Pintupi
Encyclopedia
Pintupi refers to an Australian Aboriginal group who are part of the Western Desert cultural group and whose homeland is in the area west of Lake MacDonald and Lake Mackay
in Western Australia
. These people moved (or were moved) into the Aboriginal communities of Papunya and Haasts Bluff in the west of the Northern Territory
in the 1940s-1980s. The last Pintupi to leave their traditional lifestyle in the desert, in 1984, are a group known as the Pintupi Nine
, also sometimes called the "lost tribe".
Over recent decades groups of Pintupi have moved back to their traditional country, as part of what has come to be called the outstation movement
. These groups set up the communities of Kintore
(Walungurru in Pintupi
) in the Northern Territory
, Kiwirrkura
and Jupiter Well (in Pintupi: Puntutjarrpa) in Western Australia.
tests. As these would have a trajectory landing in the desert areas known to still be inhabited it was decided that these people should be relocated. A number of trips were made to the area and Aboriginal people were located and moved (or encouraged to move) in to one of the settlements on the eastern fringe of the desert, such as Haasts Bluff, Hermannsburg
and Papunya. As a result of different people leaving the desert at different times and in different directions, Pintupi have wound up living at a variety of communities around the edge of the desert, including Warburton
, Kaltukatjara (formerly known as Docker River), Balgo
and Mulan, but the majority reside at the major Pintupi communities of Kintore, Kiwirrkura and Papunya.
In the 1960s, the Menzies
Liberal
government forced the removal of traditional-living Pintupi to settlements east of their country, closer to Alice Springs. The government argued that they were not ready to live in modern society and needed to be re-educated prior to assimilation
into white society. In practice, this meant relocation from their traditional lands and suppression of their language
, art and culture.
This policy also involved the forced removal of thousands of Aboriginal children from their parents and their dispersal into government or religious institutions or foster care (see Stolen Generation
).
At Papunya, a government settlement, Pintupi mixed with Warlpiri
, Arrernte, Anmatyerre
and Luritja
language groups, but formed the largest language group. Conditions were so bad that 129 people, or almost one-sixth of the residents, died of treatable diseases such as hepatitis
, meningitis
and encephalitis
between 1962 and 1966.
, the Pintupi have a complex kinship system
, with eight different skin groups, made more so by distinct prefixes for male and female skin names; "Tj" for males, "N" for females:
|- bgcolor=#efefef
!Gender
!Skin name
!Can marry only
!Children will be
|-
|Male
|Tjapaltjarri
|Nakamarra
|Tjungurrayi, Nungurrayi
|-
|Female
|Napaltjarri
|Tjakamarra
|Tjupurrula, Napurrula
|-
|Male
|Tjapangati
|Nampitjinpa
|Tjapanangka, Napanangka
|-
|Female
|Napangati
|Tjampitjinpa
|Tjangala, Nangala
|-
|Male
|Tjakamarra
|Napaltjarri
|Tjupurrula, Napurrula
|-
|Female
|Nakamarra
|Tjapaltjarri
|Tjungurrayi, Nungurrayi
|-
|Male
|Tjampitjinpa
|Napangati
|Tjangala, Nangala
|-
|Female
|Nampitjinpa
|Tjapangati
|Tjapanangka, Napanangka
|-
|Male
|Tjapanangka
|Napurrula
|Tjapangati, Napangati
|-
|Female
|Napanangka
|Tjupurrula
|Tjakamarra, Nakamarra
|-
|Male
|Tjungurrayi
|Nangala
|Tjapaltjarri, Napaltjarri
|-
|Female
|Nungurrayi
|Tjangala
|Tjampitjinpa, Nampitjinpa
|-
|Male
|Tjupurrula
|Napanangka
|Tjakamarra, Nakamarra
|-
|Female
|Napurrula
|Tjapanangka
|Tjapangati, Napangati
|-
|Male
|Tjangala
|Nungurrayi
|Tjampitjinpa, Nampitjinpa
|-
|Female
|Nangala
|Tjungurrayi
|Tjapaltjarri, Napaltjarri
|}
Lake Mackay
Lake Mackay is the largest of hundreds of ephemeral salt lakes scattered throughout Western Australia and the Northern Territory....
in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. These people moved (or were moved) into the Aboriginal communities of Papunya and Haasts Bluff in the west of the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
in the 1940s-1980s. The last Pintupi to leave their traditional lifestyle in the desert, in 1984, are a group known as the Pintupi Nine
Pintupi Nine
The Pintupi Nine is a group of nine Pintupi people who lived a traditional hunter-gatherer desert-dwelling life in Australia's Gibson Desert until 1984, when they made contact with their relatives near Kiwirrkurra. They are sometimes also referred to as "the lost tribe".They are believed to be the...
