Yingkarta facts for kids

The Yingkarta people, also known as Inggarda or Ingarda, are an Aboriginal Australian group. They come from the Gascoyne region in Western Australia.

The Yingkarta Language

The Yingkarta language is part of the Kartu language family. People spoke it along the coast near Carnarvon. It was also spoken inland along the Gascoyne River and south to the Wooramel River. The first records of the language are from 1886. These records were a list of basic words.

There were two main ways of speaking Yingkarta. These were a northern and a southern style. They had different words for some things. Even by the end of the 1900s, many people in the Carnarvon community knew Yingkarta words. However, they did not use them very often. Young people often mix Yingkarta words with words from the Wadjarri language. This is because the Yingkarta and Wadjarri people have always had strong connections.

Yingkarta Country

The traditional lands of the Yingkarta people are between the Gascoyne River and the Wooramel River. Their country is like a wedge of land. To their south were the Tedei people. To their north were the Mandi people.

Their land stretched from the northern part of Shark Bay. It went as far east as Red Hill and Gascoyne Junction. Other groups living near them included the Baiyungu, Maia, Tharrkari, and Warriyangga to the north. The Malgana lived to their south. The Wadjarri lived to their east. Experts believe their territory covered about 10,880 square kilometers (4,200 square miles).

History of Contact

European settlers began moving into Yingkarta lands in 1877. At that time, it is thought that about 2,000 Yingkarta people lived there. A sickness called smallpox was common among them.

Social Life and Traditions

The Nanda people, who lived south of Shark Bay, were very respectful of the Yingkarta. They believed the Yingkarta were very skilled in a special kind of magic called boollia. This magic was said to include the power to make rain appear when they wanted it to.

Other Names for Yingkarta

• Angaardi, Angaardie
• Ingara, Ingarra, Ingarrah, Ingra
• Ingarda, Inggadi, Ingada, Ingadi
• Inparra (this might be a mistake in spelling)
• Jaburu (meaning "northerners")
• Kakarakala (a name used by the Mandi people for northern groups, meaning "east")
• Kurudandi (meaning "eastern groups")

Some Yingkarta Words

• mama (father)
• narana (white man)
• pipi (mother)
• thuthu (dog)