Dadi Dadi and Kureinji, and is distinc ...

. Today the Nari-Nari people are represented by the Nari-Nari Tribal Council, formed in 2000. The council has, through the

Indigenous Land Corporation The Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation (ILSC) is an Australian federal government statutory authority with national responsibilities to assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to acquire land and to manage assets to achieve cultura ...

, purchased two

stations Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle stat ...

west of Hay to ensure the continued protection of the sites.

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * *

External links

Nari-Nari Tribal Council
- Official website {{authority control Aboriginal peoples of New South Wales Riverina