Index

Warlpiri Culture

The Warlpiri are an aboriginal tribe in the Northern Territory of Australia. There are approximately 3,000 Warlpiri people spread throughout Central Australia today. This blog will provide information about:

• History of the Warlpiri
• Homeland 
• World of the Warlpiri 
• Warlpiri Cosmos 
• Birds 
• Neighbors 
• Migrations and Diaspora 
• Interview 
• Cultural Survival 
• References

Enjoy and feel free to leave comments! :)

References

Websites: 

http://learnline.cdu.edu.au/tourism/uluru/downloads/birds_list.pdf

http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol18/iss3/art19/

http://www.mdahlem.net/birds/index.php

http://www.eremaea.com/SiteSpeciesList.aspx?Site=3021

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/130715/australian-youth-make-totally-new-language-called-warlpiri

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warlpiri_language

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warlpiri_people

http://wordsinmyhair.wordpress.com/2013/07/02/the-warpiri-diet/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeypot_ant

http://adambarraletsbloodygoodthingstoknow.blogspot.com/2012/02/animal-of-week-wedge-tailed-eagle.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crested_Pigeon

http://tryingtoheal.com/2012/04/12/birding-thursday-rainbow-bee-eater/

http://www.planetofbirds.com/falconiformes-falconidae-brown-falcon-falco-berigora-2

http://ibc.lynxeds.com/photo/galah-eolophus-roseicapillus/galahs

http://www.bushpea.com/bd/pg/all/w/white-plumed%20honeyeater%2004.html

http://blog.centennialparklands.com.au/black-faced-cuckoo-shrike/

http://birdway.com.au/artamini/pied_butcherbird/source/pied_butcherbird_05610.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Wagtail

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magpie-lark

http://www.aussiebirds.net/WoodlandBirds.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra_Finch

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedge-tailed_Eagle

http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Merops-ornatus

http://www.mdahlem.net/birds/18/whplmhon.php

http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Cracticus-nigrogularis

http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Artamus-cinereus

http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Corvus-orru
http://www.everyculture.com/Oceania/Warlpiri.html

Books: 

• ·         Creation Magazine

Volume 8 Issue 2

Published March 1986

48 Pages

What the Warlpiri Aborigines Believe About the Origin of Everything By: Laurie Reece

Article pages 36-38

• ·         Warlpiri Dreaming and Histories: Newly Recorded Stories From the Aboriginal Elders of Central Australia

Translated by Peggy Rockman Napaljarri and Lee Cataldi

·        

•      The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Hunters and Gatherers

By: Richard B. Lee and Richard Daly

Academic Journal:  

• The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology
• Indigenous Diaspora and the Prospects for Cosmopolitan 'Orbiting': The Warlpiri Case Pages 304-322 By: Paul Burke (2013)

Warlpiri Cultural Survival

Culture is beautiful and unique. Each and very different culture have stories to tell and learn from and give insight on a whole new outlook on life. Because of this, it's increasingly important to keep these cultures alive and thriving. The Warlpiri people are keeping their culture alive through the use of arts and language.

Arts:

In the past, the Warlpiri people would express themselves through art on wood, sand, and even the body. The art told stories and was a means of documenting important events throughout the community as well as their use in celebrations and rituals such as ""kurdiji" mentioned in a previous post (Warlpiri Cosmos). Nowadays, body painting is still used in rituals, but also has moved into modern day times with the use of paints and oils on canvas, still telling the story of long ago stories and ancestors.

Language:

Warlpiri is one of the largest aboriginal languages in Australia with approximately 3,000 people still speaking it today. As with any language, the elders are always afraid that as their offspring get older, the ancient language will one day be forgotten and put to rest. This is not the case of the Warlpiri. Lately, the young Warlpiri members have more than embraced their native language and have created a new version of it called "Warlpiri Rampaku" or Light Warlpiri. To get this new creation, children have combined their own Warlpiri language with bits of English and even Kriol thrown in. What started out between children has now spread to even older adults in the tribe and has grown in number of speakers tremendously. It is stressed that Light Warlpiri is not a mashing of languages together, but the creation of a whole new language with noun and verb structures from it's parent languages. I have provided a video below for further explanation:

http://www.nytimes.com/video/science/100000002337740/linguist-finds-a-language-in-its-infancy.html?smid=pl-share

Interview with a Warlpiri Native

Coming Soon!

Warlpiri Migrations and Diaspora

While researching about Warlpiri diaspora and migration, I came across a fantastic article in The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology entitled Indigenous Diaspora and the Prospects for Cosmopolitan 'Orbiting': The Warlpiri Case. This article was written by Paul Burke in 2013 and had incredible information pertaining to this exact topic for this blog post.