, also sometimes called the "lost tribe".
Over recent decades groups of Pintupi have moved back to their traditional country, as part of what has come to be called the outstation movement
Outstation movement
The Outstation movement refers to the relocation of Indigenous Australians from towns to remote outposts on traditional tribal land.As described in the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody a range of problems faced Aboriginal people living in towns.During the 1980s a number of groups...
. These groups set up the communities of Kintore
Kintore, Northern Territory
Kintore is a remote settlement in the Northern Territory of Australia, located approximately 530 km west of Alice Springs and close to the border with Western Australia. At the 2001 census, Kintore had a population of 691, of which 95% identified themselves as Aboriginal...
(Walungurru in Pintupi
Pintupi language
Pintupi is an indigenous Australian language. It is one of the Wati languages of the large Southwest branch of the Pama–Nyungan family. It is one of the varieties of the Western Desert Language ....
) in the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
, Kiwirrkura
Kiwirrkurra, Western Australia
Kiwirrkurra is a small community in Western Australia in the Gibson Desert, 1,200 km east of Port Hedland and 850 km west of Alice Springs. It has been described as the most remote community in Australia....
and Jupiter Well (in Pintupi: Puntutjarrpa) in Western Australia.
History
Inhabiting a very remote part of Australia, the Pintupi were among the last Aboriginal Australians to leave their traditional lifestyle. For many, this occurred as a result of the Blue Streak missileBlue Streak missile
The Blue Streak missile was a British medium range ballistic missile . The Operational Requirement for the missile was issued in 1955 and the design was complete by 1957...
tests. As these would have a trajectory landing in the desert areas known to still be inhabited it was decided that these people should be relocated. A number of trips were made to the area and Aboriginal people were located and moved (or encouraged to move) in to one of the settlements on the eastern fringe of the desert, such as Haasts Bluff, Hermannsburg
Hermannsburg, Northern Territory
Hermannsburg is an Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory of Australia, 131 km southwest of Alice Springs. It is known in the local Western Arrernte language as Ntaria....
and Papunya. As a result of different people leaving the desert at different times and in different directions, Pintupi have wound up living at a variety of communities around the edge of the desert, including Warburton
Warburton, Western Australia
Warburton or Warburton Ranges is an Indigenous Australian community in Western Australia, just to the south of the Gibson Desert and located on the Great Central Road and Gunbarrel Highway...
, Kaltukatjara (formerly known as Docker River), Balgo
Balgo, Western Australia
Balgo is a small Aboriginal Community in Western Australia which is linked with both the Great Sandy Desert and the Tanami Desert. The Community is in the Shire of Halls Creek, off the Tanami Road . It has a petrol station, supermarket, Catholic Parish, School Adult Education Centre, Clinic and...
and Mulan, but the majority reside at the major Pintupi communities of Kintore, Kiwirrkura and Papunya.
In the 1960s, the Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
Liberal
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
government forced the removal of traditional-living Pintupi to settlements east of their country, closer to Alice Springs. The government argued that they were not ready to live in modern society and needed to be re-educated prior to assimilation
Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...
into white society. In practice, this meant relocation from their traditional lands and suppression of their language
Pintupi language
Pintupi is an indigenous Australian language. It is one of the Wati languages of the large Southwest branch of the Pama–Nyungan family. It is one of the varieties of the Western Desert Language ....
, art and culture.
This policy also involved the forced removal of thousands of Aboriginal children from their parents and their dispersal into government or religious institutions or foster care (see Stolen Generation
Stolen Generation
The Stolen Generations were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian Federal and State government agencies and church missions, under acts of their respective parliaments...
).
At Papunya, a government settlement, Pintupi mixed with Warlpiri
Warlpiri
The Warlpiri are a group of Indigenous Australians, many of whom speak the Warlpiri language. There are 5,000–6,000 Warlpiri, living mostly in a few towns and settlements scattered through their traditional land in Australia's Northern Territory, north and west of Alice Springs...
