Kaurareg facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kaurareg people |
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| aka: Kauraraiga, Kaurarega, Kowrarega, Kauralaig, Kauraleg, Kororega, Korariga, Kauralaigna, Malulaig, Muralug (name of part of Prince of Wales Island), and Muralag (AIATSIS), nd (SIL) | |
A map of the Torres Strait Islands, with the Kaurareg traditional country located in the middle band of islands
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| Hierarchy | |
| Language family: | Pama–Nyungan |
| Language branch/group: | Western and Central Torres Strait Language |
| Group dialect: | Kauraraigau Ya |
| Area | |
| Bioregion: | Cape York Peninsula |
| Location: | Torres Strait Islands, Far North Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates: | 10°41′02″S 142°11′06″E / 10.684°S 142.185°E |
| Islands: |
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The Kaurareg people are one of the many Indigenous groups who live in Australia. They are part of the Torres Strait Islander peoples, though many also identify as Aboriginal Australians. The Kaurareg are the traditional owners of Thursday Island (which they call Waiben) and several other Torres Strait Islands.
The Kaurareg live on the western side of the Torres Strait, mainly around the Muralag group of islands. Like other Torres Strait Islanders, they were skilled sailors using impressive outrigger canoes. They traded goods, fished, and connected with other island groups. They also visited the Cape York Peninsula on the Australian mainland, forming important cultural, marriage, and trading friendships with Aboriginal groups there.
However, the Kaurareg people faced many challenges after European settlement began in the late 1800s. Their population quickly decreased after they were wrongly blamed for an incident in 1869 where a Western ship and its crew were destroyed. After World War II, Kaurareg descendants started to return to their traditional islands. They began to claim native title (legal ownership) over their ancestral lands.
Contents
Kaurareg Language
The Kaurareg people speak a dialect of Kalaw Lagaw Ya. This language is part of the larger Pama–Nyungan language family.
Torres Strait Island History and Culture
The Kaurareg are one of five main cultural groups in the Torres Strait Islands. The other groups include the Saibailgal, Dœwanalgal, Bœigulgal (Top West Islanders), Maluigal (Mid-West Islanders), Kulkalgal (Central Islanders), and Meriam Le (Eastern Islanders).
Even though there were sometimes conflicts between groups, a strong system of family, clan, and trade connected everyone. This trading network stretched beyond the islands, linking New Guinea and the Cape York Peninsula. For example, the Kaurareg and Mua people traded bu (trumpet shells), alup (bailer shells), and wap (harpoon shafts for turtles and dugongs). In return, they received canoe hulls from Papua New Guinea, arrows with cassowary bone tips, and bamboo for carrying water or making knives.
The Kaurareg had strong connections with Aboriginal groups in northern Cape York. These included the Gudang, Gumakudin, Unduyamo, and Yadhaigana peoples. Some historical accounts suggest the Kaurareg are descendants of the ancient Hiamu people from Daru Island, off the southern Papuan coast. Folk stories say the Hiamu moved to Muralag after conflicts with Kiwai invaders.
Contact with Europeans
The Kaurareg people were well-documented before their population declined and their traditional way of life was disrupted. An artist named Oswald Walters Brierly recorded much about them during a British naval survey in 1849. He estimated about 100 Kaurareg lived on Muralag alone, with others spread across 10 more islands.
Brierly learned a lot from Barbara Thompson, a castaway. She was the only survivor of a shipwreck near Ngurupai (Horn Island) in 1844. The Kaurareg cared for her for five years, believing she was the markai (ancestral spirit) of an elder's deceased daughter. She was rescued in 1849. Later, Alfred Cort Haddon also conducted extensive research on the Kaurareg in 1888 and 1898.
Fresh Water Source
Muralag was known as a source of fresh water by early British explorers. In 1791, Captain E. Edwards and his crew from HMS Pandora landed on the island to find water after their ship was wrecked.
The Sperwer Incident and Its Aftermath (1869)
In April 1869, a ship called the Sperwer was attacked while trading near Muralag. The captain and his crew were killed. This happened near Wednesday Island and Hammond Island, an area where Europeans and Indigenous people had usually been friendly.