It has been found that not a significant number of Warlpiri people have migrated out of the country of Australia, with only a few artists and businessmen in exception to this but usually only as a temporary diaspora. Many will migrate away from their ancestral homeland, but will stay in the country as their permanent diaspora, and through my research I've found four reasons a Warlpiri native would choose to migrate.

Prohibition: 

Since the 1980's alcohol and the drinking lifestyle has been strictly prohibited on the Walrpiri home settlements. Some people will move off of the ancestral ground in order to pursue a drinking and partying lifestyle in nearby towns free from the constrictions of their home.

Marriage and Education: 

I was going to break these two up into two different paragraphs, but either one I decided to tackle tied in with the other. On the subject of education, Warlpiri children can be sent away to boarding school where they are introduced to a whole different world outside of their settlements, enticing them to stay away from home permanently. One of these enticing reasons could be finding a mate outside of his or her culture/settlement, marrying, and deciding to settle where the other spouse is from. Also, in order to ensure that their children will have an excellent education, a Warlpiri native may move away from the settlement and into a nearby town where the child will get adequate schooling. This is moreso a voluntary diaspora.

Involuntary Diaspora:

In some instances, a diaspora may not be a voluntary act. In the cases of medical issues and aging elder care, the resources needed for them may not be available in the home settlements. Also, if a person is convicted of a crime and sent to jail, they would be involuntarily leaving their home settlement to serve time for their crime.

Warlpiri and Their Neighbors

The Northern Territory of Australia has a population of approx. 233,300 people. There is no information to hint that the Warlpiri have any significant contact with any of their neighbors. All that could be found was that with diaspora, intermingling between the Warlpiri natives and those of the towns around them have been increasingly frequent. 

Birds of the Warlpiri

There doesn't seem to be an immense tie with the Warlpiri and the birds of their land except for the fact that they exist around them. The birds that have been seen around the community of Yuendumu have been documented on eremaea.com and with a little bit of research, I've also found some information on each of the birds along with the aboriginal name for them. All of the ones that have been documented are listed below, along with a picture of each.

• Wedge-Tailed Eagle: 
• Aboriginal Name: Bunjil
• Facts:
• Largest Bird of Prey in Australia
• Has long broad wings, a diamond shaped tail and feather covered legs
• Found in Australia and New Guinea
• Reach heights of 5,900 ft and sometimes even higher for unknown reasons. 
• Eyesight so advanced it reaches into the ultraviolet and infrared band. Also helps them see thermal which helps hunting prey.

http://adambarraletsbloodygoodthingstoknow.blogspot.com/2012/02/animal-of-week-wedge-tailed-eagle.html

• Crested Pigeon:
• Aboriginal Name: Gulawuliil 
• Facts:
• Found widely throughout Australia
• Mostly grey with brown and green
• Slender black spike on the top of it's head
• The call resembles a "whoop" noise. 
• Lets off a beating/whistle noise as it takes off
• Breed in the warmer months

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crested_Pigeon

• Rainbow Bee-eater: 
• Aboriginal Name(s): Birrubirruu, Beerin-Beerin, or Berringa 
• Facts: 
•  Found throughout Australia as well as Indonesia, New Guinea, and sometimes the Soloman Islands.
• Extremely colorful birds with areas of gold, red, black, green and blue.
• Eats bees, wasps, dragonflies, beetles, butterflies and moths. 
• Usually breed in Summer and both parents incubate the eggs.

 

http://tryingtoheal.com/2012/04/12/birding-thursday-rainbow-bee-eater/

• Brown Falcon:
• Aboriginal Name: Kirkinpa
• Facts:
•  Found in Australia, New Guinea, and Tasmania
• Scruffy, large head, long legs and small feet. 
• Mostly brown with reddish tint with a white belly.
• Loud cackling call but also has a quieter call with clucks and croaking.
• Hunts from a perch. 

http://www.planetofbirds.com/falconiformes-falconidae-brown-falcon-falco-berigora-2

• Galah:
• Aboriginal Name: Gilaa
• Facts:
• Rose colored head and body with a paler pink tip of the head. 
• Spend the day in shelter keeping out of the heat.
• Most familiar parrot in Australia
• Found in large noisy flocks. 
• Will partner up for life, but if the partner dies, the galah will take another mate. 
• Up to 50% of chicks die in the first six months of life. 
• Funny sounding call which inspired the Old Australian derrogatory term of the same name meaning "loud-mouthed idiot." (Just a little fun fact!)

