Everything about Pitjantjatjara totally explained
Pitjantjatjara is the name of both an
Aboriginal people of the
Central Australian desert, and their language (for which see
Pitjantjatjara language). They are closely related to the
Yankunytjatjara and
Ngaanyatjarra, they're also related to the
Ghyeisyriieue and their languages are, to a large extent, mutually intelligible (all of them are varieties of the
Western Desert Language).
They refer to themselves as
Anangu (people). Pitjantjatjara country is mostly in the north-west of
South Australia, extending across the border into the
Northern Territory to just south of
Lake Amadeus, and west a short distance into
Western Australia. The land is an inseparable and important part of their identity, and every part of it's rich with stories and meaning to
Anangu.
They have, for the most part, now given up their nomadic hunting and gathering lifestyle but have managed to retain their languages and much of their culture in spite of increasing influences from the broader
Australian community.
Today there are still about 4,000
Anangu living scattered in small communities and outstations across their traditional lands, forming one of the most successful joint land arrangements in
Australia with Aboriginal Traditional Owners.
Some major communities
See WARU community directory for a complete list
- in South Australia
- In the Northern Territory
History
After many horrific and often fatal encounters with European
dingo hunters and settlers, 73,000 square kilometres of land was established in the north west of
South Australia for their use in
1921.
Extended droughts in the
1920s and between
1956 to
1965 in their homelands in the
Great Victoria and
Gibson Deserts led many Pitjantjatjara, and their traditionally more westerly relations, the
Ngaanyatjarra, to move east towards the railway between
Adelaide and
Alice Springs in search of food and water, thus mixing with the most easterly of the three, the
Yankunytjatjara. They refer to themselves as
Anangu, which originally just meant people in general, but has now come to imply an Aboriginal person or, more specifically, a member of one of the groups that speaks a variety of the Western Desert Language.
However, European depredations continued and Dr.
Charles Duguid tirelessly fought for their protection, wellbeing and a chance to gradually accustom themselves to their rapidly-changing circumstances. In response, the
South Australian Government finally supported a plan by the then
Presbyterian Church to set up the
Ernabella Mission in the
Musgrave Ranges as a safe haven. This mission, largely due to the insistence of Dr. Duguid himself, was ahead of the times in that there was no systematic attempt to destroy Aboriginal culture, as was common on many other missions.
Beginning in
1950, many
Anangu were forced to leave their homelands due to
British nuclear tests at Maralinga. A large number of
Anangu were subsequently contaminated by the
nuclear fallout from the
atomic tests, and many have died as a consequence.
Their experience of issues of
land rights and
native title in South Australia have been unique. After four years of campaigning and negotiations with government and mining groups, the
Pitjantjatjara Land Rights Act was passed on
19 March 1981, granting freehold title over 103,000 square kilometres of land in the far northwestern corner of
South Australia.
The
Maralinga Tjarutja Land Rights Act, 1984 (SA) (the Act) granted freehold title of an area of 80,764 square kilometres to
Maralinga Tjarutja. The Unnamed Conservation Park (now
Mamungari Conservation Park) was transferred to the Maralinga Tjarutja in 2004.
Recognition of sacred sites
The sacred sites of
Uluru (
Ayers Rock) and
Kata Tjuta (
the Olgas) were extremely important spiritually and cermonially to the
Anangu with more than forty named sacred sites and eleven separate
Tjurkurpa (or 'Dreaming') tracks in the area. Some of these dreaming tracks led as far as the sea in all directions. Unfortunately, Uluru and Kata Tjuta were just over the border in the
Northern Territory and separated from the Pitjantjatjara Lands in
South Australia and had become a major tourist attraction and, ultimately, a
National Park. The
Central Land Council laid claim to the
Ayers-Rock-Mt. Olga National Park and some adjoining vacant Crown land in
1979, but this claim was fiercely resisted by the
Northern Territory government.
After eight years of intensive lobbying by the Traditional Owners, on
11 November 1983, Prime Minister
Bob Hawke announced that the Federal Government intended to transfer inalienable freehold title to them. He also agreed to ten main points they'd demanded in exchange for a lease-back arrangement to the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service for a "joint-management" régime where
Anangu would have a majority on the Board of Management. This was finally granted in
1985, but with the government reneging on two of the most important points the
Anangu had requested: they were forced to agree to lease the Park for 99 years, instead of the fifty years originally agreed on, perhaps more importantly, they'd to allow tourists to climb
Uluru, thus continuing the desecration of one of their main
dreaming tracks.
Park Management has erected signs asking visitors not to climb the "Rock," but have no authority to enforce it. Thousands of visitors climb the rock every year. This is said to offend and sadden the Traditional Owners.
However, joint management of the 13.25 square kilometre
World Heritage listed National Park has certainly been of benefit to
Anangu, the Government and the millions of visitors who continue to be awed by the unique beauty and interest of the Park.
The name of the language
Origin of the name
The name
Pitjantjatjara derives from the word
pitjantja, a form of the verb 'go' which, combined with the
comitative suffix
-tjara means something like '
pitjantja-having' (for example the variety that uses the word
pitjantja for 'go'). This distinguishes it from its near neighbour Yankunytjatjara which has
yankunytja for the same meaning. This naming strategy is also the source of the names of
Ngaanyatjarra and
Ngaatjatjarra but in that case the names contrast the two languages based on their words for 'this' (respectively,
ngaanya and
ngaatja). The two languages
Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara may be grouped together under the name Nyangatjatjara (indicating that they've
nyangatja for 'this') which then contrasts them with
Ngaanyatjarra and
Ngaatjatjarra.
Pronunciation of the name
The name
Pitjantjatjara is usually pronounced (in normal, fast speech) with one of the repeated syllabes
-tja- deleted, thus:
pitjantjara. In slow, careful speech all syllables will be pronounced.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Pitjantjatjara'.
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