the warlpiri have a distinct advatage of being on average about 1 ft taller then most neighbouring tribes. i can tell you a funny story about on of their footy teams, though not sure if it’s the power as there are at least 4 teams from there i think. but anyhow after half time they jogged out on the ground and you know the lap of centre square warm up. then all of a sudden the team got into an all in brawl, with themselves. as opposition you wouldn’t know what to think would you. are they a dispointed rabble or just the angriest bastards around and you’ll have to listen for footsteps all day?

Japaljarri is Jalyirri in my system, brother of Napaljarri/Nalyirri, who is mother of Napurrula/Nawula, who is my mother. Therefore, Notallright, your sons/father are Jangarrayi/Jungurra/Jimija, who is the brother of my mother-in-law. Your cross-cousin then (father’s sister’s daughter), Notallright, is Nambijinba/Nambijin, straight for me.

It is so mathematical. An internally coherent, enclosed, logical system that allows you arrive at the same conclusion/answer no matter which route you take. Every time I learn more insights into it I dig it even more.

As for me, if I go to the desert I should become Japaljarri, so you might be my brother, notallright!??… I think I’m sposed to marry Nakamarra…

The system seems so needlessly complicated when you try to explain to people ‘well, my father and my son have the same name, anyone who is Jangari I call my brother’ and so on, but when you see the system mapped out with a mathematical diagram, it’s quite aesthetically simple, yet genius.

I saw the wikipedia page, they also have one for ‘Australian Aboriginal Kinship‘ which includes a few lists of different terms in various languages. I’m considering adding a few graphs for the translation from one system to another. Perhaps having the sundown system (as it’s known up there) in brackets alongside the Pintupi (and Warlpiri) terms. But I don’t really have the time for this. I’ll put it in the ‘to-do’ list.

As for Lajamanu, well, I haven’t been that far south before, but I saw Lajamanu Power thrash the living shit out the Katherine Canons in a game in Katherine last year. I think it was about 220 to 13. They’re an excellent team, and it’s great hearing Warlpiri spoken on the field.

but i digress. i don’t know too much about the country you speak of as i lived in darwin when up there and visited a few times to lajamanu. i arrived in nt with 4 young children and left with six so i would visit family in lajamanu but never had time for vagabonding around there which would’ve been awesome.

but you’re right just cause names are similar doesn’t mean they translate exactly as each language group has different systems. i was shocked to find out that there’s no skin names in yorta yorta. the warlpiri mob at lajamanu shouldn’t really be there. they’re desert people but were transported there bout 60 years ago by the baptist church. it’s technically guringi land. yes it only i little bit away from vincent lingiari’s amazing deed.

but i’d really appreciate an entry on skin ships, details of different ones and comparisons would be fascinating. and i spose you could never understand their culture till you understand the skin relationships.

cheers

Yes, you seem to have found the answer; Wagiman country runs from the Stuart Highway at the junction of the Jabiru Highway, pretty much south west, over the Daly (quite a distance upriver from the Daly River languages proper) and on the other side. On the far south-west corner of this area, Wagiman borders with Murrinh-Patha, which may give you an idea of the size. The country contains a number of large cattle stations, including Jindare (in the north) and Claravale (in the centre; I haven’t even been to the south yet).

I don’t quite know how the central skin system translates to the northern ones (between the Daly and the Gulf, the systems are exactly the same except for the names), but I have a sneaky suspicion that Jangari corresponds to Japangardi in Warlpiri. Jungarrayi corresponds I think, to Jungurra (see above) in the Daly, and Jimija in my system.

That makes Nangala my niece, and makes you my poison cousin, I think (the cross-cousin of my wife). Which means, I settle down garrim Nampijinpa!

(We should have an entire forum on subsection, to sort these things out.)

so let me play dad here and say it’s bought time you settled down with a nice nungala .

my kids mum is a nakamarra from the warneyaka (a guess at spelling) clan of the warlpiri tribe. most of here relatives go by the family name johnson.

i’m interested where these Wagiman speakers come from. i’ve married into and bred with the warlpiri who are from central west n.t.

if the wagiman aren’t far from there and janari is your skin name there it sounds awfuly like jungari the warlpiri skin names of both my fathers and sons.

anyhow cheers