Three Kaurareg men were captured, found guilty, and executed by the native police. The police were led by Henry Chester, a government official. His successor, Frank Jardine, then led a violent expedition with armed workers. Accounts differ, but it is believed that many Kaurareg people on Muralag were killed during this time. Jardine continued to lead attacks against the Kaurareg in the 1870s.
Later, it was discovered that the Kaurareg were likely not involved in the Sperwer incident. The real culprits were probably Kulkalaig men from Nagir. However, the attacks on the Kaurareg had already caused a huge decline in their population.
Survival and Return (1880s–20th Century)
By the 1880s, only about a hundred Kaurareg survivors remained. They were found at Yata (Port Lihou) and Kiwain (Blue Fish Point), and later moved to Kiriri/Hammond Island. In the 1920s, they were moved again to Moa Island and Puruma/Coconut Island.
In 1919, a missionary noted the desperate situation of the 80 remaining Kaurareg. By 1920, their numbers dropped to 67 after an influenza outbreak. In 1922, the Kaurareg were forced to move to Moa Island at gunpoint, where they stayed until 1947.
In 1947, an elder named Elikiam Tom insisted on returning to Kiriri. When he was not allowed to stay there, he went to Horn Island (Narupai). There, with other Kaurareg elders, they built what became Wasaga village. The government tried to move them again, but they resisted and stayed on Horn Island.
Today, a large number of Kaurareg people still live on Horn Island. Their Elders continue to work to maintain their connection to their traditional homelands.
Traditional Lands and Native Title
After the Native Title Act 1993 was passed, the Kaurareg people made five native title claims in 1996. These claims were for parts of the following islands:
- Muralag (Prince of Wales Island)
- Nurupai (Horn Island)
- Tarilag (Packe Island)
- Damaralag (Dumuralug Islet)
- Mipa (Pipa Islet, also known as Turtle Island)
- Yeta (Port Lihou Island)
- Zuna (Entrance Island)
In 2001, a federal court decided to return these seven islands to Kaurareg control. In 2002, after regaining native title, the Kaurareg declared their lands the United Isles of Kaiwalagal.
Historical records show that the Kaurareg Aboriginal people are the Traditional Owners of Thursday Island, which they call "Waibene". For thousands of years, the Kaurareg followed traditional ways of hunting, fishing, and farming. They also kept close cultural and trading ties with Aboriginal groups in the Northern Peninsula Area of Cape York.
Identity and Recognition
The Kaurareg and Torres Strait communities have always lived side-by-side and share close family and cultural ties. However, Kaurareg people have sometimes felt overlooked by government organizations. This has led to questions of identity, as many Kaurareg people see themselves as Aboriginal Australians rather than Torres Strait Islanders.
A community meeting in 2012 highlighted that Kaurareg Aboriginal people have faced prejudice. They have lost much of their traditional lands, culture, and language. There has been little recognition for the Kaurareg people from those who settled on their traditional lands. This has caused tension and hurt, and people feel they are still fighting for proper recognition. The forum found that community division, loss of culture, and government systems have negatively affected the Kaurareg people the most.
Traditional Practices
The Kaurareg people understand at least six different types of tide. This knowledge helps them know where and when to hunt and fish. They have a strong belief in sustainability, meaning they avoid over-hunting. Kaurareg marine law teaches that "one can fish successfully only when one is hungry."
The story of the Kaurareg people was shown on the SBS television program Living Black. Traditionally, Kaurareg men had long hair and wore only a belt. Women wore a leaf petticoat (zazi) and had short hair, except during mourning when they wore a long fringed skirt (soger). Both nose piercing and wooden earlobe plugs were common.
Kaurareg death customs were similar to those of other Islanders. After a person's mari (spirit) left the body, the body was placed on a raised platform until the flesh decomposed. The bones were then rubbed with red ochre, wrapped in bark, and buried in a sand mound surrounded by shells, skulls, and dugong bones.
Notable People
- Patty Mills, a famous NBA basketball player.
See also
