Malyangapa Explained

The Malyangaapa are an Indigenous Australian people who live in the far north western areas of the state of New South Wales.

Language

The Malyangapa spoke a dialect of the Yarli language.

Country

Malyangaapa country extends over some 5900mi2 with its centre at Milparinka around the head of Yancannie Creek. To the east their boundaries ran to beyond Mount Arrowsmith. The southern boundaries lay around Mutawintji and Sturt Meadow.

Culture

The Malyangapa practised circumcision as a rite for males undergoing initiation. In their dreaming lore the primordial creator-figure, rainbow serpent was called kakurra (corresponding to the Ngatyi of the Paakantyi and the akurra of their western neighbours, the Adnyamathanha. They shared close cultural and marriage links with the neighbouring Wanjiwalku.

History of contact

Reid states that settlement of Malyangapa lands began in 1862/1863, at which time they were thought to number 200. Within the decade this figure dropped by a quarter (150), and after 15 years of contact (1879), Reid estimated only roughly 60 had survived, half of whom were under fourteen. Among these was a remnant of the Ngurunta

Alternative names

Some words

Notes

Citations

Sources

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Malyangapa".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.