Warrgamay
TheWarrgamaypeople, also speltWarakamai,are anAboriginal Australianpeople of the state ofQueensland.
Language
[edit]Their language,Warrgamay,is nowextinct.It was a variety ofDyirbalic,and appears to be composed of three distinct dialects:Wargamayganspoken around the lower reaches of theHerbert River;Biyayspoken at the mouth of the Herbert, in the area ofHalifaxand Bemerside; andHinchinbrook Biyay,spoken around the coastal area south ofCardwelland offshore onHinchinbrook Island.[1]
Words in the Warrgamay language include:[2]
- knarbo(tame dog)
- gerolo(wild dog)
- baby(father)
- kora/yong/yonga(mother)
- mecolo(white man)
Country
[edit]The Warrgamay were theIndigenous peopleofHalifax Bay,and held inNorman Tindale's calculations, approximately 600 square miles (1,600 km2) of tribal domains.[3]An early resident, James Cassady, specified that they had 50 miles (80 km) of shoreline, extending into the hinterland approximately 15 miles (24 km).[4]
Their northern neighbours were theGirramay,while to their south lay theWulgurukaba.[5]
Social organisation
[edit]The Warrgamay were divided into severalgroups or clans:[4]
- Ikelbara
- Doolebara
- Mungulbara
- Mandambara
- Karabara
- Bungabara
- Yoembara
The intermarriage of groups has been classified as follows:[6]
| Male | Female | Male Children | Female Children |
|---|---|---|---|
| Korkoro | Wongarugun | Watero | Woterungan |
| Wongo | Korkorungan | Korkeen | Korkeelingan |
| Korkeen | Woterungan | Wongo | Wongerungan |
| Wotero | Korkeelingan | Korkoro | Korkorungan |
Customs
[edit]Circumcisionas an initiatory rite was unknown among the Warrgamay. They did practisetooth avulsion,ritual scarificationandpiercing of the septum to wear nose bones.Polygamywas common, andwidows were married to their deceased husband's brother.[6]
History of contact
[edit]The area of Halifax Bay first began to be settled by white colonialists in 1865, in the thenColony of Queensland.At that time the numbers of Warrgamay were estimated to amount to roughly 500 people. Within 15 years, they had declined by 300, a mere 40 of the surviving 200 being men. The difference was due to their being relentlessly hunted and gunned down bymounted native troopersunder white supervision, together with settlers, both of whom "shot as many of the males of the tribe as possible".[4][a]
Alternative names
[edit]Alternative names and spellings included, according to Tindale:[3]
- Waragamai
- Wargamay
- Wargamaygan
- Bungabara
- Ikelbara
- Herbert River tribe
Notes
[edit]- ^According to another resident, R. Johnstone, the reasons for the decline had nothing to do with the police or settlers: 'Their country was occupied by the whitesto some extent,since which period, as the result of measles, consumption, and drink, the numbers composing the tribes have greatly diminished.'[5]
Citations
[edit]- ^Dixon 1981,pp. 2–3.
- ^Cassidy & Johnstone 1886,p. 428.
- ^abTindale 1974,p. 188.
- ^abcCassidy & Johnstone 1886,p. 424.
- ^abCassidy & Johnstone 1886,p. 426.
- ^abCassidy & Johnstone 1886,p. 425.
Sources
[edit]- Cassidy, James; Johnstone, R. (1886)."Halifax Bay"(PDF).InCurr, Edward Micklethwaite(ed.).The Australian race: its origin, languages, customs, place of landing in Australia and the routes by which it spread itself over the continent.Vol. 2. Melbourne: J. Ferres. pp. 424–431.
- Dixon, Robert M. W.(1966). "Mbabaram: a dying Australian language".Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies.29:97–121.doi:10.1017/S0041977X00060833.S2CID162853579.
- Dixon, Robert M. W.(1981)."Wartgamay"(PDF).In Dixon, Robert M. W.;Blake, Barry(eds.).Handbook of Australian languages.Vol. 2.Australian National University.pp. 1–145.ISBN978-9-027-22004-2.
- Fison, Lorimer;Howitt, Alfred William(1880).Kamilaroi and Kurnai(PDF).Melbourne:G Robinson.
- Tindale, Norman Barnett(1974)."Warakamai (QLD)".Aboriginal Tribes of Australia: Their Terrain, Environmental Controls, Distribution, Limits, and Proper Names.Australian National University Press.