, Arrernte, Anmatyerre
Anmatyerre
Anmatyerr, are an Indigenous Australian people, or language group, from the Northern Territory. They are from an area near Arnka , Arwerlt Atwaty Anmatyerr, are an Indigenous Australian people, or language group, from the Northern Territory. They are from an area near Arnka (Mount Leichhardt),...
and Luritja
Luritja
Luritja is a name used to refer to several dialects of the Indigenous Australian Western Desert Language, and thereby also to the people who speak these varieties, and their traditional lands.-Origin and meaning of Luritja:...
language groups, but formed the largest language group. Conditions were so bad that 129 people, or almost one-sixth of the residents, died of treatable diseases such as hepatitis
Hepatitis
Hepatitis is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from the Greek hepar , the root being hepat- , meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation"...
, meningitis
Meningitis
Meningitis is inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms, and less commonly by certain drugs...
and encephalitis
Encephalitis
Encephalitis is an acute inflammation of the brain. Encephalitis with meningitis is known as meningoencephalitis. Symptoms include headache, fever, confusion, drowsiness, and fatigue...
between 1962 and 1966.
Pintupi kinship
In common with neighbouring groups, such as the WarlpiriWarlpiri
The Warlpiri are a group of Indigenous Australians, many of whom speak the Warlpiri language. There are 5,000–6,000 Warlpiri, living mostly in a few towns and settlements scattered through their traditional land in Australia's Northern Territory, north and west of Alice Springs...
, the Pintupi have a complex kinship system
Australian Aboriginal kinship
Australian Aboriginal kinship is the system of law governing social interaction, particularly marriage, in traditional Australian Aboriginal culture...
, with eight different skin groups, made more so by distinct prefixes for male and female skin names; "Tj" for males, "N" for females:
-
-
- {| class="wikitable sortable"
-
|- bgcolor=#efefef
!Gender
!Skin name
!Can marry only
!Children will be
|-
|Male
|Tjapaltjarri
|Nakamarra
|Tjungurrayi, Nungurrayi
|-
|Female
|Napaltjarri
|Tjakamarra
|Tjupurrula, Napurrula
|-
|Male
|Tjapangati
|Nampitjinpa
|Tjapanangka, Napanangka
|-
|Female
|Napangati
|Tjampitjinpa
|Tjangala, Nangala
|-
|Male
|Tjakamarra
|Napaltjarri
|Tjupurrula, Napurrula
|-
|Female
|Nakamarra
|Tjapaltjarri
|Tjungurrayi, Nungurrayi
|-
|Male
|Tjampitjinpa
|Napangati
|Tjangala, Nangala
|-
|Female
|Nampitjinpa
|Tjapangati
|Tjapanangka, Napanangka
|-
|Male
|Tjapanangka
|Napurrula
|Tjapangati, Napangati
|-
|Female
|Napanangka
|Tjupurrula
|Tjakamarra, Nakamarra
|-
|Male
|Tjungurrayi
|Nangala
|Tjapaltjarri, Napaltjarri
|-
|Female
|Nungurrayi
|Tjangala
|Tjampitjinpa, Nampitjinpa
|-
|Male
|Tjupurrula
|Napanangka
|Tjakamarra, Nakamarra
|-
|Female
|Napurrula
|Tjapanangka
|Tjapangati, Napangati
|-
|Male
|Tjangala
|Nungurrayi
|Tjampitjinpa, Nampitjinpa
|-
|Female
|Nangala
|Tjungurrayi
|Tjapaltjarri, Napaltjarri
|}
See also
- Bindibu ExpeditionBindibu ExpeditionThe Bindibu Expedition was a series of three field trips mounted by anthropologist Donald Thomson to meet with and learn from Pintupi Indigenous Australians between 1957 and 1965....
- Australian Aboriginal kinshipAustralian Aboriginal kinshipAustralian Aboriginal kinship is the system of law governing social interaction, particularly marriage, in traditional Australian Aboriginal culture...
- Pintupi NinePintupi NineThe Pintupi Nine is a group of nine Pintupi people who lived a traditional hunter-gatherer desert-dwelling life in Australia's Gibson Desert until 1984, when they made contact with their relatives near Kiwirrkurra. They are sometimes also referred to as "the lost tribe".They are believed to be the...
- Pintupi languagePintupi languagePintupi is an indigenous Australian language. It is one of the Wati languages of the large Southwest branch of the Pama–Nyungan family. It is one of the varieties of the Western Desert Language ....