Wayilwan Explained

The Wayilwan (also rendered Weilwan or Wailwan; also known as Ngiyambaa Wayilwan and Ngemba Wayilwan) are an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of New South Wales. They are a clan of the Ngiyambaa (nee-yam-bar) nation.

Name

The Wayilwan ethnonym is derived from their word for "no" in the Ngiyambaa language, (wayil/weil/wail).

Like other Ngiyampaa people such as the Wangaaypuwan, they also referred to themselves according to their home country.

Language

See main article: Ngiyambaa language. The Wayilwan spoke the dialect of Ngiyambaa called "Ngiyambaa Wayilwan" and as such also called themselves "those who speak Ngiyampaa the Wayilwan way".

Country

Wayilwan country covered 5000mi2, running along the southern bank of the Barwon River from Brewarrina to Walgett, and along Marra Creek and the Castlereagh, Marthaguy, and Macquarie rivers. Their southern frontier was at Quambone and in the vicinity of Coonamble.

Social organisation

The Wayilwan were divided into kin groups, one of which is known: the Waiabara.

Alternative names

Notes

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