 

http://ibc.lynxeds.com/photo/galah-eolophus-roseicapillus/galahs

• White-Plumed Honeyeater: 
• Aboriginal Name: N/A
• Facts: 
• Yellow, black, white and grey markings. 
•  Found in open forest, woodlands, and bushland
• Feeds on nectar, insects, fruit and seeds 
• Has several "song flights" throughout mating season.

http://www.bushpea.com/bd/pg/all/w/white-plumed%20honeyeater%2004.html

• Black-Faced Cuckooshrike: 
• Aboriginal Name: Gunidjaa
• Facts:
• Body is blue-grey 
• When flying, will flap their wings for a few times, then hold them close to their body for about two seconds, resulting in them losing some altitude, making them look as if they're bobbing. This is where "cuckoo" in the name comes from.
• The call has been compared to a flute and a purr. 
• Feed on insects (caterpillar and other invertebrates are listed as an example.) , and also fruits and seeds.

 

http://blog.centennialparklands.com.au/black-faced-cuckoo-shrike/

• Pied Butcherbird: 
• Aboriginal Name: Pititjaku-Pititjaku
• Facts: 
• Younger are usually duller than the adults. 
• Found throughout Australian mainland except for farther south. Not present in Tasmania. 
• More often heard than seen
• Aggressive feeders. Survive on small reptiles, mammals, frogs,  other birds and large insects.
• Female is responsible for incubating the eggs as the male and other birds in the group feed her.

http://birdway.com.au/artamini/pied_butcherbird/source/pied_butcherbird_05610.htm

• Black-Faced Woodswallow:
• Aboriginal Name: Tjalputi
• Facts: 
• The adults are smokey grey/brown with a partially black face,
• The young are mainly brown with lots of streaks and a pale brown beak. 
• Found out in the open and often far from water.
•  Also found in open woodlands. 
• Usually survives on a diet of insects and nectar.

http://ibc.lynxeds.com/photo/black-faced-woodswallow-artamus-cinereus/perching-dead-branch

• Willie-Wagtail: 
• Aboriginal Name: Ilpurpura
  
• Facts:
• Have three subspecies
• Gets it's name from wagging the tail back and forth horizontally while on the ground looking for food. 
• Aggressive and territorial demeanor
• Will often harass much larger birds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Wagtail

• Magpie-Lark:
• Aboriginal Name: Tiil-Tiilpa
• Facts: 
•  Adult male has distinctive white eyebrow and black face (as pictured below)
• Female has all white face with no eyebrow
• Nicknamed the "Peewee" because of it's unique call. 
• Despite the name, has no ties to magpies or larks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magpie-lark

• Torresian Crow:
• Aboriginal Name: Kaanka
• Facts: 
•  White eyes with fine blue ring. Very glossy black body
• Also known as the Australian Crow
• Short, staccato call
• Will eat dead animals and mostly grain. Will also eat fruit, insects, eggs and garbage.

http://www.aussiebirds.net/WoodlandBirds.htm

• Zebra Finch:   
• Aboriginal Name: Nyii-Nyii
• Facts: 
• Likely to be kept in captivity by pet owners, and researchers. 
• Lives on average five years in it's natural habitat but can reach approx. 12 years in captivity.
• Will breed any time of the year, but usually only after a great amount of rain. 
• Very loud calls. A "meep" or "beep" sound.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra_Finch

Warlpiri Cosmos

Religion:

The Warlpiri people believe that "the vocabulary of a language reflects the way of life of the people who speak it." This belief exactly mirrors the concept of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis of linguistic relativity.  The Warlpiri word "tjukurrpa" means dream, eternity, and the eternal spirit world. From this word, the word for their god is created by adding the suffix -warnu. The Almighty being they worship is called Tjukurrpawarnu. The Warlpiri believe Tjukurrpawarnu created all other tjukurrpa to create everything in the world such as all animals and birds and physical features of the land. For an example of this concept, Wawirritjukurrpa was responsible for creating all Kangaroo life in the world. Everything in the world was created in some way through Tjukurrpawarnu. When talking about creation and when the world came to be, the Warlpiri people use the phrase "Nyuruwi" which means "at the first" and/or "In the Beginning." To emphasize how long ago the world was first created, the vowels in the word "Nyuruwi" are stretched out just as in our language we would say the phrase "long ago" in an emphatic way. It is stressed that the Warlpiri absolutely do not believe in evolution.

