Thursday, October 9, 2008
Australian Aboriginal Tribes
Go to the webpage http://www.infomutt.com/l/li/list_of_australian_aboriginal_tribes.html and select the name of one Australian Aboriginal Tribe. Using Google or your prefered search engine, find out as much as you can about that tribe. For example, where that tribe traditionally lived, what the tribe ate, how the tribe captured food, cultural and art practices and any important sites in the region. Provide a overview of your tribe in this section of the blog. You should work independently and make sure that you select a tribe that is not being covered by other members of the class.
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Aranda
The name of the tribe I have chosen is Aranda. Before 1900 Aranda was one of the largest tribes in central Australia. Aranda possibly existed of up to 2,000 members. In central Australia where the Aranda tribe comes from there are only two seasons, a long hot, dry one and a short rainy one. It is not uncommon for it not to rain at all, even for two to three years.
The geography of their area varies greatly, from the low flats around the Macumba River to the highest peaks of the MacDonell ranges.
The Aranda lived by collecting whatever vegetable food they could, especially a large variety of plant bulbs and seeds. They would also collect and eat, lizards, Honey ants, grubs, caterpillars, mussels and land snails. All of this was women and children’s work. The men did all hunting; their only weapons were boomerangs and spears. Native dingoes were valuable for stalking and the only use for European dogs was companionship.
Fauna included kangaroo’s, wallaby’s, emus, rabbits, other small marsupials and rodents, bandicoots and snakes, frogs and a large variety of frogs and birds including turkeys and ducks. A variety of tree’s and shrubs were used as good shade, these included, gums, herbs and fruit trees.
There were two types of tribes, permanent ones and temporary ones. Each had a men’s club and a women’s club.
Although each temporary group travelled they still had small camps such as lean to’s constructed of scrub, each was occupied by a man, his wife/wives their children and dogs. The most permanent house was only a circular structure of small branches, which was 5-7 feet in diameter. The huts were designed for protection from rain or harsh weather, in the summertime people slept outside. Each camp would be set up next to water, they would hunt and collected until they were exhausted, then they would move on.
Aranda is famous for their art and some of their art was featured in Jamie Duries 2008 gold medal Chelsea flower show garden. Queen Elizabeth also visited the display and accepted an Aranda aboriginal art painting.
ARANDA-
the name of the tribe i chose to talk about is aranda. Before 1900, the Aranda were one of the largest aboriginal tribes.According to Tindale, the less frequently used
term, Arunta, is a result of Sir Baldwin Spencer's very British hearing.
Strehlow divides the population into five groups: Northern,
Eastern, Central, Western, and Southern. Around the turn of the century there were probably about 2,000 Aranda,but there was a disease that killed many. but after that there were no more than 300 to 400 left by 1927.The climate of central Australia is hot and dry. it does not rain much at all and if it did they were very lucky.It is not uncommon for no rain at all to fall for two or three years,and droughts of eight years or more have happened.the hottest months are january and febuary, the temperatur can rise to 112 degrees. The Aranda lived by collecting whatever vegetable foods they could find, especially a big variety of plant bulbs, and seeds.they also eat lizards, honey ants, grubs, caterpillars,
mussels, and land snails which i consider quite yucky to eat.
BY MAEGAN :)
The name of the tribe I chose was the Worimi. the Worimi people lived in Great Lakes region of coastal New South Wales, Australia. Their people extended from Port Stephens in the south to Forster/Tuncurry in the north and as far west as Gloucester.
The worimi were made up of several tribes, the; Buraigal, Gamipingal and Garawerrigal. The Wallamba people in the Wallis Lake area used one centeral campsite called Coomba Park. This campsite was used by their decendences untill 1843.
The Wallamba had possibly up to 500 members before white contact was made. The middens around the Wallis Lake area suggest that food from the lake and sea was abundant, as well as wallabies, kangaroos, echidnas, waterfowl and fruit bats. fire was an important part of their lif it was used for camp fires and the periodic 'burning ' of the land.
there are now only 200 people left from the Worimi.
the Worimi art expressed images of their environment, their spiritual beliefs and the life of their ancestors.
The name Worimi means 'a place of clay' and refers to a hill on which the descendants of the Wallamba now have their homes. They make up a 'mission' called Cabarita with their own Land Council to administer their affairs.
