Murrinh-Patha
Encyclopedia
Murrinh-Patha People's country
The Murrinh-Patha are an indigenous Australian people, whose traditional lands are located in Australia's
Northern Territory
, inland from the settlement of Wadeye
between the Moyle and Fitzmaurice rivers. Their language, also called Murrinh-Patha
, is spoken by about 2500 people, and serves as a lingua franca
for several other ethnic groups, such as the Mati Ke or Marri-Djabin, whose languages are extinct or threatened. It is one of two members of the Garaman language family, which in turn is part of the large Australian phylum; its intermediate affinities are subject to current debate.
The Murrinh-Patha culture displays a social structure characteristic of indigenous Australian peoples generally, featuring a complex kinship system
with elaborate behavioural norms for interactions between the different kinship groups.
The Murrinh-Patha are an indigenous Australian people, whose traditional lands are located in Australia's
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...
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...
, inland from the settlement of Wadeye
Wadeye, Northern Territory
Wadeye is a town in Australia's Northern Territory.Wadeye was formerly known as Port Keats. The town is remote, situated on the western edge of the Daly River Reserve more than 200 km south west of Darwin, with road access being cut off by flooding during the wet season. Year round access is via...
between the Moyle and Fitzmaurice rivers. Their language, also called Murrinh-Patha
Murrinh-patha language
Murrinh-patha , sometimes also called Garama, is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by over 1,500 people, most of whom live in Wadeye in the Northern Territory, where it is the dominant language of the community...
, is spoken by about 2500 people, and serves as a lingua franca
Lingua franca
A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...
for several other ethnic groups, such as the Mati Ke or Marri-Djabin, whose languages are extinct or threatened. It is one of two members of the Garaman language family, which in turn is part of the large Australian phylum; its intermediate affinities are subject to current debate.
The Murrinh-Patha culture displays a social structure characteristic of indigenous Australian peoples generally, featuring a complex kinship system
Kinship
Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological, cultural, or historical descent. And descent groups, lineages, etc. are treated in their own subsections....
with elaborate behavioural norms for interactions between the different kinship groups.
External links
- 1974 map (Museum of South Australia, the area occupied by the Murrinh-Patha is shown here as Murinbata and Muringura.