Djadjawurrung
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 2,500 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Languages | |
| Djadjawurrung, English | |
| Religion | |
| Australian Aboriginal mythology, Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
|
Bunurong, Taungurong, Wathaurong, Wurundjeri see List of Indigenous Australian group names |
Djadjawurrung or Dja Dja Wurrung, also known as the Jaara or Jajowrong people and Loddon River tribe, is a native Aboriginal tribe which occupied the watersheds of the Loddon and Avoca rivers in the Bendigo region of central Victoria, Australia. They were part of the Kulin alliance of tribes. There were 16 clans, which adhered to a patrilineal system. Like the other Kulin peoples there were two moieties: Bunjil the eagle and Waa the crow.
The Djadjawurrung ethnonym is often analysed as a combination of a word for 'yes' (djadja, dialerct variants such as yeye/yaya, are perhaps related to this) and wurrung (mouth). This is quite unusual, since many other languages of the region define their speakers in terms of the local word for 'no'. It had broadly speaking two main dialects, an eastern and western variety.
Djadjawurrung is classified as one of the Kulin languages. Some 700 words were taken down Joseph Parker in 1878, while R. H. Mathews produced an outline of its grammar, published in German in 1904.
According to Norman Tindale and Ian D. Clark, The lands extended over 6,000 sq. miles, embracing the Upper Loddon and Avoca rivers, running east, through Maldon and Bendigo to around Castlemaine and west as far as St. Arnaud. It took in the area close to Lake Buloke. The northern reaches touched Boort and, northwest, Donald, while Creswick and Daylesford marked its southern frontier, and to the southwest, Navarre Hill and Mount Avoca. Stuart Mill, Natte Yallock and Emu and the eastern headwaters of the Wimmera River all lie within Djadjawurrung traditional land.
...
Wikipedia