I felt bored as I created this comment because, non of this infomation Intrigued me.
for this i selected the Janjula tribe because that the only one that had a name i could say.
the janjula tribe are located in the Macarthur River area near Boroloola to the coast and on the Sir Edward Pellew Islands, southeast along the coast to beyond Tully Inlet. In the 1940 map the Njangga (alternate name)were treated as a separate tribe. It is now known from fieldwork at Doo-madgee, with Janjula people, that it is merely an eastern name used by the Jokula and others for eastern tribes.
the alternate names for this tribe are Yanula, Yanular, Anjula, Anyula, Anyoola, Anyuwa, Yanyuwa, Aniula, Anula, Anuwa, Leanawa, Leeanuwa, Unalla, Djirukurumbant (directional name given them by tribes to the east), Njangga (eastern name for Janjula), Njangkala, Yangala, Iangkala, Yuckamurri and Yuggamurra.
this tribe has an area of 6,300 sq. m. (16,400 sq. km) (thats alot)
the map Co-ordinates for this tribe are : 137°10'E x 16°20'S
"Aranda"
The reason i chose aranda was because it was the only one that i could find information on.
Before 1900, the Aranda were one of the largest aboriginal groups
in central Australia. According to Tindale, the less frequently used
term, Arunta, is a result of Sir Baldwin Spencer's very British hearing.
Few other fieldworkers have used this name, although secondary sources
sometimes employ it (Tindale 1974: 155). Aranda territory extended
from lat. 27 degrees-22 degrees 30 min. S by long. 131 degrees-137
degrees E. Strehlow divides the population into five groups: Northern,
Eastern, Central, Western, and Southern (possibly subdivided into
Upper Southern and Lower Southern). His most recent conclusions concerning
their distribution suggest that the Southern group was distinct from
the others, possibly forming a separate unit (cf. Tindale 1974: 137,
221). Elkin divides the Aranda into similar groupings on the basis
of dialect differences
Around the turn of the century there were probably about 2,000 Aranda,
but through the decimation of the population by tuberculosis and venereal
disease, there were no more than 300 to 400 left by 1927 (Spencer
and Gillen 1927: 1). The number existing today must be very small,
except for settled communities at mission stations, where their traditional
culture has been essentially eliminated (Murdock 1934: 45-46).
The Aranda language is categorized by the Voegelins as a part of the
Pama-Nyungan Phyla (160 of the 228 languages in Australia) of the
Australian Macrophylum (Voegelin and Voegelin 1966: 41-42). The whole
unit (i.e, the Pama-Nyungan Phyla) has some words in common "but there
are also differences as great as French and Danish" (Pink 1935/36:
281).
The climate of central Australia is hot and dry. There are only two
seasons a year: a long dry season and a short, irregular rainy season.
It is not uncommon for no rain at all to fall for two or three years,
and droughts of eight years or more have occurred. In the hottest
months, January and February, the temperature may reach 112 degrees
F and not drop below 90 degrees F for two or three weeks. In the coldest
months, May to August, the temperature may drop as low as 20 degrees
F at night, though this is rare (Spencer and Gillen 1927: 2-4; Porteus
1931: 126-127; Schulze 1891: 212-213).
The geography of the area varies greatly from the low flats around
the Macumba River in the south, only 70 feet above sea level, to the
highest peaks of the MacDonnell Ranges, over 5,000 feet, in the north.
The steppe lands south of the mountains are generally well watered
(relative to neighboring areas), as a result of the numnber of rivers
that flow out of the mountains. The land south and west of the steppes
is true desert. Here the only water is in rock holes in the bare sand
hills.
The Northern and Eastern Aranda lived in the MacDonnell Ranges. The
Western Aranda lived in the best-watered section of the region, west
of the mountains. The Southern Aranda lived in the driest part of
the region, and had to confine their travel to the courses of the
Hugh and the Finke rivers, the only two permanent water sources in
the area (Strehlow 1947: 70-71).
Fauna include kangaroo, wallaby, euro (a kind of small kangaroo),
emu (a flightless bird similar to an ostrich), rabbits (introduced
by Europeans), other small marsupials and rodents, bandicoots, snakes,
frogs, and a large variety of birds, including turkeys and ducks (Spencer
and Gillen 1927: 14-16; Strehlow 1947: 60-61). A variety of trees
and shrubs provided wood, gums, herbs, and fruits for weapons, tools,
medicines, and food (Cleland and Johnston 1933: 117).
