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===Culture=== |
===Culture=== |
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The Ngarrindjeri have their own language group and, apart from groups living along the river, share no common words with neighbouring peoples. Their culture and ritual practices were also distinct from that of the surrounding people which has been attributed by Aboriginal historian Graham Jenkin to their enmity with the [[Kaurna]] to the west, who practised [[circumcision]]<ref>The Kaurna called the Ngarrindjeri the ''Paruru.'' The word was Kaurna for both un-circumcised and ''animal''.</ref> and monopolised red ochre, the Merkani (enemy) to the east, who stole Ngarrindjeri women and were reputed to be cannibals<ref>Conquest of the Ngarrindjeri, Adelaide, Rigby, 1979.</ref> and to the north the [[Ngadjuri]] who were believed to send ''mulapi'' (clever men ie:sorcerers) and, although not sharing a border, the [[Nukunu]] who were thought to be sorcerers, incestuous and prone to commit rape.<ref |
The Ngarrindjeri have their own language group and, apart from groups living along the river, share no common words with neighbouring peoples. Their culture and ritual practices were also distinct from that of the surrounding people which has been attributed by Aboriginal historian Graham Jenkin to their enmity with the [[Kaurna]] to the west, who practised [[circumcision]]<ref>The Kaurna called the Ngarrindjeri the ''Paruru.'' The word was Kaurna for both un-circumcised and ''animal''.</ref> and monopolised red ochre, the Merkani (enemy) to the east, who stole Ngarrindjeri women and were reputed to be cannibals<ref>Conquest of the Ngarrindjeri, Adelaide, Rigby, 1979.</ref> and to the north the [[Ngadjuri]] who were believed to send ''mulapi'' (clever men ie:sorcerers) and, although not sharing a border, the [[Nukunu]] who were thought to be sorcerers, incestuous and prone to commit rape.<ref>Berndt, Berndt and Stanton (1993). Pg 20 - 22</ref> By way of contrast and due to a shared [[dreaming]], the relationship between the Ngarrindjeri and the ''Walkandi-woni'' (the people of the warm north-east wind), their collective name for the various groups living along the River as far as [[Wentworth, New South Wales|Wentworth]] in [[New South Wales]], was of significant mutual importance and the groups regularly met at [[Wellington, South Australia|Wellington]], [[Tailem Bend, South Australia|Tailem Bend]], [[Murray Bridge, South Australia|Murray Bridge]], [[Mannum, South Australia|Mannum]] or [[Swan Reach, South Australia|Swan Reach]] to exchange songs and conduct ceremonies.<ref name="Berndt2"/> Quarrels with the ''Walkandi-woni'' were not unknown and in 1849 the Rev George Taplin recorded a fight between 500 Ngarrindjeri and up to 800 Ngaiawang who shared a border with them at Mannum.<ref name="Narrinyeri">[http://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/coll/special/SAhistory/Narrinyeri.pdf The Native Tribes of South Australia] M’CARRON, BIRD AND Co 1879</ref> Each of the 18 lakinyeri had their own specific funeral customs, some smoke dried bodies before being placed in trees, on platforms, in rock shelters or buried depending on local custom. Some placed bodies in trees and collect the fallen bones for burial. Some removed the skull, which was then used for a drinking vessel.<ref name="FHT"/> |
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Differing from most Australian Aboriginal communities, the fertility of their land allowed the Ngarrindjeri and Merkani to live a sedentary life.<ref name="FHT">{{cite book | last = Fforde, Hubert and Turnbull | first = | year = 2004 | title = The Dead and Their Possessions |
Differing from most Australian Aboriginal communities, the fertility of their land allowed the Ngarrindjeri and Merkani to live a sedentary life.<ref name="FHT">{{cite book | last = Fforde, Hubert and Turnbull | first = | year = 2004 | title = The Dead and Their Possessions |
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The Ngarrindjeri (literal meaning The people who belong to this land) are a group of eighteen clans (lakinyeri) who speak similar dialects of the Ngarrindjeri language and are the traditional Aboriginal people of the lower Murray River, western Fleurieu Peninsula, and the Coorong of southern, central Australia.
Variations in spelling are common and include Narinyerrie, Narrin’yerree, Narrinjeri and Narrinyeri. In Ngarrindjeri grammar the –nyeri -ndjeri suffix means belonging to a specific place or area.[1]
The Ngarrindjeri's traditional areas extend from Mannum, South Australia downstream through Murray Bridge and Victor Harbor and along the coast through GoolwatoCape Jervis, including Lake Alexandrina and Lake Albert.
