Ngugi people facts for kids

The Ngugi are an Aboriginal Australian people. They are one of three groups that make up the Quandamooka people. The Ngugi are the traditional owners of Moreton Island.

The Ngugi Language

The Ngugi people spoke a language called Guwar. This name came from their word for "no," which was gowarliosislipotinoionalop. The Guwar language was similar to other languages spoken around Moreton Bay. For example, Tom Petrie, who knew the Turrbal language from Brisbane, could understand the Ngugi people. Some experts believe Guwar was a type of Bundjalung language.

Ngugi Country: Moreton Island

The Ngugi people lived on all of Moreton Island. They called their island Mulganpin (Moolgunpin). It covers about 181 square kilometers (70 square miles).

A Legend of South Passage

There is a Ngugi legend about the sandbar at South Passage near Moreton Island. It tells the story of an old woman's bones. She chased a young man from North Stradbroke Island because he stole a firestick. He took a canoe from Amity, Queensland to Moreton Island. The old woman followed him. They both landed at Gunemba.

The young man hid among other young men who were part of an initiation ceremony. But the old woman found him. She grabbed him and put him in her dilly bag. He managed to escape and used bone skewers to stab her eyes, making her blind. He then put her in a canoe and let it drift out to sea. She died on a sandbank, and her bones formed the sandbar we see today.

Island Life and Nature

Moreton Island has thin soil. In the higher northern parts, there are many swamps. The island also has plenty of fresh water springs.

Animals of Moreton Island

The island is home to many different animals. There are various birds and lots of crabs. You can also find many bandicoots. However, the island also has many venomous snakes. These include death adders, Tiger snakes, Red-bellied black snakes, Eastern brown snakes, and Carpet snakes.

Ngugi Society and Daily Life

The Ngugi people are considered one of the three main groups of the Quandamooka people.

In the 1960s, a study found about 72 places where Ngugi people used to live on the island. Before Europeans arrived, about 100 Ngugi people lived on Moreton Island. They lived in groups of 15 to 20 people. Early visitors saw at least five groups of large huts along the northern shore.

Lancelot Threlkeld wrote in 1824 that the Moreton Bay Aboriginal people were very advanced. He said they lived in hut settlements that looked like small villages. An important living area was the southern side of the Cape Moreton headland. This was because it was the only place where sandy ironstone could be found. The Ngugi used this stone to make tools. They even traded some of these tools with the Nunukul people on Stradbroke Island.

Fishing with Porpoises

The Ngugi people were skilled fishers. Like other Moreton Island people, they would work with porpoises to catch fish. They would hit the water near the shore with sticks. This would encourage the porpoises to drive fish towards the beach. They were also very good at catching tailor fish.

Tom Petrie described how they fished with porpoises:

The sea would be calm, and there would be no sign anywhere of a porpoise. The Ngugi people would go along the beach. They would poke their spears into the sand under the water. They made a strange noise and also hit the water with their spears. Soon, porpoises would appear, swimming towards the shore. In front of them were large groups of tailor fish. It seemed amazing, but the porpoises were driving the fish towards the land.

When the fish came close, the Ngugi people would run into the waves. They would spear the fish, sometimes getting two on one spear. The fish were so plentiful! Each fish they speared was thrown to the shore. The women would then pick them up. The porpoises swam among all this activity. They did not seem afraid of the people. In fact, they seemed to be on good terms. I have seen a Ngugi person hold out a fish on a spear to a porpoise, and the porpoise would take and eat it.

One old porpoise was well known and loved. It had a piece of root or stick stuck in its back. This helped people recognize it easily. The Ngugi people told me it had been there for years. They believed that a great man of the island had put it there. This made the porpoise the "big fellow" of the porpoise tribe. I saw this porpoise take fish from a spear. White men working on the island also said they often saw it with the Ngugi people. The Ngugi people always spoke of porpoises with love. They said the porpoises never failed to help them catch fish when called.

Cultural Sites and Practices

Several Ngugi names for the Cape Moreton headland area still exist. These include Mijin Boowell, Gunemba, Boogaram-calleem, and Cangallioon. These names might refer to plants like the midjin bush, or to honey (canumba). They might also refer to a bullroarer (boogaram) or the string used to swing it. The cape was an important place for bora initiation ceremonies.

According to Thomas Welsby, who visited the island in 1900, there was a special cave nearby. People believed that if anyone entered this cave and scratched their head, a stone would fall from the ceiling and kill them.

A Ngugi headman was known for creating new corroboree dances and songs. He would go to a quiet place to think them up. Then he would return and teach them to his community.

Ngugi women were famous for making excellent dilly bags. These bags were perfect for holding fish. They wove them from mat-rushes.

Ngugi Mythology

In Ngugi legends, Warrajamba was a rainbow serpent. Among other tribes, he was also known as a rainbow serpent. The legend says he shed his blood and formed a red sandhill at Cowen Cowen. There were two main sandhill sites. A legend called "The Lightning's Playground" was told about these sites.

Another dreamtime legend tells of a black snake and a carpet snake. They traveled in a hollowed-out chestnut tree canoe from the Pine River to Moreton Island. A dog swam alongside them, bothering them. The carpet snake steered the canoe because the black snake was sick.

After some time on the island, they were happy to find the dingo had died from exhaustion. But their canoe had been swept away. This left them stuck on the island. Eventually, they explored the island and found their way to the bay opposite Southport, Queensland. From there, they reached the mainland and made their way home.

History of Contact with Europeans

In the early 1830s, conflicts broke out between the Ngugi and British soldiers. This happened after the British set up military stations on the islands. Captain Clunie sent armed groups on raids to get revenge. Between July 1831 and December 1832, several fights occurred. Five Europeans died. An estimated 30-40 Ngugi and Nunukal people were injured or killed. In one attack, soldiers from the 17th Regiment surrounded Ngugi people camped at a freshwater lagoon on Moreton Island. They killed about twenty people.

According to Tom Petrie, the last known members of the Ngugi tribe were Bournbobian (known as Kitty) and Junnumbin (Juno). Kitty was blind. Both were so sharp that they recognized Petrie after 50 years just by hearing his voice.

Some Ngugi Words

• targan (ghost of the sea)

Alternative Names

• Mugee
• Wogee
• Gnoogee
• Guar, Gowar, Goowar, Gooar
• Gowrburra
• Chunchiburri
• Booroo-geen-merrie