Wilyakali


The Wilyakali or Wiljaali are an Australian aboriginal tribal group of the Darling River basin in Far West New South Wales, Australia. Their traditional lands centred on the towns of Broken Hill and Silverton and surrounding country. Today the Wilyakali people of Broken Hill are still the main Aboriginal group living in Broken Hill.

Etymology of the name Wilyakali

the word kali appears to be an archaic term meaning 'people' and is incorporated in numerous tribal names of the Darling River valley, including Paakantyi,Bula-ali and Thangkakali. In this construction the name would mean the Wilya people.

Wilyakali language

The Wilyakali language is part of the Paakantyi subgroup family.
The language is considered to be largely extinct from the 1930s with only 23 speakers.

Country

Wilyakali traditional lands covered an estimated from the Barrier Ranges westwards to Olary in South Australia. They encompassed Silverton, Mutooroo and Boolcoomata. To the northwest they reached Mootwingee, and northeast to just south of Sturt Meadows. The tribe apparently moved south in the first half of the 19th century from its earlier domain to resist strong-arm cultural pressures from the Ngadjuri to adopt circumcision. The Malyangapa lived on their northern tribal borders, while the Yadliyawara were to their west.

Traditional culture

Traditional Wilyakali adopted many cultural influences from people to their north and west, such as mura stories. According to A. P. Elkin, its kinship system terms bore some overlap with those of the Wadikali.

History

Arrival of Europeans

The ethnographer A. W. Howitt speculated that the Wiljakali belonged to a distinct supra-tribal group he called the Itchumundi nation.

Land corporation

In the 1980s, the people formed the Wilyakali Aboriginal Corporation. This corporation today runs Poolamacca Station and has also gone on to negotiate mining deals, and Native Title Land Claims

Mutawintji National Park

The Wilyakali, are also joint managers of the Mutawintji National Park which is the first national park handed back to the traditional owners in NSW.

Areas of cultural significance

Traditional places of cultural significance include Mutawintji gullies.

Alternative names

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