Arrernte people
Encyclopedia
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
who are the original custodians of Arrernte lands
Arrernte (area)
The Arrernte land is aboriginal land in central Australia. It is controlled by Arrernte Council which in turn is controlled by Central Land Council from Alice Springs. Arrernte is the traditional language of Alice Springs, which is the centre of Arrernte land....
in the central
Central Australia
Central Australia/Alice Springs Region is one of the five regions in the Northern Territory. The term Central Australia is used to describe an area centred on Alice Springs in Australia. It is sometimes referred to as Centralia; likewise the people of the area are sometimes called Centralians...
area of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
around Mparntwe or Alice Springs
Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Alice Springs is the second largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Popularly known as "the Alice" or simply "Alice", Alice Springs is situated in the geographic centre of Australia near the southern border of the Northern Territory...
in the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
. The Arrernte tribe has lived there for more than 20,000 years. Some Arrernte people live in other areas a distance from their homeland, and may even live in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
or overseas.
Their ancestors spoke one or more of a group of related languages or dialects.
Groups and country
The Arrernte comprise people who identify with different parts of their "country". The respective groups are the ones below:- Central ArrernteCentral ArrernteThe term Central Arrernte can refer to the Arrernte people who traditionally live in Alice Springs, the centre of the Arrernte country in Australia.It can also refer to a dialect of the Arrernte language that is spoken in this area...
refers to people from the township of Alice Springs only. - Eastern ArrernteEastern ArrernteEastern Arrernte refers to Arrernte people, Indigenous Australians, who traditionally live in the Arrernte lands East of Alice Springs, including Wallace Rock Hole. It also refers to a dialect of the Arrernte language that is spoken in this area...
refers to people from the Arrernte lands east of Alice Springs. - Western ArrernteWestern ArrernteWestern Arrernte refers to Arrernte people who traditionally live in Arrernte lands west of Alice Springs. It also refers to a dialect of the Arrernte language that is spoken in this area. Some people argue that Western Arrernte is an entirely different language and group of people to Central...
refers to people from the Arrernte lands west of Alice Springs, out to MutitjuluMutitjulu, Northern TerritoryMutitjulu in Australia's Northern Territory, pop. approx. 150, is an Indigenous Australian community at the eastern end of Uluru . It is named after a knee-shaped water-filled rock hole at the base of Uluru, and is located in the world-famous Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park...
and King's CanyonKings Canyon (Northern Territory)Kings Canyon is part of the Watarrka National Park in Northern Territory, Australia. Sitting at the western end of the George Gill Range, it is 323 km southwest of Alice Springs and 1,316 km south of Darwin.- Description :...
.
Arrernte refers to all groups combined, or alternatively to the people from the few Arrernte lands north of Alice Springs.
Governance
The Arrernte CouncilArrernte Council
The Arrernte Council of Central Australia Aboriginal Corporation trading as Arrernte Workforce Solutions is an Australian Aborigine council for the Arrernte, Eastern Arrernte, Central Arrernte and Western Arrernte people of Central Australia. Their offices are located in Alice Springs, Northern...
is the representative and administrative body for the Arrernte lands. It is part of the Central Land Council
Central Land Council
The Central Land Council is an Indigenous Land Council that represents the indigenous people of the southern half of the Northern Territory of Australia, predominantly in land issues...
.
Languages in the Arrernte group
The Arrernte languages are:- Anmatjirra
- Alyawarr
- Ayerrerenge
- Antekerrepenhe
- Eastern ArrernteEastern ArrernteEastern Arrernte refers to Arrernte people, Indigenous Australians, who traditionally live in the Arrernte lands East of Alice Springs, including Wallace Rock Hole. It also refers to a dialect of the Arrernte language that is spoken in this area...
or Ikngerripenhe - Central ArrernteCentral ArrernteThe term Central Arrernte can refer to the Arrernte people who traditionally live in Alice Springs, the centre of the Arrernte country in Australia.It can also refer to a dialect of the Arrernte language that is spoken in this area...
or Mparntwe Arrernte - Western ArrernteWestern ArrernteWestern Arrernte refers to Arrernte people who traditionally live in Arrernte lands west of Alice Springs. It also refers to a dialect of the Arrernte language that is spoken in this area. Some people argue that Western Arrernte is an entirely different language and group of people to Central...
