Nauo people facts for kids
The Nauo people, also spelled Nawu and Nhawu, are an Aboriginal Australian group. They traditionally lived in the south-western part of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. Sadly, the Nauo language became extinct by the 1900s. However, people are now working hard to bring it back to life.
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Nauo Country and Land
Before European settlement officially began in South Australia in 1836, the Nauo people faced challenges. Whalers and sealers working along the southern coast sometimes raided their communities. As more Europeans settled on the Eyre Peninsula, they moved onto the lands of Indigenous peoples.
By the 1930s, an anthropologist named Norman Tindale was mapping the territories of different Aboriginal groups. He couldn't find any Nauo people at that time. So, he learned about their lands mainly from Wirangu and Barngarla people.
According to Tindale, the Nauo people's traditional lands were on the Eyre Peninsula. Their main areas were around the scrub gum forests on the south-western coast. Their total land covered about 8,000 square miles (20,700 square kilometres). Their western border was near Cape Radstock, stretching north past Minnipa. To the east, their land reached close to Darke Peak. It also included areas west of Cleve and halfway between Carrow and Franklin Harbor. Important places like Port Lincoln, Mount Hope, Coffin Bay, and Elliston were all part of Nauo territory.
Early Encounters and History
It is believed that before white settlement, the Nauo people's land stretched further north. It may have gone from the Gawler Ranges to Port Augusta. They were pushed south as the Barngarla people moved, creating pressure from the north.
At the same time, trouble came from the south. Sealing stations were set up along their southern coast. Men from these stations, along with people who had escaped from Tasmanian prisons, kidnapped many Nauo women. These raids started in the early 1800s from their bases on Kangaroo Island. This difficult start might explain why the Nauo people were sometimes hostile towards later settlers.
The Waterloo Bay Massacre, near Elliston, is a very sad and disputed historical event. It is said to have happened around 1846. A rumour claimed that after two settlers were killed, 160 armed men forced a large group of Aboriginal people, possibly 260, over a cliff into the sea. This report is unconfirmed, and only two Aboriginal people were said to have survived.
Despite this difficult history, some Nauo people were still living in that area years later. As recently as 2017, there was still disagreement between the Wirangu community and the Elliston local council. They were discussing how to describe what happened at Waterloo Bay. Council representatives felt "massacre" was too strong a word for what they called the "Elliston incident." They agreed "something happened" but said the details were unknown.
In May 2018, a group of seven Nauo elders gave a talk. They were joined by two local anthropologists at the Coffin Bay Yacht Club. They shared the Aboriginal history of the Coffin Bay area. Elder Jody Miller thought this might be the first time in South Australia that a Native Title claim group was asked by a local non-Indigenous community to share their culture and songlines.
Nauo Language Revival
The Nauo language is considered extinct. There have been no recorded speakers since before 1975. It shared some similarities with the Wirangu language.
The Mobile Language Team (MLT) from the University of Adelaide is working to bring the language back. They started with only 10 words recorded by German missionary C.W. Schürmann. Now, they have increased the wordlist to 300 words. The MLT is also creating a website for people to learn the language online.
Nauo Mythology and Beliefs
According to Nauo beliefs, the spirits of people who have passed away live on the islands in Spencer Gulf.
In 1847, George French Angas wrote down an interesting Nauo legend: The Nauo people believed that their tribe was once almost completely wiped out by a powerful warrior named Willoo. Willoo was an eaglehawk. This mighty warrior tried to take all the women for himself. He destroyed every man except two, who escaped by climbing into thick trees. These two men were named Karkantya and Poona, who were two smaller types of hawk. Willoo climbed after them, but they broke the branch he was sitting on. He fell to the ground. At that moment, a dog caused him to lose his special power, and he immediately died. He then turned into an eagle-hawk.
The Nauo people also believed that a small lizard created the different sexes. Men called this lizard ibirri, and women called it waka. Men would destroy the male lizards, and women would destroy the female lizards.
Other Names for Nauo People
The Nauo people were also known by several other names, including:
- Battara (meaning a type of scrubby gum tree)
- Gnowoo
- Hilleri
- Kadu (this term meant "man")
- Kartawongulta (the name of their language)
- Ngao (a name used by the Barngarla in 1939)
- Njau, Njao, Nawo, Naua, Nowo
- Wiljaru (a Barngarla name meaning "westerners")
- Willuro
