The Kugu Nganhcara, also ''Wikngenchera, Wik-Ngandjara (Ngandjara)'' are an Australian group of peoples living in the middle western part of the

Cape York Peninsula The Cape York Peninsula is a peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth's last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación Sierra Madre, ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

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 ...

. Today they are primarily concentrated at Aurukan and the Edward river settlement.

Language

Kugu Nganhcara The Kugu Nganhcara, also ''Wikngenchera, Wik-Ngandjara (Ngandjara)'' are an Australian group of peoples living in the middle western part of the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland in Australia. Today they are primarily concentrated at Aurukan and ...

is a Wik-language complex consisting of six varieties or patrilects, Kugu Uwanh, Kugu Ugbanh, Kugu Yi'anh, Kugu Mi'inh, Kugu Miminh, and Wik Iyanh, where 'kugu' is a classifier for speech, and the following word the infinitive of the respective verbs for 'go'. These closely related languages are called patrilects by Steve Johnson since the respective groups belong to a society composed of patrilineal clans joined by

exogamous Exogamy is the social norm of mating or marrying outside one's social group. The group defines the scope and extent of exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. One form of exogamy is dual exogamy, in which tw ...

relationships.

Country

The northern bounds of the Kugu Nganhcara are around the Kendall River, and their southern limits are around Moonkan Creek, beyond which lie their southern neighbours the

Thaayorre The Thaayorre, or Kuuk Thaayore, are an Australian people living on the southwestern part of the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland in Australia, primarily in the settlement Pormpuraaw, having its foundation in the Edward River Mission. Langua ...

Socio-linguistic division markers

The Kugu-Nganychara embrace the following groups: *''Kugu Miminh'' *''Kugu-Mu'inh'' *''Kugu Uwanh'' *''Kugu Ugbanh'' *''Kugu-Mangk'' *''Kugu Yi'anh'' *''Wik-Iiyanh'' *''Kugu Mi'ing'' *Wik Iyanh

Wiknantjara

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 ...

used this term to refer to a Kugu group he identified as that whose clan estates covered about in the area between the mouths of the Holroyd River, which would appear to be coterminous with the area assigned to the ''Kugu Ugbanh.'' Peter Sutton remarks that this term does not refer to a single dialect, but covers all the clans forming part of a dialect chain between the Kendall and Holroyd Rivers, and that the local name for the cluster is local term is ''Kugu-Nganycharra'' (known at Cape Keerweer as ''Wik-Ngenycharra.''

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * * * {{authority control Aboriginal peoples of Queensland Australian Aboriginal culture Far North Queensland