Paakantyi
| Paakantyi Lands New South Wales | |
|---|---|
  Paakantyi Lands | |
| Coordinates | 31°08′48″S 142°22′53″E / 31.14667°S 142.38139°ECoordinates: 31°08′48″S 142°22′53″E / 31.14667°S 142.38139°E |
The Paakantyi (Barkindji) are an Australian Aboriginal tribal group of the Darling River basin in Far West New South Wales, Australia.
Language
Traditionally they speak the Paakantyi language, which is part of the Pama–Nyungan languages Sprachbund, and one of the three major Aboriginal language groups for the Aboriginal people of present-day Broken Hill Region.
The name of the language refers to the paaru (Darling River), with the suffix -ntyi, meaning 'belonging to'. The name Paakantyi therefore simply means the River People.[1]
Etymologically the suffix -kali has been attributed as meaning 'people', and is incorporated in numerous group names in the nearby area, including Pantyikali (Creek people), Bulali (Hill people) and Thangkakali.[2]
The major work on the Paakantyi language has been that of linguist Luise Hercus.[3]
Country
The Paakantyi dwelt along the Darling River, from Wilcannia downstream almost to Avoca. Inland from either side of the Darling, their territory extended to a distance of roughly 20-30 miles. They lived also in the back country from the river, around the Paroo River and Broken Hill.[3][4][5]
The landscape is characterized by brick-red sandhills and grey clay flats.[6]
Social organization
The Paakantyi were divided into several hordes, of which the following are known:
- Kairongo.
- Lamon.
- Waimbo.
- Mothingo.
- Murkurilla.
- Karndilke.
- Pulali.'[5][7][lower-alpha 1]
The land was harsh: drought was not rare. When parched conditions set in, the Paakantyi would withdraw into the back country around the few perennial springs, and cull the starving wildlife that came into to slake themselves there.[6]
History of contact
One estimate of the population for the period immediate before contact with whites, taking into account the hard climatic conditions, suggested that the 2,000 sq.miles could have sustained no more than 100 people.[6] The people the explorer Mitchell encountered, and called Occa, are, according to Norman Tindale, probably to be identified with the Paakantyi. Tindale argues that Mitchell misheard the name for their section of the river,Ba:ka.[5]
Sometime around 1850, according to elders' memories, an epidemic attacked the Paakantyi and the neighbouring Naualko, affecting their numbers drastically tribes, killing off an estimated third of each tribe. Panic overtook the two peoples, they took flight, leaving those struck by the illness unburied in the sandhills, - the mortality was particularly high around Peri Lake - as they sought refuge at the Paroo river, where the disease was unknown.[8]
Frederic Bonney was one of the earliest settlers in their area, and ran stock there for 15 years.[9]
In the nineteenth century they were much reduced by disease and they ended up working for the immigrants who had invaded their lands. Pictures were taken by Bonney at Momba Station over 15 years from the mid 1860s down to 1880 which have provided a sympathetic and accurate picture of these people.[11] Bonney wrote sympathetically of the Paakantyi, stating that they were
'naturally honest, truthful, and kind-hearted. Their manner is remarkably courteous and to little children they are very kind. Affectionate and faithful to chosen companions, also showing exceeding respect to aged persons and willingly attending to their wants.'[12]
Notes
Citations
- ↑ Anderson 2015, p. 5.
- ↑ Hercus & Austin 2004, p. 208.
- 1 2 Hercus 2011.
- ↑ Andersen 2015, pp. 4–5.
- 1 2 3 4 Tindale 1974, p. 192.
- 1 2 3 Bonney 1884, p. 123.
- ↑ Cameron 1885, p. 346.
- ↑ Bonney 1884, pp. 123–124.
- ↑ Bonney 1884, p. 122.
- ↑ Hope & Lindsay 2010.
- ↑ Lydon, Braithwaite & Bostock-Smith 2014, pp. 69–70.
- ↑ Lydon, Braithwaite & Bostock-Smith 2014, p. 70.
References
- Anderson, Elena Handlos (2015). Development of a Learner's Grammar for Paakantyi (PDF). School of Linguistics, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Sydney.
- Bonney, Frederic (1884). "On Some Customs of the Aborigines of the River Darling, New South Wales". The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 13: 122–137.
- Cameron, A. L. P. (1885). "Notes on Some Tribes of New South Wales". The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 14: 344–370.
- Hercus, Luise A.; Austin, Peter (2004). "The Yarli languages". In Bowern, Claire; Koch, Harold. Australian Languages: Classification and the comparative method. John Benjamins Publishing. pp. 207–222. ISBN 978-9-027-29511-8.
- Hercus, Luise A. (2011) [First published 1993]. Paakantyi Dictionary. Canberra: AIATSIS. ISBN 978-0-646-15261-5 – via academia.edu.
- Hope, Jeanette; Lindsay, Robert (2010). The People of the Paroo River: Frederick Bonney's Photographs (PDF). Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, NSW. pp. 207–222. ISBN 978-1-742-32328-2.
- Lydon, Jane; Braithwaite, Sari; Bostock-Smith, Shauna (2014). "Photographing Indigenous people in New South Wales". In Lydon, Jane. Calling the shots: Indigenous photographies. Aboriginal Studies Press. pp. 55–75. ISBN 978-1-922-05959-8.
- Tindale, Norman Barnett (1974). "Barkindji (NSW)". Aboriginal Tribes of Australia: Their Terrain, Environmental Controls, Distribution, Limits, and Proper Names. Australian National University Press. ISBN 978-0-708-10741-6.