Dangu people explained

See also: Dangu language. The Dangu (Dhaŋu, Dhangu) are an Aboriginal Australian people of Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory, one of many Yolŋu peoples. They are, according to Norman Tindale, to be carefully distinguished from the Djaŋu.

Two prominent clans of the Dangu are the Rirratjingu and Galpu clans.

Country

The extent of Dangu territory could not be established by Tindale, who located them in the general area of Yirrkala Mission, Cape Arnhem, Melville Bay, and Port Bradshaw.

Social organisation

Like all Yolŋu societies, the Dangu, identified as a grouping of clans sharing similar dialects, were organised according to the Dhuwa and Yirritja (Jiritja) moieties. Their ethnonymic identity as a unified group was based on their common word for the demonstrative pronoun "this". They are divided into six clans according to which moiety they belong to, of four Dua, and six Yirritja.

The Dua moiety:

• Galpu (Gälpu, Galbu, Kalpu)
• Golumala
• Ngajimil (Ngayimil, Ngeimil, Makkanaimulmi)
• Riratjingu (Rirratjingu, Rirraljinga, Riraidjango, Wurrulul, Woralul, Urorlurl)

The Yirritja moiety:

• Lamami (Lamumiri)
• Wanguri (Wangurri, Wonguri, Wan:guri)

Mythology

In the Gälpu clan legends, Wititj, the huge ancestral rainbow serpent, was said to create thunder and lightning as it moved across the land, but is also associated with the calm freshwater systems where the spirits reside, among water lilies and palm trees.^[1]

Alternative names

• Yirgala (a toponym)

Notable people

• Djalu Gurruwiwi, highly respected elder, maker and player of the yiḏaki, of the Galpu clan, and other members of the Gurruwiwi family
• Many members of the Marika family, of the Rirratjingu clan

Notes

Citations

Sources

• News: The old man and the sea (and Gotye): the story of 'Australia's only guru' . Daley . Paul . The Guardian . 8 September 2014 . 19 January 2020 .
• Book: Tindale, Norman Barnett . Dangu (NT) . 1974 . Norman Tindale . Aboriginal Tribes of Australia: Their Terrain, Environmental Controls, Distribution, Limits, and Proper Names . . http://archives.samuseum.sa.gov.au/tindaletribes/dangu.htm . 20 March 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200320020206/http://archives.samuseum.sa.gov.au/tindaletribes/dangu.htm . 978-0-708-10741-6.
• Book: Warner, William Lloyd . A Black Civilization: A Social Study of an Australian Tribe . 1937 . W. Lloyd Warner . Harper & Brothers .

Further reading

• Galpu (Buku Art Centre)
• Web site: Leaders in law, business and community . .

Notes and References

1. Web site: Djalu' Gurruwiwi. Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre. Hollow Logs Didgeridoos. 2015. 21 January 2020. 19 January 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200119082252/https://hollowlogdidgeridoos.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Djalu-Gurruwiwi.pdf. dead.