They refer to themselves as
Anangu (people). The Pitjantjatjara live mostly in the northwest of
South Australia, extending across the border into the
Northern Territory to just south of
Lake Amadeus, and west a short distance into
Western Australia. The land is an inseparable and important part of their identity, and every part of it is rich with stories and meaning to aṉangu.[2]
Pronunciation
The
ethnonymPitjantjatjara is usually pronounced (in normal, fast speech) with elision of one of the repeated syllables -tja-, thus: pitjantjara. In more careful speech all syllables will be pronounced.[3]
Etymology
The name Pitjantjatjara derives from the word pitjantja, a
nominalised form of the verb "go" (equivalent to the English "going" used as a noun). Combined with the
comitative suffix -tjara, it means something like "pitjantja-having" (i.e. the variety that uses the word pitjantja for "going"). This distinguishes it from its near neighbour Yankunytjatjara which has yankunytja for the same meaning.[4] This naming strategy is also the source of the names of
Ngaanyatjarra and
Ngaatjatjarra but in that case the names contrast the two languages based on their words for "this" (respectively, ngaanya and ngaatja). The two languages Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara may be grouped together under the name Nyangatjatjara (indicating that they have nyangatja for "this") which then contrasts them with
Ngaanyatjarra and
Ngaatjatjarra.[3]
Language
Pitjantjatjara language is used as a general term for a number of closely related dialects which together, according to Ronald Trudinger were "spoken over a wider area of Australia than any other Aboriginal language".[5] With
Yankunytjatjara it shares an 80% overlap in vocabulary.[4]
Some major communities
See WARU community directory[6] for a complete list
From 1950 onwards, many aṉangu were forced to leave their traditional lands due to
British nuclear tests at Maralinga. Some aṉangu were subsequently contaminated by the
nuclear fallout from the
atomic tests, and many[quantify] have died as a consequence.[7] Their experience of issues of
land rights and
native title in South Australia has been unique. After four years of campaigning and negotiations with government and mining groups, the Pitjantjatjara Land Rights Act 1981 was passed on 19 March 1981, granting freehold title over 103,000 km2 (40,000 sq mi) of land in the northwestern corner of South Australia.
Recognition of sacred sites
The sacred sites of Uluru / Ayers Rock and
Kata Tjuṯa / Mount Olga possess important spiritual and ceremonial significance for the Anangu with more than 40 named sacred sites and 11 separate
Tjukurpa (or "Dreaming") tracks in the area, some of which lead as far as the sea. Uluru / Ayers Rock and Kata Tjuta / Mount Olga are separated from the Pitjantjatjara lands by the border between the
Northern Territory and South Australia and have become a major tourist attraction and a
national park.
Hilliard, Winifred M. (1976) [First published 1968]. The People in Between: The Pitjantjatjara People of Ernabella. Seal Books.
ISBN0-7270-0159-0. (reprint)
Isaacs, Jennifer (1992). Desert Crafts: Anangu Maruku Punu. Doubleday.
ISBN0-86824-474-0.
Kavanagh, Maggie (1990). Minyma Tjuta Tjunguringkula Kunpuringanyi: Women Growing Strong Together. Ngaanyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara Women's Council 1980–1990.
ISBN0-646-02068-4.
Kimber, R. G. (1986). Man from Arltunga. Carlisle: Hesperian Press. chapter 12.
Woenne-Green, Susan; Johnston, Ross; Sultan, Ros; Wallis, Arnold (1993). Competing Interests: Aboriginal Participation in National Parks and Conservation Reserves in Australia - A Review. Fitzroy, Victoria: Australian Conservation Foundation.
ISBN0-85802-113-7.
External links
Ngapartji Online course of Pitjantjatjara language, and related performance event