The Aranda lived by collecting whatever vegetable foods they could
find, especially a large variety of plant bulbs, seeds, and tubers.
Yams were the favorite. Lizards, honey ants, grubs, caterpillars,
mussels, and land snails were also collected. All of this was women's
and children's work (Spencer and Gillen 1927: 23-24; Basedow 1925:
121-125, 146-152). The men hunted all of the previously named animals.
Rabbits, after their introduction, quickly supplanted other small
marsupials and rodents, competing with them as favorites among hunters.
The only weapons were spears and boomerangs. Tracking and stalking
played major parts in hunting. Native dingos were valuable for stalking,
but Basedow claims that the European dogs that replaced them were
not used for anything but companionship (Basedow 1925: 118).
The sparseness of the country meant that the people were nomadic most
of the time, although each local band had a permanent central camp.
While they were traveling, their dwellings consisted of little more
than lean-tos made of shrubbery. Each was occupied by a man, his wife
or wives, their children, and the dogs, which were apparently kept
in numbers up to 15 per family. The most permanent house was only
a circular structure of small branches, set in a circle 5-7 feet in
diameter and leaning together at the top. The huts were designed mainly
for shade or protection against rain or cold. In the warm weather,
people slept outside.
The principal reason for selecting a site when a group was traveling
was the availability of water. A camp would be set up near a water
supply, the area would be hunted and collected until it was exhausted,
and then the group would move on. Each band moved within a circumscribed
ancestral territory.
As has been mentioned, there were two kinds of camps: the temporary
ones made in the bush and the permanently located central camp. While
the main camp had a very definite organization, reflecting the moieties,
sections, and subsections of the "tribe," any longstanding camp was
also divided into the marriage sections of the members. All permanent
camps were divided into four main sections: north, south, east, and
west for each of the sections of the tribe. Each of these sections
was itself divided into two subsections. Individual family dwellings
were spread throughout each section. Each of the four sections had
its own men's club, on the outside edge of the circular camp, and
a women's club on the inside.
Marriage was strictly regulated by the three main divisions of the
tribe. These divisions resulted in the classic eight-section Australian
system, beloved of anthropologists since its first exposition by Radcliffe-Brown.
Two unnamed moieties divided the tribe in half. Each moiety was then
divided into two sections, and each section was further subdivided
into two subsections. All of the divisions were exogamous. Spouses
had to be chosen from the proper subsection of the opposite moiety.
Descent was patrilineal, in that children of a marriage belonged to
the other section of the same moiety as that of the father.
This structure is reflected in the classificatory kinship system,
classificatory in the sense that everyone in a particular section
was called wife, or father-in-law, etc., depending on his or her potential
relation to ego. The sectional kinship system served to organize the
Aranda into some kind of relation with all others, so that if a stranger
came into camp, he or she could immediately be categorized and the
proper behavior displayed (Chewings 1936: 138-140).
The Aranda were divided into a number of small local groups or bands,
each with its own territory. Marital residence was predominantly virilocal
with respect to these bands. Local bands each averaged only two or
three families. The largest group encountered by Spencer and Gillen
numbered only 40 individuals. Their territory was about 100 square
miles. There were no chiefs of units above the local bands. The highest
official was the Inkata, who was the hereditary totem chief. His main
responsibility was the care of the sacred storeroom, which contained
each individual's totemic spirit object (churinga). Each local group
had its own Inkata. His power came mainly through influence. He also
led ceremonies. This office was inherited from father to son, or to
a brother or brother's son if the chief's son was too young, incapable,
or of the improper totem.
The various totems constituted a further subdivision of the Aranda.
Each Aranda belonged to a particular totem group, which associated
its members with some natural object, usually a plant or an animal,
from which he or she was descended. These groups were independent
of the kinship and marriage system and were only partially hereditary.
Souls of legendary ancestors associated with the founding of these
totems floated through the air and impregnated women, and their souls
were thus burn again. Except for Roheim, fieldworkers among the Aranda
claimed that they denied the role of males in paternity.
