Martu (Indigenous Australian)
Encyclopedia
Mardu are an Australian Aboriginal people of the Western Desert. Their lands include the Percival Lakes and Pilbara regions in Western Australia
. They traditionally occupied a large tract of land; their neighbours to the east are the Pintupi
.
Martu language groups include Manyjilyjarra; Kartujarra; Kiyajarra; Putijarra; Nyiyaparli; Warnman; Ngulipartu; Pitjikala; Kurajarra; Jiwaliny; Mangala; and Nangajarra. Martu means 'one of us', or 'person'. The language is also called Martu Wangka, a Western Desert Language
.
The group identifier has only been used by non-Aborigines since the 1980s. Not long before this, white Australians thought that Pintupi people occupied this remote part of Australia. Today, Martu live at Jigalong, Wiluna, Punmu, Parnngurr and Kunawarrintji.
In 1964, a small clan of Martu, composed only of women and children, was "brought in" from their country to a mission
at Jigalong to make way for the Blue Streak missile
tests. The missiles, fired from Woomera, South Australia
, were designed to dump in traditional Martu country. Successive Western Desert Aborigines had "come in", or were "brought in" to overcrowded settlements, such as Papunya. A strong debate raged over this "detribalisation" of traditional-living Aborigines. State and Federal Governments had turned a blind eye to them up until then, leaving their fate to missionaries and cattle graziers. Kim Beazley sen, MHR, summed up the opinion of some at the time, saying in the House of Representatives
, "it looks like the old problem of dispossession because we want something".
At this time, in the 1960s, some Martu had not seen white people, but knew of them from their ancestors, some of whom had encountered them at the creation of the Canning Stock Route
in 1906-7. The experience had been a brutal one for many of the Martu people, who had been forced to serve as 'guides' and reveal water sources
, after having been 'run down' by men on horseback, restrained by heavy chains, and tied to trees at night. A Royal Commission
in 1908 exonerated Canning, after an appearance by Kimberley explorer John Forrest
who claimed that all explorers had acted in such a fashion.
The rabbit-proof fence
also runs through Martu country. The film
of the same name, based on the novel by Doris Pilkington Garimara
, is based on the lives of some Martu girls, including Doris's mother, Molly Craig, Daisy Craig and Gracie Fields.
In 2002, Martu were granted native title
to much of their country, after almost two decades of struggle It was geographically the largest claim in Australia to that time. However, Karlamilyi (Karlamilyi National Park) was not included. Teddy Biljabu said at the time that they had been given 'a body without its heart'.
|- bgcolor=#efefef
!Male skin name
!Can only marry
female skin name
!Children will be
|-
|Panaka
|Karimarra
(Garimara)
|Milangka
|-
|Purungu
|Milangka
|Karimarra
(Garimara)
|-
|Karimarra
(Garimara)
|Panaka
|Purungu
|-
|Milangka
|Purungu
|Panaka
|}
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. They traditionally occupied a large tract of land; their neighbours to the east are the Pintupi
Pintupi
Pintupi refers to an Australian Aboriginal group who are part of the Western Desert cultural group and whose homeland is in the area west of Lake MacDonald and Lake Mackay in Western Australia. These people moved into the Aboriginal communities of Papunya and Haasts Bluff in the west of the...
.
Martu language groups include Manyjilyjarra; Kartujarra; Kiyajarra; Putijarra; Nyiyaparli; Warnman; Ngulipartu; Pitjikala; Kurajarra; Jiwaliny; Mangala; and Nangajarra. Martu means 'one of us', or 'person'. The language is also called Martu Wangka, a Western Desert Language
Western Desert Language
Western Desert Language is the name used to refer to an otherwise un-named Australian Aboriginal language. It is one of the Wati languages of the large Southwest branch of the Pama–Nyungan family.-Location and list of communities:...
.
The group identifier has only been used by non-Aborigines since the 1980s. Not long before this, white Australians thought that Pintupi people occupied this remote part of Australia. Today, Martu live at Jigalong, Wiluna, Punmu, Parnngurr and Kunawarrintji.
