Murngin (NT)

Archive Collections / Language Groups / Murngin (NT)

Location: Term is not used to designate any grouping of tribes on the map. It is a general name applied by some western tribes in Arnhem Land to groups of people outside their area in northeastern Arnhem Land. The term was adopted first by Warner (1937) as a loose designation for some peoples sharing a specific form of kinship organization. According to Peterson (1969 MS) it has a general meaning of 'shovel-nose-spear folk,' and there is an implication that the people so named are aggressors. In tradition they came from the east. The classification of northeastern Arnhem Land peoples preferred by aborigines is based on variations in the mode of speaking the pronoun 'this.' Further details are given in this catalog under the heading Duwal.

Inventory Listings

Item AA 105/14/1-8 - genealogical pattern and marriage diagram charts