, Tyuretye Arrernte or Arrernte Alturlerenj - Southern Arrernte or Pertame
- Lower ArrernteLower ArrernteLower Arrernte is one of five aboriginal dialects of the Arrernte language, all spoken by a few thousand people around the Alice Springs region in Central Australia. Lower Arrernte originates from the Finke River area, close to Alice Springs....
or Alenjerntarpe originates from the Finke RiverFinke RiverThe Finke River is one of the largest rivers in central Australia. Its source is in the Northern Territory's MacDonnell Ranges, and the name Finke River is first applied at the confluence of the Davenport and Ormiston Creeks, just north of Glen Helen. From here the river meanders for approximately...
area
The Arrernte had a highly developed sign language
Australian Aboriginal sign languages
Many Australian Aboriginal cultures have or traditionally had a manually coded language, a sign-language counterpart of their spoken language. This appears to be connected with various speech taboos between certain kin or at particular times, such as during a mourning period for women or during...
.
Mythology
Arrernte mythology and spirituality focuses on the landscape and the DreamtimeDreamtime
In the animist framework of Australian Aboriginal mythology, The Dreaming is a sacred era in which ancestral Totemic Spirit Beings formed The Creation.-The Dreaming of the Aboriginal times:...
, important creator spirits are, Altjira
Altjira
In Australian Aboriginal mythology, Altjira is the sky god of the Arrernte. He was the central god of the Dreamtime who created the Earth, then retired to the sky....
is the creator being of the Inapertwa
Inapertwa
In Aboriginal mythology , the Inapertwa are the simple creatures with which the Numakulla modelled all life on Earth. The Inapertwa is a Human within the animal. That is, the totem of the organism....
that became all living creatures.
Tjurunga
Tjurunga
A Tjurunga or as it sometimes spelled, Churinga, is an object of religious significance by Central Australian Indigenous Australian people of the Arrernte groups...
are objects of religious significance.
Tourism
Tourism is important to the economy of Alice Springs and surrounding communities, The Arrernte way of life is presented through tour guideTour guide
A tour guide provides assistance, information and cultural, historical and contemporary heritage interpretation to people on organized tours, individual clients, educational establishments, at religious and historical sites, museums, and at venues of other significant interest...
s and storyteller
Storytelling
Storytelling is the conveying of events in words, images and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and in order to instill moral values...
s speaking of the life, their artwork, their culture and language in a variety of different ways. Tours are run regularly to Hermannsburg
Hermannsburg, Northern Territory
Hermannsburg is an Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory of Australia, 131 km southwest of Alice Springs. It is known in the local Western Arrernte language as Ntaria....
and Wallace Rockhole both of which are (Western Arrernte). so as to learn more about the Arrernte way of life, from their artwork to their culture and language.
Royal Australian Navy
The warship HMAS AruntaHMAS Arunta
Two ships of the Royal Australian Navy have borne the name HMAS Arunta, a name derived from the Arrernte native people of central Australia., a Tribal-class destroyer commissioned in 1942, which served during World War II...
(ANZAC Class, commissioned 12 December 1998) is named for the Arrernte people. It is the second ship to bear the name. Members of the Arrernte people visited the ship when she sailed for Operation Catalyst (Middle East) in November 2007.
See also
- Arrernte language
- Related to spirituality and mythology:
- AltjiraAltjiraIn Australian Aboriginal mythology, Altjira is the sky god of the Arrernte. He was the central god of the Dreamtime who created the Earth, then retired to the sky....
- InapertwaInapertwaIn Aboriginal mythology , the Inapertwa are the simple creatures with which the Numakulla modelled all life on Earth. The Inapertwa is a Human within the animal. That is, the totem of the organism....
- TjurungaTjurungaA Tjurunga or as it sometimes spelled, Churinga, is an object of religious significance by Central Australian Indigenous Australian people of the Arrernte groups...
- Indigenous Australian food groupsIndigenous Australian food groupsIndigenous Australian peoples traditionally classified food sources in a methodical way. Below are a few examples.-Central Australia:In Central Australia, people used innovative means to obtain a balanced diet.The food categories, and their Arrernte names are:...
- Altjira