Warkawarka Explained
The Warkawarka, also called Weki Weki, were an Australian Aboriginal group whose traditional lands are located in Victoria, Australia. Controversy exists as to whether they were an independent 'tribe' or rather consisted of a subgroup of the Wergaia, the latter view being shared by both Robert M. W. Dixon and Luise Hercus.
Name
The ethnonym seems to derive from their word for 'no' (warki=warka), though the name itself, warkawarka or wargawarga arguably may be a variant of the ethnonym for the Wergaia.
Country
The Warkawarka tribal lands extended over approximately 2000mi2, from Tyrrell Creek and Lake Tyrrell, southwards to Warracknabeal and Birchip. Their western boundary lay along Hopetoun, and they also ranged over the Morton Plains.
Alternative names
- Booroung, Boorong
- Mirdiragoort
- Waikywaiky
- Weki-weki
- Wengenmarongeitch
- Werkawerka
- Wirtu, Wirtoo
Some words
Notes
Citations
Sources
- A few notes on the dialects, habits, customs and mythology of the Lower Murray aborigines . Beveridge . Peter . . Melbourne . 1865 . 6 . 14–24 . First published 1861 .
- Of the aborigines inhabiting the great lacustrine and Riverine depression of the Lower Murray . Beveridge . Peter . Peter Beveridge . . Melbourne . 1883 . 17 . 19–74 .
- Book: Clark, Ian . Scars in the Landscape: A Register of Massacre Sites in Western Victoria, 1803-1859 . 1995 . Ian D. Clark (historian) . . 978-0-855-75595-9 .
- Book: Clark, Ian D. . "That's My Country Belonging to Me": Aboriginal Land Tenure and Dispossession in Nineteenth Century Western Victoria . 1998 . Ian D. Clark (historian) . Heritage Matters . Melbourne . 978-1-876-40406-2 .
- Book: Howitt, Alfred William . The native tribes of south-east Australia . 1904 . Alfred William Howitt . .
- Initiation ceremonies of Australian tribes.Appendix Nguttan initiation ceremony . Mathews . R. H. . Robert Hamilton Mathews . . Melbourne . January 1898 . 37 . 157 . 54–73 . 983694 .
- Book: Smyth, Robert Brough . The Aborigines of Victoria: with notes relating to the habits of the natives of other parts of Australia and Tasmania . 1878 . Robert Brough Smyth . J. Ferres, gov't printer . Melbourne . 1 .
- On the Astronomy and Mythology of the Aborigines of Victoria . Stanbridge . William Edward . . 1858 . 2 . 137–140 .
- Book: Tindale, Norman Barnett . Warkawarka (VIC) . 1974 . Norman Tindale . Aboriginal Tribes of Australia: Their Terrain, Environmental Controls, Distribution, Limits, and Proper Names . . http://archives.samuseum.sa.gov.au/tindaletribes/warkawarka.htm .
