Warrongo people
The Warruŋu, also known as the Warungu/Warrongo, were an Indigenous Australian people of the northern Queensland rainforest areas south of Cairns.
Language
Warrongo is classified as a member of the Maric branch of the Pama–Nyungan languages. Tsunoda Tasaku made a claim for Warungu having 'the strongest syntactic ergativity' of all the world's languages.[1] The claim has been challenged by Robert M. W. Dixon who believes that the conversational material on which it is based is vitiated by confusions in the informant.[2]
Some words
- warrngu (woman).[3]
Last speakers
- Alf Palmer, boat-builder, who also knew Jirrbal, Girramay, and Warrgamay.[4] His mother Lucy was one of the people pushed into the gorge to drown at Blencoe Falls.[5]
Country
Mount Garnet marks their northern border.[6]
Society
The Warrongo bore close linguistic and cultural affinities with the Gudjal and Gugu Badhan peoples, all three occupying the Herbert and Upper Burdekin rivers.[7] Like other contiguous groups of this area, the Warrango divided their members into 4 'skin' sections.
- gorgorro (polite form:goynba). Totem =carpet snake(gabol)/sparrowhawk (garrgay')
- gorgilla (polite form:woragaja) Totem=crow (wajagan)/eaglehawk (gorrijala)
- won.go (polite form:wolmirri) Totem=echnidna (barrbira)/dove (?gorraga)
- wojorro (polite formn:yawonya) Totem=eagelhawk/Carpet snake/emu (gondolo)[lower-alpha 1]
History of contact
Tin was discovered in the vicinity of Warrongo territory,[lower-alpha 2] in the Wild river area in 1880. John Atherton's Cashmere station, and the Gunnawarra station, were established on their territory in the mid 1870s.[6] The surging influx of miners led to many clashes and massacres. At Blencoe Falls, a group of Warrongo were driven off the cliffs and pushed to plunge into the gorge.[5]
Notes and references
Explanatory notes
Notes
- ↑ Tsunoda 1974.
- ↑ Dixon 1994, p. 180.
- ↑ Dixon 2011, p. 113.
- ↑ Dixon 2011, p. 112.
- 1 2 Tsunoda 2012, p. 39.
- 1 2 Tsunoda 2012, p. 38.
- ↑ Menghetti 1984, p. 4.
- ↑ Tsunoda 2012, pp. 25–26.
References
- Dixon, R. M. W. (1972). The Dyirbal Language of North Queensland. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-08510-6.
- Dixon, R. M. W. (1994). Ergativity. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-44898-7.
- Dixon, R. M. W. (2011). Searching for Aboriginal Languages: Memoirs of a Field Worker. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-02504-1.
- Menghetti, Diane (1984). Charters Towers (PDF) (Ph.D. thesis). James Cook University.
- Tsunoda, Tasaku (1974). A grammar of the Warungu language, North Queensland (M.A. thesis). Monash University.
- Tsunoda, Tasaku (2012). A Grammar of Worrongo. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-110-23877-8.