Originally numbering around 6,000 at the time of white settlement, they are the only tribal group in Australia whose land lay within Template:Km to mi of a Capital City to have survived as a distinct people. [citation needed] Pomberuk (Ngarrindjeri for crossing place), on the banks of the River MurrayinMurray Bridge was the most significant Ngarrindjeri site. All 18 lakinyeri would meet there for corroborees. Around Template:Km to mi further down the river was Tagalang (Tailem Bend), a traditional trading camp where lakinyeri would gather to trade ochre, weapons and clothing. In the 1900s, Tailem Bend was assigned as a government ration depot supplying the Ngarrindjeri.
Following settlement of South Australia and encroachment of Europeans into Ngarrindjeri lands; Pomberuk, remained until the 1940s the last traditional campsite with the remaining Aboriginal occupants forced to leave in 1943 by the land owners, the Hume Pipe Company, and resettled by the local council and South Australian Government.[2] After hearing that the Aboriginal settlement was to be cleared, Ronald and Catherine Berndt, who were researching Aboriginal Culture in the area, approached the Chief Protector of Aborigines William Penhall and obtained a verbal promise that the clearance would not proceed as long as the senior Ngarrindjeri elder, 78 year old Albert Karloan (Karloan Ponggi), was living. Shortly after the Berndt's left to return to Sydney, Karloan was given an eviction order effective immediately. Adamant that only death would separate him from his land, Karloan travelled to Adelaide to seek help but returned to his former home in Pomberuk on February 2, 1943. Willing himself to die he passed away the following morning.[3]
Now known as the Murray Bridge Railway Precinct and Hume Reserve, the Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority seeks the re-naming of Hume Reserve to Karloan Ponggi Reserve [after Albert Karloan] in honour of the old people who fought to retain the old ways. They have presented a development and management plan to preserve and develop the site as a memorial and an educational aid to reconciliation.[2]
The Ngarrindjeri achieved a great deal of publicity in the 1990s due to their opposition to the construction of a bridge from Goolwa to Hindmarsh Island, which resulted in a Royal Commission and a High Court case in 1996. The Royal Commission found that claims of "secret women's business" on the island had been fabricated.[4] However, in a case brought by the developers seeking damages for their losses, Federal Court judge, Mr John von Doussa took issue with the findings of the Royal Commission and in rejecting the claims stated:
The evidence received by the Court on this topic is significantly different to that which was before the Royal Commission. Upon the evidence before this Court I am not satisfied that the restricted women's knowledge was fabricated or that it was not part of genuine Aboriginal tradition.[5]
As a result of the Australia wide 1995 - 2009 drought, water levels in Lakes Albert and Alexandrina dropped to the extent that traditional burial grounds, which had been under water, were now exposed.[6]
The Ngarrindjeri have their own language group and, apart from groups living along the river, share no common words with neighbouring peoples. Their culture and ritual practices were also distinct from that of the surrounding people which has been attributed by Aboriginal historian Graham Jenkin to their enmity with the Kaurna to the west, who practised circumcision[7] and monopolised red ochre, the Merkani (enemy) to the east, who stole Ngarrindjeri women and were reputed to be cannibals[8] and to the north the Ngadjuri who were believed to send mulapi (clever men ie:sorcerers) and, although not sharing a border, the Nukunu who were thought to be sorcerers, incestuous and prone to commit rape.[9] By way of contrast and due to a shared dreaming, the relationship between the Ngarrindjeri and the Walkandi-woni (the people of the warm north-east wind), their collective name for the various groups living along the River as far as WentworthinNew South Wales, was of significant mutual importance and the groups regularly met at Wellington, Tailem Bend, Murray Bridge, MannumorSwan Reach to exchange songs and conduct ceremonies.[10] Quarrels with the Walkandi-woni were not unknown and in 1849 the Rev George Taplin recorded a fight between 500 Ngarrindjeri and up to 800 Ngaiawang who shared a border with them at Mannum.[11] Each of the 18 lakinyeri had their own specific funeral customs, some smoke dried bodies before being placed in trees, on platforms, in rock shelters or buried depending on local custom. Some placed bodies in trees and collect the fallen bones for burial. Some removed the skull, which was then used for a drinking vessel.[12]
