The Wagiman, also spelt Wagoman, Wagaman, Wogeman, and other variants, are 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 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 ...
.
Language
The
Wagiman language
Wagiman, also spelt Wageman, Wakiman, Wogeman, and other variants, is a near-extinct Aboriginal Australian language spoken by a small number of Wagiman peopleGordon, R. G., Jr. (2005) in and around Pine Creek, in the Katherine Region of the ...
is a
language isolate
A language isolate is a language that has no demonstrable genetic relationship with any other languages. Basque in Europe, Ainu and Burushaski in Asia, Sandawe in Africa, Haida and Zuni in North America, Kanoê in South America, and Tiwi ...
. It has been contrasted for its comparative roughness to the smooth, euphonious sound of
Marrithiel spoken down country by the
Marrithiyal people
The Marrithiyal, also written Marrithiel, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose traditional territory lay south of Darwin from Litchfield National Park and extend to the Daly River in the Northern Territory. They are also known as the Berr ...
.
Country
The Wagiman had, in
Tindale's estimation, approximately of territory in the area southwest of the
Daly River, and in the area of Dorisvale, and from Bamboo Creek northwards as far as Douglas Homestead. Their frontier to the west, west of Oooloo, lay on the Daly River Crossing close to Mount Nancar, a place where they were accustomed to meet up with the neighbouring tribes, the
Kamor and
Ngolokwangga. It was considered a stony country.
Social organisation
The western tribes of the Wagiman were called collectively the Wongkakaringa, according to Tindale.
Alternative names
* ''Wagaman, Wageman, Wogeman''
* ''Wongkakaringa''
* ''Ongkakaringa''
Notes
Citations
Sources
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{{authority control
Aboriginal peoples of the Northern Territory