Dangu people

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.[1][lower-alpha 1]

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.[1]

Social organisation

Like all Yolŋu societies, the Dangu, identified as a grouping of clans (mala) 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.[1]

The Dua moiety:

1. Galpu (Gälpu, Galbu, Kalpu).
2. Golumala.
3. Ngajimil. (Ngayimil, Ngeimil, Makkanaimulmi).
4. Riratjingu. (Rirratjingu, Rirraljinga, Riraidjango, Wurrulul, Woralul, Urorlurl).[2]

The Yirritja moiety:

5. Lamami. (Lamumiri).
6. Wanguri. (Wangurri, Wonguri, Wan:guri).[2]

Mythology

In the Gälpu clan legends, Wititj, the huge ancestral rainbow serpent was said 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.[3]

Alternative names

Yirgala. (A toponym).[2]

Notable people

Djalu Gurruwiwi, highly respected elder, maker and player of the yiḏaki, of the Galpu clan,[4] and other members of the Gurruwiwi family
Many members of the Marika family, of the Rirratjingu clan

Notes

"The similarities in terminology alone would have been sufficient to confuse anyone not alerted to the difference between, for example, the interdental d of Dangu and Djangu." (Tindale 1974, p. 141)

Citations

Tindale 1974, pp. 222–223.
Tindale 1974, p. 223.
"Djalu' Gurruwiwi" (PDF). Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre. 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2020 – via Hollow Logs Didgeridoos.
Daley 2014.

Sources

Daley, Paul (8 September 2014). "The old man and the sea (and Gotye): the story of 'Australia's only guru'". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
Tindale, Norman Barnett (1974). "Dangu (NT)". Aboriginal Tribes of Australia: Their Terrain, Environmental Controls, Distribution, Limits, and Proper Names. Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-708-10741-6.
Warner, William Lloyd (1937). A Black Civilization: A Social Study of an Australian Tribe. Harper & Brothers.