Differing from most Australian Aboriginal communities, the fertility of their land allowed the Ngarrindjeri and Merkani to live a sedentary life.[12] In fact, one of the major problems encountered by Europeans was the determination of the Ngarrindjeri to rebuild their camps on land claimed for grazing. Unlike the rest of Australia, the South Australia Act 1834 (Foundation Act) which enabled the province of South Australia to be established, acknowledged Aboriginal ownership and stated that no actions could be undertaken that would affect the rights of any Aboriginal natives of the said province to the actual occupation and enjoyment in their own persons or in the persons of their descendants of any land therein now actually occupied or enjoyed by such natives. [13] Effectively this guaranteed the land rights of Aboriginals under force of law but was interpreted by the colonists as simply meaning Aborigines could not be dispossessed of sites they permanently occupied. In May 1839, Wyatt announced publicly, it appeared that the natives occupy no lands in the especial manner described in the instructions. Bowing to the interests of prominent colonists and the Resident Commissioner who wanted to survey and sell the land without hindrance, the protector of Aborigines William Wyatt, in his reports on Aboriginal culture and practices, never recorded that sites were permanently occupied.[12]
The Ngarrindjeri were widely known as "outstanding craftsmen" specialising in basketry, matting and nets with records indicating that nets of more than 100 metres (330 ft) long were used to catch Emus. It was claimed by colonists that the nets they made for fishing were superior to those used by Europeans.[14] The nets, made by chewing the roots of Bulrush (Typha shuttleworthii) until only the fibre remained which was spun into threads by the women to be then woven into nets by the men, were "considered to be a sort of fortune to it's owner."[15] While the Aboriginals of the east coast of Australia also made nets, they were used for carry bags and there are no records of their use in hunting. The Ngarrindjeri were also well known to Europeans for their cooking skills and the efficiency of their camp ovens, the remains of which can still be found throughout the River Murray area. Some species of fish, birds and other animals considered easily caught were reserved by law for the elderly and infirm, an indication of the abundance of food in Ngarrindjeri lands.[14] In the early years of the colony, Ngarrindjeri would volunteer to catch fish for the “white fellow men”.[14]
Many sites of dreaming significance are located along the River Murray. Near the confluence of the Murray River with Lake AlexandrinaisMurungun (Mason's Hill), home to a bunyip called Muldjewangk. An ancestral hero named Ngurunderi chased an enormous Murray Cod named Ponde from a river in central New South Wales, creating the River Murray from it's attempts to escape. Kauwira (Mannum) is where Ngurunderi forced Ponde to turn sharply south. The straight section of river to Peindjalong (near Tailem Bend) resulted from Ponde fleeing in fear after being speared in the tail. The twin peaks of Mount Misery on the eastern shore of Lake Alexandrina are known as Lalangenggul (Two watercraft) and represent where Ngurunderi brought his rafts ashore to make camp.
There were eighteen Ngarrindjeri "tribes" known as Lakinyeri, each occupying a distinct area of land (ruwe). The lakinyerar in turn comprised 77 clan (family) groups in the 1930s, each with it's own distinct dialect. Every member of a lakinyeri is related by blood and it is forbidden to marry any member of the same lakinyeri. A couple also may not marry a member of another lakinyeri if they have a great-grandparent (or closer relation) in common.[11]
Missionary ethnographer the Rev. George Taplin, who established Point McLeay mission in 1859, using a "high quality" linguistics study conducted by the Lutheran missionary H.A.E. Meyer in 1879 recorded that the Ngarrindjeri nation comprised 18 Lakinyeri, each with it own Ngaitji (Totem).[16]
Norman Tindale's research in the 1920s and Ronald and Catherine Berndt's ethnographic study, which was conducted in the 1930s, established only 10 lakinyerar. Neither Tindale or the Berndt's had any formal linguistic training and although they remain a major source of material for the Ngarrindjeri people today their accuracy in this area should not be assumed. Tindale worked with Clarence Long (a Tangani man) while the Berndts worked with Albert Karloan (a Yaraldi man).[16]
Some lakinyeri may have dissapeared and others may have merged as a result of population decline following colonisation. Additionally, Clan groups within the lakinyerar would use the local dialect or their own clan name for lakinyeri names also leading to confusion. For example, Jaralde, Jaraldi, Jarildekald and Jarildikald were separate clan names as were Ramindjari, Ramindjerar, Ramindjeri, Ramingara, Raminjeri, Raminyeri. Several of these are also used as names for the lakinyerar.[16][23] Clans could also change their lakinyeri, Berndt found that two Tangani clans who lived close to a Yaraldi clan had picked up their dialect and were thus now considered to be Yaraldi.[24]
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