In 1964, a small clan of Martu, composed only of women and children, was "brought in" from their country to a mission
Mission (station)
A religious mission or mission station is a location for missionary work.While primarily a Christian term, the concept of the religious "mission" is also used prominently by the Church of Scientology and their Scientology Missions International....
at Jigalong to make way for the Blue Streak missile
Blue Streak missile
The Blue Streak missile was a British medium range ballistic missile . The Operational Requirement for the missile was issued in 1955 and the design was complete by 1957...
tests. The missiles, fired from Woomera, South Australia
Woomera, South Australia
The town, or village, of Woomera is located in the south east corner of the Woomera Prohibited Area ; colloquially known as the Woomera Rocket Range...
, were designed to dump in traditional Martu country. Successive Western Desert Aborigines had "come in", or were "brought in" to overcrowded settlements, such as Papunya. A strong debate raged over this "detribalisation" of traditional-living Aborigines. State and Federal Governments had turned a blind eye to them up until then, leaving their fate to missionaries and cattle graziers. Kim Beazley sen, MHR, summed up the opinion of some at the time, saying in the House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
, "it looks like the old problem of dispossession because we want something".
At this time, in the 1960s, some Martu had not seen white people, but knew of them from their ancestors, some of whom had encountered them at the creation of the Canning Stock Route
Canning Stock Route
The Canning Stock Route is one of the toughest and most remote tracks in the world. It runs to Halls Creek from Wiluna, both in Western Australia. With a total distance of around it is also the longest historic stock route in the world...
in 1906-7. The experience had been a brutal one for many of the Martu people, who had been forced to serve as 'guides' and reveal water sources
Soakage
A soakage, or soak, is a source of water in Australian deserts.It is called thus because the water generally seeps into the sand, and is stored below, sometimes as part of an ephemeral river or creek system.-Aboriginal water source:...
, after having been 'run down' by men on horseback, restrained by heavy chains, and tied to trees at night. A Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
in 1908 exonerated Canning, after an appearance by Kimberley explorer John Forrest
John Forrest
Sir John Forrest GCMG was an Australian explorer, the first Premier of Western Australia and a cabinet minister in Australia's first federal parliament....
who claimed that all explorers had acted in such a fashion.
The rabbit-proof fence
Rabbit-proof fence
The State Barrier Fence of Western Australia, formerly known as the No. 1 Rabbit-proof Fence, the State Vermin Fence and the Emu Fence, is a pest-exclusion fence constructed between 1901 and 1907 to keep rabbits and other agricultural pests, from the east, out of Western Australian pastoral...
also runs through Martu country. The film
Rabbit-Proof Fence (film)
Rabbit-Proof Fence is a 2002 Australian drama film directed by Phillip Noyce based on the book Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington Garimara...
of the same name, based on the novel by Doris Pilkington Garimara
Doris Pilkington Garimara
Doris Pilkington Garimara AM is an Australian author. She is best known for her 1996 book Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence, a story of three Aboriginal girls, among them Pilkington's mother Molly Craig, who escaped from the Moore River Native Settlement in Western Australia and travelled for nine...
, is based on the lives of some Martu girls, including Doris's mother, Molly Craig, Daisy Craig and Gracie Fields.
In 2002, Martu were granted native title
Native title
Native title is the Australian version of the common law doctrine of aboriginal title.Native title is "the recognition by Australian law that some Indigenous people have rights and interests to their land that come from their traditional laws and customs"...
to much of their country, after almost two decades of struggle It was geographically the largest claim in Australia to that time. However, Karlamilyi (Karlamilyi National Park) was not included. Teddy Biljabu said at the time that they had been given 'a body without its heart'.
Martu kinship
Martu society is divided into four skin groups, or subsections. There are very strict rules as to who may marry whom:-
-
- {| class="wikitable"
-
|- bgcolor=#efefef
!Male skin name
!Can only marry
female skin name
!Children will be
|-
|Panaka
|Karimarra
(Garimara)
|Milangka
|-
|Purungu
|Milangka
|Karimarra
(Garimara)
|-
|Karimarra
(Garimara)
|Panaka
|Purungu
|-
|Milangka
|Purungu
|Panaka
|}
Further reading
- Davenport, Sue, Johnson, Peter & Yuwali, Cleared Out: First Contact in the Western Desert, Aboriginal Studies Press, 2005, ISBN 0-85575-457-5
- Tonkinson, R, The Mardu Aborigines: living the dream in Australia's desert, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York, 1991, ISBN 0-03-032282-0