Besides the Inkata chief, the only other positions of high status
were those of medicine men and spirit mediums, who were able to communicate
with the Iruntarinia, the spirits associated with the Aranda. The
medicine men were curers who, through various procedures, removed
the magical causes of illness from a patient and determined who was
responsible for the malady. While every group had its own Inkata,
the other two vocations were more irregularly distributed, and were
not hereditary.
Wife stealing, taking a wife from an improper marriage section (incest),
and accusation by a shaman of causing another's death (usually from
a different local band), were all likely to result in one's death.
Blood revenge and duels were the modes of these executions. But it
cannot be said that organized fighting or warfare of any kind existed.
Relations between local groups were generally amicable, and people
were able to travel over wide areas without fear. The Aranda were
apparently equally friendly to Whites, and there are no records of
serious hostilities with them.
I did the tribe called YORTA YORTA
The Yorta yorta lived along the Murray river.
They believed in the dreamtime, in the dreamtime aboriginal ancestors rose from below the earth to form various parts of nature including animal species, bodies of water and the sky.
The Yorta Yorta loved story telling, songs illustrate the dreamtime and other tales of the land and their dances told a story too.
They had the didgeridoo a wind instrument typically made from bamboo, it has a vibrating hum. They lived off the land, catching prey with spears and a boomerang such as wallaby’s, rodents, snakes, lizards and fish from the Murray river. Also fruit and insects and bugs.
They lived in family groups and clans. Each clan has a place on their land where their spirits return when they die. The men were the tool makers and the hunters. The women took care of the children and cooked the food. They did paintings on dried tree bark with natural black, brown, yellow, white and sometimes red colours. They used the land wisely and knew when to harvest the many plants they ate. They would move along the river they didn’t stay in one place for too long.
I did another tribe called Ngamba-Ngaga
The Ngamba – ngaga aboriginals are known to be the first inhabitants of the area. Hat Head is about 460 km north of Sydney on the coast.
It is believed that Hat Head was created from a small island. Over thousands of years, Floods brought silt from a mainland, that built up over time, and eventually vegetation started growing which drained the water. But the area was still very swampy.
John Oxley the explorer passed through in 1817 describes the Ngamba – Ngagu as very peaceful.
WORIMI.
The Tobwabba story is really the story about the original Worimi people that come from the Great Lakes section of coastal New South Wales, Australia. Before making contact with settlers, their people extended from Port Stephens in the south to Forster/Tuncurry in the north and as far west as Gloucester.
The Worimi is made up of quite a lot of tribes; there are the Buraigal, Gamipingal and the Garawerrigal. The people of the Wallis Lake area, called Wallamba, had one central campsite which is now known as Coomba Park. Their children, still living today, used this campsite until 1843.
The Wallamba had probably up to 500 tribe members before contact with the white was made. The middens around the Wallis Lake area suggest that food from the lake and sea was abundant, as well as wallabies, kangaroos, echidnas, waterfowl and fruit bats. Fire was an key aspect of life, equally for campsites and the periodic burning of the land.
The people from the Wallamba tribe now number less than 200 and from these families in the main, come the Tobwabba artists. In their effort they state images of their surroundings, their spiritual beliefs and the life of their ancestors.
The name Tobwabba means 'a place of clay' and refers to a hill on which the descendants of the Wallamba now have their homes. They make up a task called Cabarita with their own Land committee to manage their associations.
The Worimi was separated into a number of Nurras. (Nurras were local groups within tribes, each occupying a specific locality within the tribal territory). Location of these tribal territories is not known precisely because of extensive de-tribalisation that happened after European settlement.
However, according to W.Enright and Boris Sokoloff, there appears to have been the following nurras in the Worimi tribe:
Garuagal (between the mouth of the Hunter River and Maitland).
Maiangal (along the southern side of Port Stephens).
Gamipingal (along the northern side of Port Stephens and the Karuah River to Tea Gardens).
Garrawerrigal (between the Myall River and the seashore).
Buraigal (between Karuah River and Paterson).
Warringal (between Telegherry River near Barrington Tops and Pipe clay Creek near Nabiac).
Birroongal (on the Myall River).
Birrimbai (around Bungwahl).
Yeerungal (around the Myall Lakes).
Wallamba (in the Wallis Lake area).
The nurras were sub-divided into small groups which were most likely based on the extended family unit.
The Worimi and Biripi tribes both spoke dialects of the Kattang language.
