Gaagudju facts for kids

The Gaagudju people, also called the Kakadu, are an Aboriginal Australian group from the Northern Territory. They are made up of four main family groups, known as clans. These clans are the Bunitj (or Bunidj), the Djindibi, and two Mirarr clans. The Mirarr clan group speaks three languages besides English. Most speak Kundjeyhmi, while others speak Gaagudju or another language.

Gaagudju Language and People

The Gaagudju language was spoken by the main Gaagudju group. Other nearby Aboriginal groups also used it as a second language. These included the Amurdak, Kundjeyhmi, Giimiyu, Bininj, and Umbugarla peoples. After the 1930s, many of these groups started speaking Gaagudju as their main language. They stopped using their original languages.

Traditional Lands of the Gaagudju

The Gaagudju people lived in the northern part of the Kakadu area. Baldwin Spencer, a researcher, said that the area around Gunbalanya (then called Oenpelli) was Gaagudju land. This was because they were the main group living there at the time.

Norman Tindale, another researcher, estimated that the Gaagudju owned about 6,000 square kilometres (2,300 sq mi) of land. This land was inland from the Van Diemen Gulf. It stretched between the eastern and southern Alligator Rivers and went south into the mountains. They also lived at places called Cannon Hill and Mount Basedow.

Gaagudju Social Structure

The Gaagudju people were divided into four clans. Each clan owned its own land. These clans were the Bunidj, the Djindibi (who lived near Munmalarri), and two Mirarr clans.

As mentioned, the Mirarr clan group speaks three languages. Most people in this group speak Kundjeyhmi.

History of European Contact

In 1876, a company called Cobourg took over land in the Alligator River area to hunt buffalo. Aboriginal people were a big part of their workforce. When a buffalo hunter named Paddy Cahill came to the Gaagudju area in the 1880s, they helped him track and hunt these animals. For many years, the Gaagudju were very important in the buffalo hunting business.

However, between 1880 and 1920, the Gaagudju population in that area dropped a lot. This was due to new diseases brought by Europeans and changes to how the land was used.

Baldwin Spencer collected a lot of information about the people of Oenpelli. Most of this information came from a Gaagudju point of view. This was because Spencer's main helper, Cahill, spoke Gaagudju very well. Cahill helped Spencer talk to three Aboriginal people: Mitcheralaka (Madjirrilaaga) from the Mirarr clan, Kopereiki (Gabhirrigi) and Wardiirdi from the Bunidj clan, and Wudeirti. Spencer knew that other Aboriginal groups were also at Oenpelli. He understood that Cahill's Gaagudju information also included their traditions.

After Cahill passed away, the Gaagudju moved to the Alice and Mary River areas to keep hunting buffalo. Over time, the Kunwinjku people moved in from the west and began to live in Oenpelli.

Notable Gaagudju People

• Big Bill Neidjie: He was the last person to speak the Gaagudju language. He was also an elder of the Bunitj clan.