Ngaiawang facts for kids
The Ngaiawang (also called Ngayawang) were an Aboriginal Australian people. They lived in the western Riverland area of South Australia. Their language was part of the Lower Murray group. Sadly, the Ngaiawang people are now considered extinct.
Sometimes, they were seen as part of the Meru people. This was a larger group that included the Ngawait and Erawirung peoples. Other Aboriginal groups had different names for them. The Kaurna and Ngadjuri peoples called them Birta. The Jarildekald people used names like Murundi.
Contents
Understanding the Ngaiawang Language
The Ngaiawang people spoke the Ngayawung language. This language belonged to the Lower Murray language branch. This branch is part of the larger Pama–Nyungan family of languages.
Where the Ngaiawang Lived
The Ngaiawang people lived in an area of about 2,400 square miles (6,200 km²). Their land stretched along the Murray River. It went from Herman Landing (near Nildottie) to Penn Reach (near Qualco).
Their western border was the edge of the Mount Lofty Ranges. To the south, their land ended at the Ngautngaut rock shelter. This site was very important. It was the first place in Australia where archaeologists dug to find old things. Norman Tindale and Herbert Hale from the South Australian Museum did this work.
Ngaiawang Community Life
The Ngaiawang people were made up of about ten different groups or clans. One of these groups was known as the Molo people. Each clan likely had its own traditions and ways of life.
Key Moments in Ngaiawang History
The first time Europeans met the Ngaiawang people was with explorer Edward John Eyre. He met them at Lake Bonney. In 1845, Eyre sailed back to England on a ship called the Symmetry. He took two Ngaiawang boys with him. One of these boys was named Warrulan.
Other Names for the Ngaiawang
The Ngaiawang people were known by many different names. These names were used by other Aboriginal groups or by early European explorers.
- Aiawung or Aiawong (used by Edward John Eyre)
- Birta (a name used by the Kaurna and Ngadjuri peoples)
- Iawung
- Meru (a general term for "man")
- Moorunde, Moorundee, Moorundie
- Murundi (a Jarildekald term for the Murray River area)
- Naiawu or Niawoo (names for their language)
- Ngaijawa or Ngaiyawa
- Ngaiyau
- Paruru (a Kaurna term used for Murray River tribes)
- Pijita, Pitta, Pieta, Peeita
- Wakanuwan (a name used by the Jarildekald for several tribes)
