Mingin people facts for kids

The Mingin (also called Mingginda) are an Aboriginal Australian people from Queensland. They lived in the Gulf Country of Australia. Their traditional lands were east of Moonlight Creek and next to the Yukulta / Ganggalidda people in the southern part of the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Language

The Mingin language was spoken by the Mingin people. Experts think it might be part of the Tangkic language family. It was likely very similar to the languages spoken on the Wellesley Islands, especially the Yukulta language of their neighbours, the Ganggalida people.

Country

The Mingin people lived on a large area of land, about 6,475 square kilometres (2,500 square miles). This land included the grassy plains south of Burketown. It stretched along the Barkly River and went east to the Leichhardt River. Their southern border was near places like Augustus Downs and Gregory Downs. The only place they reached the coast was where the Albert River flows into the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Social customs

The Mingin people had strong traditions and customs. They had special ceremonies for young people becoming adults. These ceremonies changed over time, and they stopped including a certain ritual around the mid-1800s. The Mingin had close connections with the nearby Maikudunu people, even though they spoke different languages. Some early settlers heard stories that the Mingin and Maikudunu people originally came from the Kalkatungu people.

History

The Mingin people lived along the coast, west of the Leichhardt River. One story, passed down by the Ganggalida people, tells of the Mingin meeting new people near the Albert River. The Leichhardt River was a natural border between different Aboriginal cultures. For example, a certain initiation ritual was not practiced east of this river, suggesting the Mingin included it in their ceremonies.

After European settlers arrived in their area, the Mingin population quickly became very small. This happened because of new diseases brought by the settlers and conflicts. The yellow fever that affected the settlement of Burketown (which was built on their land) is thought to have been a big reason for their decline. By the 1930s, many people believed the Mingin had disappeared. The Ganggalida people then moved into the areas where the Mingin used to live. They have successfully claimed native title rights to the Mingin's traditional lands around Burketown.

Alternative names

• Mingir. (a mistake in printing)
• Minikin
• Minkin
• Myngeen

Words

Animals

• jaco-jaco. (kangaroo)
• kallanarra. (mosquito)
• karimbala. (white cockatoo)
• koodoo. (tame dog)
• koorina. (fly)
• megilpurra. (wild dog)
• ooabiba. (egg)
• paganbaba. (snake)
• piringooraa. (wild turkey)
• piteldoo. (pelican)
• poolunganna. (emu)
• pooralga. (native companion)
• wapoora. (possum)
• wongoola. (crow)
• worra. (fish)

Body Parts

• bilba. (thigh)
• boormba. (hair of the head)
• changa. (foot)
• charn-nga. (tongue)
• dimira. (bone)
• kiwira. (nose)
• lia. (teeth)
• mara. (ear)
• migilla. (eye)
• na-nga-ra. (hand)
• pagooroo. (skin)
• paranga. (fat)
• pardaga. (stomach)
• parka. (mouth)
• tangana. (blood)
• wedda. (head)
• yarin-nga. (beard)

Numbers

• choarng-ngo. (one)
• tigina. (two)
• tarngiltna. (three)

People

• birgenkoora. (brother-younger)
• churbooyo. (God)
• kiagi. (father)
• koo-ar-ee. (being who taught them everything)
• koondoonoo. (mother)
• magoo. (black woman)
• nacile. (brother-elder)
• nurka. (aboriginal man)
• ooardigiri. (old woman)
• ooroonda. (a young man)
• parda. (ghosts)
• pardingara. (an old man)
• pelgincorra. (a baby)
• takandana. (a white man)
• tano ara mingoo? (where are black?)
• tyana. (track of a foot)
• wompoora. (the blacks)
• yillolunga. (sister-elder)