Captain Cook noticed the existence of Aborigines in the Myall Lakes area when he sailed along the water's edge in 1770 and named it Cape Hawke.
I felt bored when I did this blog because I thought it wasn’t very interesting to me.
The name of the tribe I have chosen is Ku-ring-gai. The region is named after the Kuringgai tribe who once inhabited the area.
Ku-ring-gai Council is a Local Government Area in the North Shore region of Sydney. Because of its elevated position as part of the Hornsby Plateau, and good soils Ku-ring-gai was originally covered by a large area of dry sclerophyll forest, parts of which still remain and form a component of the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park some of which lies within the municipality boundaries.
There are also many domestic gardens in the residential parts of Ku-ring-gai.
Suburbs serviced by Ku-ring-gai Council are:
East Gordon
East Killara
East Lindfield
East Roseville
East Wahroonga
Gordon
Killara
Lindfield
North Turramurra
North St Ives
North Wahroonga
Pymble
Roseville
Roseville Chase
South Turramurra
St Ives
St Ives Chase
Turramurra
Wahroonga
Warrawee
West Killara
West Lindfield
West Pymble
Ku-ring-gai is famous for there Art Centre and Gallery Set in the grounds of Bancroft Park, Roseville, NSW , Ku-ring-gai Art Centre is one of the longest running community arts facilities in Northern Sydney, managed by Ku-ring-gai Council. On the grounds is also the The Ku-ring-gai Art Centre – Art Gallery with regular changing exhibitions.
Visual Art, Creative Writing, Guitar courses and workshops for adults, teenagers and children are offered. Weekend workshops are held on a regular basis and school vacation classes are available for children and teens. Exhibitions and special events run throughout the year.
When looking up this tribe it has been interesting because they love to do art and the ku-ring-gai council are famour for art.
In 1788 there were about 300,000 Aborigines in Australia. They were divided into over 500 tribes, each with its own distinct territory, dialect, customs and history. The Worimi is made up of several tribes Buraigal, Gamipingal and the Garawerrigal. The people of the Wallis Lake area called Wallamba had one central campsite which is now known as Coomba Park. and they are there still today used this campsite untill 1843.
The worimi possibly had up to 500 mebers befor the contackt was made. the people now number less than 200 and from these families.Fire was a verry inportent to there camps and for cooking food.
The tribe I have chosen is the Anangu. Traditionally the Aborigines called the Anangu tribe the Yankunytjajara or the Pitjantjatjara. Their tribe was spread out along the Uluru area dividing into camps which were established along the water holes.
Uluru is a land-scape of profound spiritual significance for Anangu Aborigines. Along Uluru the Aborigines have many sacred sites which most of them were used for, birth sites.
The Anangu culture is also unique, along with other tribes in the northern territory like with stories. To the Anangu, stories are understood as real, not mere fables. When they say that a particular boulder is the body of one of the ancestral beings, for example, they do not mean that it represents the body – they mean it is literally the petrified body, immortalised where the being fell.
Music is also a powerful part of Aboriginal culture and is part of everyday life as well as being a vital part of sacred ceremonies. Traditional songs are of central importance in telling and maintaining Dreaming stories.
Also before British settlement in 1788, the Aboriginal people survived off the native plants and animals of the Australian environment for thousands of years. Across the many different environments of Australia they knew how to find food and water.
Native mammals and birds such as kangaroos, wallabies, Bilbies and emus were regularly hunted and killed. Other foods that seem less palatable to the Australians of today - such as witchetty grubs, lizards, snakes and moths - were greatly valued. Bush foods such as berries, roots and nectars were also an important part of the Aboriginal diet in many areas of Australia.
The dingoes were used to hunt Emus and Kangaroo’s .they would run the animals down and bite them. The men had to catch up with the animal quickly before the dogs killed it and tore it into pieces. Most of the meat was hunted by the men in the afternoons, except for rabbits, which the women collected by digging them out of their burrows. The women also collected the plant foods, the seeds of grasses and certain wattles, the fruits of bush tomatoes, figs, quandongs and other foods. Both men and Women collected Emu eggs.
Anangu today is one of the largest Aborigine tribes in Australia. They gladly share their land with the world, despite them disapproving of people climbing Uluru.
Hahahaha i memba doin this
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