Rituals:

A major ritual in the Warlpiri community is the "kurdiji." This ritual involves young boys just reaching puberty and serves as the first step to usher them into manhood. This ritual symbolizes the start of the "education to become a man." This ritual may also double as a marital negotiation. During, the arrangements for a wife for the young boy is made and may be a girl in the village or even a baby. This ritual does not double as wedding though, but only as a matchmaking of sorts for a future marriage. During the ceremony there is lots of singing, dancing and body painting. Male and females both participate in various stages of the ritual.

Warlpiri boys during the Kurdiji ceremony.

World of the Warlpiri

The Warlpiri see the world around them and do not take it for granted. Every little thing in their world is used and taken full advantage of. From nourishment, to shelter, to art, everything is a resource.

Hunting and gathering are important jobs in order to stay alive and thriving in the middle of a vast, remote area. Warlpiri will hunt big game such as:

• Emus
• Bush turkeys
• Lizards 
• Birds 
• Snakes
• and more...

Gatherers have the job of collecting seeds from trees that fall to the ground such as:

• pig-weed seeds

http://soilcropandmore.info/crops/Weeds/prostrate_pigweed.htm

• witchetty grub tree seeds

http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/2011/esselman_kenn/habitat-and-geography.html

• bean tree seeds

http://sophiemunns2010.blogspot.com/2010/04/denise-rivers-volunteering-in-seed-lab.html

Also, from the sandy ground, gatherers will dig up bush potatoes, bush yams and bush onions. To ensure a sweet tooth fix that everyone needs, no matter the culture, the Warlpiri gatherers will cut down honey from the tops of trees.

Shelter:

Low windbreaks were originally used as shelter in the pleasant weather, but during the rainy season, spinifex grass from the land around them was used to create spinifex thatch domed huts to take shelter in from the weather.

The Tanami Desert: Homeland of the Warlpiri

Tanami Desert:

On most websites, the Tanami Desert is described as a severely inhospitable area, and a barren unforgiving tundra, "one of the most isolated arid places on Earth." While this information is common, it is far from the truth. In reality, with any reliable car these days, the Desert is easily navigable.

• Size:
• The desert is 184,500 square kilometers (71, 235 square miles). It is located approximately seven hours northwest of Alice Springs and the northernmost desert in Australia. It is also Australia's third largest desert. In some areas, the desert is flat and low, in others the terrain gets rocky and hilly.

• Weather:
• The average amount of rainfall in summer (the wet season) is over 400 millimeters, but because it is located in the North the temperatures are high resulting in the majority of the rain evaporating. 
• Summer comes around during the months of October through March when the average daily temperature ranges between 36-38 degrees Celsius (97-100 degrees Fahrenheit.)Night temperatures average around 20 to 22 degrees Celsius (68-71 degrees Fahrenheit. 
• The coldest time of year occurs during the months of June and July. The day temps average around 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) and night temperatures drop to around 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit). 

• Environment: 
• Plants/Flowers

•  Most of the terrain consists of "sandy plains" along with spinifex grass, yellow flowering shrubs called low acacias, small trees, and spindly grevilleas 

Low Acacias

Spindly Grevilleas

Spinifex Grass

•  Animals: 
• The Tanami Desert is an important area for endangered animals. Many take refuge there. Some examples of endangered animals that reside there are the Bilby, the Rufous-Hare Wallaby and the Mulgara.

Bilby

Rufous-Hare Wallaby

Mulgara

History of the Warlpiri

It was definitely a challenge to find information on this particular culture, but I am determined to dig in order to uncover as much information as I can about this particular group of people. After all, this is an expedition, isn't it? No one said it would be easy.

Not much seems to be known about the history of the Warlpiri besides when they were first discovered as well as where they seemed to have inhabited. The Warlpiri people are native to the Northern Territory of Australia and are a nomadic group of people. They traveled around Central Australia for centuries and never really settled in one area for very long. It is not certain how long ago the Warlpiri date back to, but it is estimated at 44,000 years ago that the first contact was made. Originally, the Warlpiri people tended to inhabit the Tanami Desert. Before the colonization of Australia, there were believed to be around 1,200 Warlpiri speaking people.

By 1862, Europeans had spread across Australia and into the Warlpiri region of Northern Australia. Slowly over the many coming years, the Warlpiri country were slowly losing their land until they were completely evicted. Starving and homeless Warlpiri people lining the stations alone the telegraph line of Warlpiri country led to government settlements being created for the Warlpiri people to reside. The first one was built in Tanami in 1945, the second in Yuendumu in 1946, and the third in Lajamanu in 1952.  

Today there are approximately 3,000 Warlpiri speaking people residing in Yuendumu, Lajamanu, Nyirrpi, Willowra and Alice Springs. The largest community of Warlpiri people are currently living in Yuendumu.