The Ngamba were an Australian Aboriginal people of New South Wales.
Language edit
The Ngamba language is poorly described because little has been transmitted of its nature. It is generally believed to have been similar to Gumbaynggirr.[1]
Country edit
Ngamba territory comprised some 900 square miles (2,300 km2) from Port Macquarie and the vicinity of Rollands Plains south to the Manning River. The inland extension has not been ascertained.[2]
People edit
A few remnants of the original tribe were attested as still living in 1929, when A.R. Radcliffe-Brown described them as lingering on with descendants of the Ngaku and Daingatti.[3] According to the reminiscences of Harry Buchanan, they had been systematically and savagely exterminated by the Australian native police.[4]
Customs edit
The Ngamba exploited the mangrove species Avicennia marina for its bark in order to fashion their military shields.[5]
Alternative names edit
- Ngambar
- Ngeunbah[2]
Notes edit
Citations edit
- ^ Eades 1979, pp. 249, 251.
- ^ a b Tindale 1974.
- ^ Radcliffe-Brown 1929, pp. 400, 407.
- ^ Eades 1979, p. 251.
- ^ Duke 2006, p. 22.
Sources edit
- Duke, Norman C. (2006). Australia's Mangroves: The Authoritative Guide to Australia's Mangrove Parts. MER. ISBN 978-0-646-46196-0.
- Eades, Diana (1979). "Gumbayngirr". In Dixon, Robert M. W.; Blake, Barry J. (eds.). Handbook of Australian Languages. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press. pp. 243–360. ISBN 978-0-708-10741-6.
- Radcliffe-Brown, A. R. (July–December 1929). "Notes on Totemism in Eastern Australia". The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 59: 399–415. doi:10.2307/2843892. JSTOR 2843892.
- Tindale, Norman Barnett (1974). "Ngamba (NSW)". Aboriginal Tribes of Australia: Their Terrain, Environmental Controls, Distribution, Limits, and Proper Names. Australian National University Press. ISBN 978-0-708-10741-6.