Ngaatjatjarra people facts for kids

The Ngaatjatjarra (also spelled Ngadadjara) are an Indigenous Australian people. They live in the north-eastern part of the Goldfields-Esperance region in Western Australia.

What's in a Name?

The name Ngaatjatjarra comes from their language. It combines the word ŋa:da, which means "who" or "what", with the ending -t(d)jara. So, their name means "the people who use the word ŋa:da for 'who/what'". Many groups in their area name themselves this way.

Their Language

The Ngaatjatjarra people speak a language called Ngaatjatjarra. It is very similar to the Ngaanyatjarra language. People who speak one can usually understand the other. Because they are so similar, they are often considered two dialects of the same language.

Traditional Lands: Where They Lived

The Ngaatjatjarra people have lived on their traditional lands for a very long time. These lands cover about 77,700 square kilometers (30,000 square miles). The heart of their traditional life was in the Warburton Ranges. A special place called Warupuju Spring was very important because it always had water.

Their lands stretched far and wide. To the east, they reached places like Fort Welcome and the Blackstone Ranges. To the southeast, their boundary was at the Ero:tjo watering hole. In the northeast, they went as far as Kudjuntari and around Julia (Giles). Their northern lands included Hopkins Lake. To the west, they lived around Tekateka and the Alfred Marie Ranges.

The Ngaatjatjarra shared borders with other Indigenous groups. These included the Keiadjara and Wenamba to the north. The Pitjantjatjara were to their east. The Nakako and Mandjindja lived to their south. The Ngaanyatjarra were on their western borders.

A special map was made in the 1930s. It showed their water mythology. This map explained how the rainbow, called Tjurtiraŋo, created different water sources.

Ngaanyatjarra Lands Today

The "Ngaanyatjarra lands" are managed by the Ngaanyatjarra Council (Aboriginal Corporation). These lands include several communities where people live today. Some of these communities are:

• Irrunytju (Wingelinna)
• Kiwirrkurra
• Mantamaru (Jameson)
• Papulankutja (Blackstone)
• Patjarr (Karilywara)
• Kanpa (Pira Kata)
• Tjirrkarli
• Tjukurla
• Warakurna
• Wanarn
• Warburton (Mirlirrtjarra)

How Their Society Works

The Ngaatjatjarra people traditionally lived in a way where the wife would move to live with her husband's family. Their marriage rules were based on a special class system.

Families inherited a totem (tjukur/tuma). A totem is like a special symbol or animal connected to a family. These totems were linked to specific places in the landscape. These places reminded them of the journeys of creative beings in their Dreaming. The Dreaming is a very important part of their spiritual beliefs.

Traditional Food and Plants

The Ngaatjatjarra people were skilled at finding food from their land. They collected grass seeds called wakati. They would grind these seeds with rolling stones to make a paste for eating.

They also gathered a plant called nicotiniana excelsior. This is a type of tobacco leaf. They would dry it over a fire. Then, they would chew it after mixing it with ashes from burnt acacia plants.

First Meetings with Outsiders

The Ngaatjatjarra people had their first contact with non-Indigenous people quite late. One of the earliest detailed accounts was in August 1935. This was when a research group from the University of Adelaide met a Ngaatjatjarra family.

Other Names for Ngaatjatjarra

Over time, the Ngaatjatjarra people have been known by several other names. Some of these names were used by other groups to describe them.

• Jabungadja (meaning "mountain Ngadja," for those near the Rawlinson Ranges)
• Ku.rara (a name used by Pitjantjatjara people for tribes in the Rawlinson Ranges)
• Nga:da
• Nga:dapitjardi (a western name for groups near the Blackstone Ranges)
• Ngadatara (a name used by Pitjantjatjara people)
• Ngadawongga
• Nganadjara (a name used by Warburton Range groups for those northeast of them)
• Ngatatjara, Ngadjatara, Ngadadara, Nadadjara, Ngadatjara
• Rumudjara
• Teitudjara (a name used by Nana people)
• Wan:udjara (an eastern Ngadadjara name for their northern groups near Giles)
• Warara (a name used by northeastern groups)
• Wirtjandja
• Witjandja (a name for a group from the Warburton Range)

A Few Ngaatjatjarra Words

Here are some words from the Ngaatjatjarra language:

• tartu (seeds pods from the river red gum tree, used to decorate a girl's hair)
• tjitjimurdilja (a young person who has not yet gone through a certain ceremony)
• wana (a woman's digging stick, used for finding food)