Wurango facts for kids
The Wurango or Wurrugu are an Indigenous Australian people. They come from the Northern Territory of Australia.
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Their Traditional Land
The Wurango people's traditional lands covered about 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles). This area was around the western part of the Cobourg Peninsula. It also included a place called Port Essington.
Who Were the Wurango People?
In 1838, a person named Crawford Pasco met the Wurango people. He said there were many of them, and they seemed very healthy. He noted that many lived to be around 70 years old, which was a very old age back then.
How They Lived Together
The Wurango people had a special way of organizing their communities. They likely lived in groups called 'hordes'. These groups were like smaller family units or clans.
One group, called the Tji, lived at the western end of the Cobourg Peninsula. Another group, the Ja:lo, lived in Port Essington.
They also had a system of family groups for marriage, sometimes called 'skin sections'. Some of these groups were:
- Manderojelli
- Manburlgeat
- Mandrowilli
Other Names for Wurango
Over time, the Wurango people have been known by several other names. These include:
- Auwulwarwak
- Ja:lo (This name means 'no' in their language)
- Limba-Karadjee (This name was used by an early explorer for the Port Essington group)
- Wa:reidbug, Woreidbug
- Warooko
- Wurrunga, Wurrango
- Wuru:ku, U:ru:ku
- Yarlo
Some Wurango Words
Here are a couple of words from the Wurango language:
- naween (father)
- noyoke (mother)
